Two Years ago.

It was 27th of December 2007.

I was at my radio station, which is situated in an office plaza at sharae faisal, Karachi. Usually 10 minutes before the 6 o'clock news i am going through my notes, while constructing words for the opening line of my radio show, which starts right after the 5 minute news bulletin. Political atmosphere of Pakistan had dramatically changed. Emergency was imposed, judges were deposed, media was shunned. For 34 days i myself lived with silence as our radio transmission was forcefully barred and our equipments were seized. After years of army rule, not only musharraf had taken his uniform off, also both ex-prime ministers had returned to the country. From being in exile few weeks ago, to campaigning in front of the nation for upcoming elections, it was sadly the best, in this country, people have seen of "democracy".

Despite stories of the day in my notes were...

• Peak-hour electricity shortage reaches over 2,000MW or 20 per cent of the total demand.
• Musharraf and Karzai renewing pledge to combat terror.
• Pakistan hosting hundreds of foreign observers for the January 8 polls.
• US Special Forces to train Pakistani troops.

I began my radio program with the usual "Salam" followed by "listeners, there is a sad news still developing and reaching us from Islamabad, that Benazir is killed".

A minute earlier; news department had confirmed me, as to what happened when the dust settled from the bomb blast at her motorcade. I remember not saying much, and stepping out from the studios to news desk. It was being confirmed and relayed on almost all news channels by then.

I went back on air after commercials and called in the news guy to share with listeners some more information about entire events of the day leading up to this incidence. After which, i went out of the studio office to grab a smoke in the alley near the stairs. What i saw was something i had never seen before; the entire workforce of this 11 story office building, leaving all at once. Their faces were pale, terrorized and everyone looked confused. Seeing this flood of people evacuating the building, i followed 'em down to check the streets. I was relax, since i knew news department will take over the transmission to connect with few reporters from the scene and etc... and i don't have to resume the show immediately.

I remember street lights were out, people were gathered in huge numbers, cars were packed with extra people, as every one instantly believed, "fleeing to home" was the right thing to do. I talked with few people to see what they knew more about benazir's death that i didn't. They all said, "you have no idea what is to come, now". I tried reading their minds by inquiring what is to come? They all seem to agree with "just about anything". As if the instant reaction of her death was intuitively sent into their brains. I could not see the reason for panic, since i myself was shocked like most of them were, i told myself "lets go upstairs and finish the show, then i will head home".

I received a text from my younger brother, conveying a very important instruction from my father.
"No political commentary, beta!"

Before the 7pm news bulletin, within an hour, the fear of those leaving for home instantly after the news; started making sense.

Radio's newsroom started receiving information of riots, gun shots and fires being set in several places of the city. This was odd at first, but as hours passed and police, rangers and army was not mobilized at all, it all turned into complete havoc well before the 10pm news bulletin. Office staff at our radio were the only few people in the entire building left stranded.

News of cars being burnt, banks being looted and several unknown gunmen harassing public at almost all big and small roads, started reaching us. Public transport was either halted, stopped by force, or crashed and then set ablaze. Little did we know, that we won't be able to go anywhere for next 36 hours. Terror danced out on the streets, naked in front of our eyes.

Phone calls we received and reports which reached us throughout next three days; still haunts many in our staff team. More than 4 billion dollars worth of looting and destruction. Several dead and kidnapped.

Note:

More than 28 railway stations, 13 engines and 7 trains were set ablaze, totaling a loss of 3 billion alone. More than 3000 cars, 176 banks, 37 gas stations, hundreds of buses, trucks, shops and buildings were destroyed. More than 100 people died in riots which followed BB's assassination.

Unreported stories:

21 year old Abid (now 23), is still waiting for his sister to return from office. Last phone call she made was minutes before plunging into a small street for safety after abandoning her car after witnessing riots on streets.

Her wedding date was in a month's time.

It was a black day in the history of Pakistan and BB's death was the least of any reason why.

From Indus Civilisation to Sindhi Cap

Indus Civilisation

The civilization which once existed on the banks of Indus river, is recorded to inhabit world's earliest urban civilizations in the entire archeological history of mankind, along with Mesopotamia and Ancient Egypt. At one point in history, Indus valley civilization, in its 5000 year old ruins holds a tell tale of two hundred thousand people living in a modern city. They traded goods, travelled vast areas with their merchandises, developed a sophisticated agricultural plane and constructed their housing on modern principles.

Literature, Language and culture.

Well over 400 distinct Indus symbols (some say 600)[46] have been found on seals, small tablets, or ceramic pots and over a dozen other materials. Indus Valley Civilization is often characterized as a literate society on the evidence of these inscriptions. Brief symbols of these inscriptions are unparalleled in any known premodern literate society. Some argue that the Indus system did not encode language, but was instead similar to a variety of non-linguistic sign systems used extensively in the Near East and other societies. Others have claimed on occasion that the symbols were exclusively used for economic transactions, but this claim leaves unexplained the appearance of Indus symbols on many ritual objects, many of which were mass-produced in molds. No parallels to these mass-produced inscriptions are known in any other early ancient civilizations. (to be continued ... )

AfGoNowistan -

AF_GONOW_istan - Policy

There is no denial of US losing war in Afghanistan, but a long awaited US-Afghan policy is finally out. Obama didn't have much options. He could either amplify troops on ground, or make sure safe withdrawal of troops. For now, he took a very calculated central position.

President Obama's speech Tuesday night may have focused on his decision to send 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan, but infusing almost every paragraph was the administration's even deeper concern about Pakistan.

“We will act with the full recognition that our success in Afghanistan is inextricably linked to our partnership with Pakistan,” Obama told cadets at the US military academy at West Point.

In a speech televised live nationwide, Obama billed the “effective partnership” with Pakistan as one of the three “core elements” for defeating extremism, along with an increase in both troops and civilians.

US President Barack Obama’s new strategy for Afghanistan must ensure that there is “no adverse fallout” on Pakistan, the Foreign Office said on Wednesday. “Pakistan has taken careful note of the important announcement by President Obama on the Afghanistan strategy,” said Foreign Office spokesman Abdul Basit. Basit said Pakistan looked forward to engaging closely with the US in understanding the full importance of the new strategy.

The Afghan Taliban said on Wednesday President Barack Obama’s plan to send more troops to the country would only strengthen their resolve.

“Many more troops the enemy sends against our Afghan mujahideen, they are committed to increasing the number of mujahideen and strengthen their resistance,” the Taliban said in a statement e-mailed to media.

Mr. Obama spoke of the two countries' long and rugged border region as the "epicenter of the violent extremism practiced by Al Qaeda" that continues to threaten the US. He went further, saying that the dangers in allowing the region to "slide backwards" into becoming a haven for extremists "are even greater with a nuclear-armed Pakistan."

But so far, Pakistan's civilian and military leaders have been reluctant to OK the increased US intelligence presence and operations, Pakistani sources say.

The civilian government of President Asif Ali Zardari is teetering and could fall soon, they say, while the military – which is "always the real power base" – is "completely cynical about the United States."

And public opinion is no better. A surge of anti-Americanism greeted US congressional approval earlier this fall of a new $7.5 billion civilian aid program for Pakistan.