Re: How was it like in the 60s and 70s
I can only go only as early as low-mid 70s. I don't know about the purchasing power of families, but living in outside Karachi which is now almost center (Gulshan Iqbal) life was slow and little tough. Elders of family would walk 1.5-2 miles (to water pump, FB Area) for groceries. One of our neighbors got a car sometime later then they shared the car for weekly/monthly 'sabzi-mandi shopping'. Nowadays the other neighbor is busy in their own lives to share anything at all besides food sharings in Ramadan/Moharram.
Money has become the unspoken religion more-so now. As indicated by others, society was going towards liberalism though there were more ladies in 'burqa' those days but they were going down in numbers. But thanks to Russia/Afghan jihad things are very different now, society is polarised (and growing).