The first cinema in Islamabad, Melody Cinema, was established in 1968, as a form of entertainment for people arriving from Karachi.
It became a hotspot for people in Islamabad, who could watch two or three shows per day. But the first wave of Islamization ushered in under the Bhutto era made the cinema a victim of militants, who attacked it and set it on fire.
However, films were still shown here discreetly. Following the US invasion of Afghanistan in 2001, the Red Mosque in Islamabad began drawing militants from the region.
In 2007, they attacked Melody Cinema, razing it to the ground.
The burnt out building now has shops that carry only a lingering memory of earlier days.