IN THE LINE OF FIRE A Memoir PERYEZ MUSHARRAFAccording to Tivie magazine, Pakistan's President Pervex Musharraf holds ‘the world's most dangerous job’. He has twice come within inches of ascactination, His farces have caught over 670 members of Al Queda, yet many others remain at large and active, including Osama bin Laden and Ayman Al Zawahini, Long locked in a-deadly embrace with ity nuclear neighbour India, Pakisan has twice come close to full-scale iar since of fest cxploded a sruclear bomb in 1998. As President Musharraf struggles for the itical future of his nation, the stakes could for the warld a¢ large, security and pu not be h It is unprecedented for a sitting head of state-to write o memoir 48 revelatary, detailed and gripping as dr the Line of Fire. Here, for the first time, readers ‘can get a first- hand view of the war on tesrog in its central theatre. President Musharraf details the manhunts for Bin Laden and Zawahiri, and their top lieutenants, complete with harrowing cat-and-mouse games, informants, and bloody firefights. He tells the staries 6 assassination attempts not aaly against himself, but against Shaukut Aziz (later elected Pame Minister) and one of his top army officers, and the fatal abduction and beheading of the US journalist Daniel Pearl — as well as the investigations that uncovered the Pperpetnitor, He details the army's mountain operations that have swepe several valleys clean, and he talks about the areas of North Warinstan where Al Qaeda is still operating, Yet the war on terror is-just one of the many headline- making subjects in fa she Lise of Fire. The full story of the events that brought Musharraf to power in 1999; new details of the confrontanion with India in Kashmir, and @ proposal for resolving that dispute; telling portraits of Mullah Omar and A. Q. Khan, among many other key figures; and fascinating insights into the Muslim wortd in the twenty-first century, including Musharraf's views on Israel and the emancipation of women. Perver Musharrat’s life has mirrored that of hia country, ever since Pakistan's creation, when he was a four-yearold boy, His and Pakistan's stories are dramatic, fareful, and racial to the entire world, £18.99IN THE LINE OF FIREwey f we AFGHANISTAN as Map of PakistanIN THE LINE OF FIRE A MEMOIR ara PERVEZ MUSHARRAF > #. = STRION & SCHUSTER Londen» Mew rrk + Sydney + Treen ACES COMRENTThist pu eshed on Great Bean by Sinmun & Schuster WK Ded, 2006 4, CRS COMPANY Chpamrigh SKM by Presidene Poreez Musbarrat! This hook is copyright under rlie He arvecuel I, No-tepredurcion witheur primis. All riggs reserved. The right of President Pervee fhushasraf tn be idenrified a3 anchor of vis wark has been assumed an accordance wach secizens 77 and 78 af-be Copyright, Drsyms and Parents Ace, 1948. T3S79 198642 Sinn &y Sehusier LIK 1d Aifira Heese LTA Kingraay London W226 Aad weorwcarmonnays.co.uke Siren & Si hustcr Australis Sydney ACIP cacalague recon fos his bosch is avalable froma the Hrinsh Library ISHN 15, 408-7492 YiRZ-S. DSBS -1 Ue O74 2 SSP Dragged by Erich Habbicig Prmed ana bond in Gi eat Braun by CP ITlathI tecivate thes book to the penple cf Pakastan those whut naib saunifies. viel pray far chew ceunery aimed wediy wart aevilly Feu a bedie éiucure, They dese ve a conniterd, selfless leadership, which car help them reahec cheir boundless putcutial. AND To my mether, whose usrwave ring Faith it ite hus been the driving borce in any ble Tier uneviditvnal keer and prayers fennain By uiremittine seuice of sare nipshy.CONTENTS Preface Prologue: Fare -tir Face with Terror PART ONE IN THE BEGINNING Chapter 1: Tram to Pakistati (haprer 2; Setthng in Karachi Chapter 3: Turkey: The Formative Years Chapter 4: Home Chaprer 5: Leaving toe Nest PART TW LIFF IX THE ARMY Chapter 6: The Potter's Wheel Chapter 7: Inte the Fire Chapeer 8: Life in dhe“Fire Chapwer Living Uhrough the Dreadltil Decade Chapter 14: Feom Chief ws Chief Feccurive Chapter Lt: The Karol Conflice wa an) 15 W vay a1 34 44 AG 71 aLva CONTENTS PART THREE THE HIJACKING DRAMA Chapter 12: Plane ya Pakistan Chapter 13: The Conspiracy Chapter 14: The Comntercoup . Chapter 15: Anatomy of Suicide TART FOUR REBLILDING THE NATION Chapter 16; Pakistan First Chapter 17; The Quese far Memocracy Chapter 18: Putting che System Hight (chapter 1: Kick-framung the Econemy PART FIVE, THE WAR ON TERROR Chapter 20: Ome Day That Changed the World Chapter 21: Crmar and Cram Chapter 22: The War Comes tu Pakistan Chapter 23: Mauliuit Chapwr 24: Tightrning the Noose Chapter 25: al Cacala in che Mommas Chapter 2fe' The Symbiosis of fexrozism and Retigior 101 1 120 135 143 154 1 11 199 208 222 a7 245 Bod ah: CONTENTS PART 52% PAKISTAN AT HOME AND ABROAD Chapter 27: Nuclear Proliferation Chapter 2H: Incernaional Diplomacy Cthapter 4: The Social Senuar Chapter 30: The Eraanetpation af Wamen Chapter 31: The Soft image of Palesuan Cchapeer 32: Leadership on “Teial: ‘The Earthquake Epilusnw: Reflectiuns Index 32 a4 am we5 37MORTHERM AREA, ae Penn ; a ee i PAKISTAN RALOCHISTAN Map of the Federally Adiinisteed Tribal Areas:PREFACE ‘Tt book is a window into contemporary Pakistan and my cule in shapiig it | beove Irved a pazsiunate Life, pechaps an. mnpeluenis sates in my early years, bur always [ have focused on sel-iraprovement and thie betterment of tay country: Often L haw bee chastised for bring no forthright and candid, and Carus you will find these qualities reflected hete, Ido not shy away from sengitive issues, circumscribed poly by certain dictates of national securiry. T decided to write my aunobiography after Pakistan took center stage in the world’s conflicts, including the war on terror. There has been intense curiosity about me and the country Dead. ] want the werld to: learn the truth. Pakisian is a nadom of many parts, rural and vrban, rich and poor, highly educated and illiterate. Our 16 million people speak seweral def ferent languages. Mextecation collides with fanatical exorepnism, and wescomization squarcs off agamat a conservative traditonal culesce. Governing Pokistan has been labeled by some as ane of che most diff- cult jobs in the world. September 11, 2001, mutciplicd Pakistan's chal- lenges many times aver, amplifying damestic issues, and reshaping our intennationsl relations. Que aaten plays a key role in the developing story off the teecutystirst century What happens itt Pakistan—socially, politically, and econotai= cally—in the coming years novonly will help decide the antcome ofthe global war on cerror, i 3all also shape what die (lucare wall look like for hoth Islam and the Wese. Tam determined thar thar fucore be peaceful and prosperous—not jure for Paukiston but for the entire internationalxi PREFACE carmmunity. Tihat visto is possible only if che Musticn world and the Wiest, ded by ehe United States, serive together toward cesolving che iases bebe es. My witt Sebba and other close family members, Hidayar Kbaishgi, Homa, Aftab, and Shabnam have cacouraged me throughout the process of writing this book. They gave me the confidence co persevere in spite vErny atherwise busy achelule. My personal thanks are alsa due tu Fhaiayun Gadhar ated Grice Nichols fur their editing cuntributions. Aanayun has burned much midnight aif to help wiel ehe checking of avy scripts. Most of all Pwonkd be remiss iD dit set express spevial gratitude to my staff aificer, Arigadier Asim Bawa, for his painstaking and labonous ¢florc: of both recording my thotghes and then man- sceebing chem. Bitkout his efficency and deverion wme, the arduvus task of completme the hnok would have heen difficulr to achieve, My autobiography is my contriburion ee the hustary ad eur cra. Itis also of course my own story, expressed in ory own way abouran event fol, turbulent life in which boch luck and destiny played leading cotes. Pervez Musharraf August 1, 2006 Islarribad, PakistarPROLOGUE FACE-TO-FACE WITH TERROR \A face-to-face with terror. Ttwas December 14, 2003, and I was on rey way home to Army [ Louse after having landed in Islamabad a fow Meinutes Carlier, Rebgious extremists had struck sight in my midst, and ic was only by the grace ol God that Twas saved ard oo preckous lives were Lost. have confronted death and defied it several times in the pase because destiny and fare have abways smiled op me. J only pray thal have more than the proverbial nine lives nf a car. ] fist avoided death a3 a teenager in 196%, when | was hanging ‘upside duwn from the branch of a mango tree and it brake. When T hit ‘the round, amy friends thought [ was dead. Jn 1972, when 1 was leading a company of commiartulus ag a major in the movntainous Norther Areas. F should have bees on a plane of Pakistan Vaternacioual sAirkines that crashed inte a glacier up in the Himalayas on a Aight from Gilgit to Lslatnabad) Ar the last ntitute, T hadn't boarded wt, becanse che bodies af ewe of ny men wha had been Julled by an avalanche had been found, and ray commanding officer and Lopted to give up aur seas oo make che weight available for che conveyarice of the bodies. The plane has sul] noe been fomnd. 1 should have been on President 21a u]-Haq's C-130 airplane chat crashed on August 17, 1988, Thad been selected to become military sec- Tétary to the president. but as luck would have it, another brigadier was appointed 10 the post at the last minuce. That poor man went to a fiery death instuad uf me, The Linited States ambassador, Amokl Lewis 14 PROLCICLIE Raphael. way alse) among the anfortunatc passengers. The crash wes never fully explained and remains a mystery to che taodern history of Pakistan, My closest call was fy 1998, when, as a heurenane general com- taring the Mangla Corps, | was called co army headquarters in Rawalpieds fora conference. After fimishiog oy official commitments, Lwent off sith a friend, Lieutenant Colone] Aslam Cheema. to play bridge in bis office. which was ata remote location. My comumander of aviation, who was flying a helicopter back to Mangla started looking for me. He wanted co take me back ta Mangla by the chepper to avuid the cere-hour road journey. J would have readily flown with him. But he dutn’t know where C was, gave up lugking, and left. The helicopter scvashed and he died. A simple gatoe of bridge with a Erexid gaved ane. (On Qctuber 12, 1999. Iwas chief'of the artuy staff, the highest rile itacy pusition im Pakistan. My plane was about vo dand at Karachi from Colombe, when the prime minster effectively Buyacked it fren che ground, blocking the mimvay and closing alll arpore. in Pakistan. He ordered rey plane to leave Pakiscan air space. Cur fuel was so dcear chat weowould have crashed had the army not taken central of Karachi Aurport before it was too late. We landed wath only seven minutes of fue] to sparc. The nearly faral confrontation with the preme omiscer brought me te power—a stecy that [will celate fully in this book, Valso had pve brushes with death in the India-Pakistan war of 1963. As af these real tisks were mee enough in 2007. when J touk oti from New York tc Pakiswi after che Wnaed Natieas Sumunil, the piloxatarmed me hy relaying a message that air grafic consol claimed there nught be a bomb on the plane. We returned a New York 1 find, after hours of search, thar the warning was a hoax, But the eveno of December 2003 put me in che front hine of che war on terror and are part of my ceasun for-writing this book naw, white | am still fighting. On December 14, 2003, [ landed from Karachi at Chaklala Air Furve Base, about 2.5 rmailes (four kilometers) from Acony House in Rawalpituti. and six oniles (ren kilometers) from [slamabad My aide-de-camp mes me wich pws pieoes of news: Pakistan had beaten India in a pole march, and Saddam Mussem liad been «aught, | ioacle nay way home co Army House. Twas callang to avy niilitary secretaty,FROLOGLE 4 Major General Nadeem Taj, seated to my right, when I heard a loud, though muffled, thud behind us. As my car bevarne airborne [ inume- diately realtzed what was heppening—I was staring terronsm in the free, I choughe ruefully that while leaders of other countries anly visit scores Of cainage later or sec it on a television screen, I was personally inthe midscofit, Neeomby chac—I was the asgee. But unlike mast Ira ets. [am also a soldier. chief of che army staff, and supreme com- Tmander of my counery’s armed forces. [ am cut our to be in che midst of battke—crained, prepared, and equipped. Pate and the cunfluence of events have seen to it that Pakistan and ] are ita the thick af che fight agaist terrorism. My traming has made rue constantly teady for the assigunient. V had just crossed a bridge very near Army House when it hap- pened, All four wheels of my car left the road and we shet quite some distance up in che air. Though the sound of the explosion was muffled by che armar plating of the car, | knew inscinctively chat ie was a bomb. So did my military secretary. | knew too that it was a huge bomb, ‘because at bad Lifted the three-ton Mercedes clean off the road. J looked back and saw a pall of smoke, dust, and debris on the bridpe that we had just sped over, Wheo we reached Aunmy House, abour SIN) yards (410 ineters} away ny depury rnilitary secretary, Liewtenane Cologell Asim fiajva, whe had been traveling in another vehicle in my motorcade, confirmed that che explosion was an assassinacion arempt. Tentered the hanse tn find my wite, Sehba, and ray mother sittng an the family lounge. Schba has been wath me through thick and thin— avalanches. hijacked dights, risky road journeys. She bad heard the explosion because Army House is so clase to the bridge. She saw me eoter and started to ask what the explosion had been about. My suother's back was to the door, and she dida’e realize chat I had arrived. Tput oy finger te any lips and motivged to Seliba wo come our of die Toon, lest my mether hear and beccane tersibly upser, ag any mother would. In the corridor, 1 tokl Sehba that it had been a bomb meant eo Jal me, bur chat eventing was all right now. After comforting her 7 drove back to the bndge to get a firsthand look at the simacion. The bridge had literally been ripped epar-—eo if the explosion had accurred asecond before my car reached che spet, we would have crashedi PROUD Tweney-five (eer (7.5 meters} to che ground through the gap. There wras still chaos at the Bridge. ad the peciple there were peesly surpewsed to ser me. Keeping the news from my mother was impossible, of course. She soon discovered what had heppened as concerned colleagues, rel tives, and friends seated calling or dropping in. The stury was all over television and on the frant pages of teewepapers the next day. I fad over- shadowed both Saddam and pul, at least it Pakistan That evening Sebba and | were to attend a veilting at rhe Serena Ehotel in Idamabad. ¥¢ cud tot hesitate. Toth of us went, Our decision vaused nv lithe cousternation anione the gests. as they thotagte thar] had gued reason to rentainy i the safeey of my homes on|y a few hevars after vercorists Lad med ta assassinate me. T any sure chat nry escape, and nry nor breaking my schedule, must have caused disapporntment and disenay among che terrorists. Sticking te the schedule may have caused SOIC CONcErn AMON, ny security personnel, but they are trainod to take such things in stade. Tt certainly did cause surre incunvecience to motorisrs, a the toflic along the route was blocked, Bevore che assassination attcrnpe, Pond (owe with die nouanal wal= fic, stopping at every red light. Now things started changing The police started blocking afl traffic in eather direction along the naute U1at Iwas to ake. Thewe were new escoee vehicles on ember side of nay car. And, of course, my exact schedule would not be known co anyone except those clorese to me. People had barely stopped chaneting about this assassination attempt wwhen-—un December 25, 2003, a hotiday - there was vet atuther ont. Adie, additoong a conderence at Llamabad’s Convention Center, [ lett for Army Monge at shout one fitter pet My chief seonriry officer, Colonel Uyas, and my arde-de-camp, Mayor Tanvcer, were a the deal car ofmay newly expanded mocorcade. Next canny: che escort car. [was an the third car with my mahtary secretary: ‘We crossed the tatefnl brides, which was still under cepair after the util blast, aml reached a gasoline Joep un the right. In front of che Blimp there was at opening in the gnefian oF the tvo-wuy read fur Lhanumnas. The oncoming tatfic had heen blorked. There was a police- man standing ac che opening. (noticed thar though all the onevimingsPROLautIT 5 rradlic was facing straight toward us. 2 Suzuki van was sranding arbliquely, a af to drive inva the opening co get co oy side of she road. Reflexively, I ured and locked over ony cight shoulder at the wan, a5 one dacs when one sees something oda. Then I looked straight alicad. Ital took split second. Hardly had Ltutned my head back when there was a dewlitnning batng ar my car was up int she air again, All hell broke tonge. There was emake, chere war dehns, chece were budy parts and pieces of cars. Vehicles had heen blown to smicheceens, human hemgs ripped so puewes. Doaurned clark, and we coukdo't see any- thing. In was che middle of che afternoon, burst seetoed like dusk. Jan Mohammad, my admirable driver, reflexivety put bis foot un the brake. I tovk out my Glock pistol, which is always with me, and shoured 0 Jan Mohammad in Urdu. “Dabra, daboa"—"drive, drive.” He doored the accelerator bur had pane only aber 1b yards {9b meters} when we car: ier anther gol ping. Agana there was a horrendoas bang. Agaim all bef! broke loose. The first explosion bad conac from our right rear; this cme came straight om Grom the immedi- ane right front. Someching big and very heavy hit che windshield. I dun’ low what it was, hut it made a hig dent im the bulletproof plass— which, however, did not break [t came ftom such an anple chat any breken glass would have jutten enthec cay driver orn, ‘Once again oy car tock off Again there were human parts, Cat parts, debris, smuke, and dust—and a lot of wuise, Again it wert dark yetyhak dcseemend ag i mideaghe bad come ac ticaals. h4fy con's tires had blown. We werg on the cms now, hit such care are designed to go on ther rims far thircy-five miles or se (Bifty or sixry lolometers). Again fan Mobanumad hit the hrakes, and again I shouted, “Daten, dabaa. Tlit the accelerator. Let's get out of here." The var lucched forward on its rims, making alot of noise, like a ratdetrap, and gotus co Anny House Sehba, af course, bad heard the horrific explosions ynal bad run out tothe perch, When she save the Gost car coll ayer its rims spewing, smoke, filled with holes, anu plastered with furan Aesh—sbe stared screaming. She screamed and screamed. ] had never seen her de thar before. She is always calm in che face of danger and during homfic events, then she has a delayed reaction che nest day, when tears core. But now she was sccearmng uncontrollably, hysterically. She wouldn't4 PROLOGUE look at me. $he started cunning toward che gatc. Lasked her, “What are you deing? Where are you going? But she just went om screaming, I couldn't understand what she was saying. cacept, “What ts going an? Wharis happening?” It was understandable hysteria, and it helped her mo get the shock out of her system. It also diverted my ind and the minds of others with me from our ov shock, [ got hold of her and took her inside the house. [sat vith her and told her, "Look at me, Iam all righe, everything is all right,” When she finally carved down | wen out again. Flocked at the cars and saw that the lead car was ele niast badly dant aged, especially its npht rear door. ft too had sunk down to its sims. ‘Tanveer's hair wes standing straight up, I suppose because the bilsts had cteated stanc. Any nommat car would have been blown te bits, destroyed heyend recognicon. As itwaos, human Aesh and blood were all over che cars, They were a gruesome sight. ‘The squad ear chat had been behind me war also very badly damaged Allin all, Iwas told, fourteen people had been killed. Three af eur peo- ple had been injured. The poor policeman standing at the gap between the two téads fraud come im from of ue diese suicide van andl been Blew to bis. A police van had stapped the secand suicide bomber from higing my car by rumming meo lug velicle. The van had blown np, Kling all five policemen in ix, including an inspeccor Je was bearvendiog. The first suicide bomber had hu the nine-inch-high (22 Scent meter} doider beeween the roads anf rolled back, probably bevanse he had made a cold start with 2 heavy, bombladen vehicle. 1 the police hadn't blocked the oncoming traffic. Ged alune knows how nanny more would have Beer killed oc mutilated. We laer discovered that there was supposed to be a third suicide bongher to araek me Granta lly where she coad had no median divider, Foc some reason he didn't materealize. At che citne F though thee either he had lost his necve after seeing what bad happened ro bis meu co tecronsts, or he thought that dhey naust ave gotten tae, and mati aay to save himselEand come back to ball anocher day TE he hak nod abandon! Ihe job he would almost certainly have succeeded in killing me, for by then my Cac was in very bad shape and was “raked,” widhewt procecdol. Such are the ways of the Almighry. The investigation mo my would-be assassins fed us to some ofcee rea he ea sl A PROLOGUE ? al Qaeda's ip people in Pakistam The full story of that investigation needs to te: told, because if represents ure of our greates| victories in the warn terror, [wall relate x¢ in fill in chese pages. But firse, you need ro know bow I came oo be che man the assassins were targeting. The stury of my life coincides almost from che beginning with the story of my country -s9 dhe chapters that toll are a biography net only ofa quan, bet of Pakistan as well.PART ONE oyu IN THE BEGINNINGsath ls na ee CHAPTER TRAIN TO PAKISTAN Date: August 14, 1347 Place: India and Pakisan Event: The owilight of the British Enopire, wich the independence of India and the creation uf the nation-state of Pakistan. hese were Goubled dimes. These were momentous times, There was the light of treedon; dhete was the darkness af genocide. it was the dawn of hope; was the ewilight of emparc. [owas a tle of two counories in che making, On a bet and bum summer daw a train hurded down the dusty plains from Delhi to Karachi. Hundreds of peaple were piled into its compartmenes, stuffed in its cocciders, hanging from the sides, ard st ting on the tool, Thete was not an inch to spare Burt the feat and dust were the least of the passengers worries, The tracks were littered woh dead butie—men, warned, end children, many bidegusly raatibated ‘The passengers held thee qo rhe hope ofa new bile, a pew beginning in a new country—Pukistan—thot they had won atter preac straggte and sacofice Thousands uf Muslin taroibes lett hei homes and hearths in India that Aupust, king only the barest of necessities vith them. Train after train ganspurted them imto the unknown. Many did nut make it—hey sere tortured, raped. and killed aluog the way by vengeful ikl atl uiF Ts THE LINE OF FIRE Hindus. Many Hindus and Sikhs heading in the opposite direction, leaving Pakistan for India, were butchered in tum by Muslims. Many a train deft india swarming-with passengers only to arrive én Pakistan care Tying nothing but the deafening silence of death. All those who made this journey and lived have a tale ro reli. This is the story of a maiddile-class fannily, a husbaud and wile who Jeti aethi with cheir ehree sons. Their second-born hoy was chen four years ane chice days old. All chat he remembered of the gam journey was his modhyr's cension. She feared massacre by che Sikhs. Wer pension hneteased every time the train sapped aca stabon and she saw dead bodies hangalong the tacks and on the platforms. Whe cam had to pass through che whole of the Punjab, where a Jot of killings were taking place. The little boy aléo remembered his father’s amodety about a box that he was guarding closely. Tt vas with him all the time. Ife protected it with hes life, even sleeping with it under his heal, like a pillow. There were 700,000 rupees init, a princely suum in those days, The trroney was destiocd dor the forcign office of ther mew country The Inek: boy alse rersconbered arriving in Karachi on August 15. He remembered, toa, the swarm of thankful peapte whe granted them. “There was food, there was yoy, there were tears, there was laughter, and there was a lot of bugging and kissing. There were chanksgrving prayers top, People ate their i. thave started my narranon in the chird person because the story of that Angast rain issomething Thave beon cobb by tay elders, nut somethings T remember in detail. { have litde mernory of my-carly years. [was bor, in the ald Mughal part of Delhi on Auguse 14, 1943, an any paternal family home, called Near Wali Havelt—* Hause Next wo the Canal.” A harris is a typical Asian-eryle home built around a central coureyard. Nehar means canal My brother Javeul, who is something ofa genius, was bornane year hefowe me. When my younger brother Naved arrived later, our family was camplere. Nehar Wali Elaveli belonged to ny gieat-gtandfather, Khan Bahadur Qazi Mobeshio ud din, who was the depury collector od reveuiiee ire Diellu. He arranged for his daughter Amma Khatoon, ray paternalTRAIN TO ARISTA 13 grandmother, te be married to Syed Sharfuddie, The honerifie Syed denotes a family that ie desuetded direcily Gam thy Holy Prophes Mubatniuad, peace be wpoe hin. Tam told dhat generanons age my father's family came from Saud Arabia. My grandfather was said to be an exceptionally handsome man and owas a landlord of some starare from Panipac, in nestheon India He left my grandmother, Amna Khatoon, and married a second time, leaving their twu sons, Syed Musharrafuddin (my facher! and Syed Ashrafud- din, to their mother. She moved with her sons to her father’s home, sytrere Lweulal be burt, My father, Syed Mirhartafaddin, and his elder brother graduated from the famous Aligarh Muslin Universiy, ncav in india. My Gather then jomed the forcigm office as an accommtane. He ultimately rose to the posinon of director. He died jusca few monehs after [ook che reins of my counery. Khan Bahadur (Jazi Fazle Wahi, my mother's father, was a judge— the word gazi means judge. Efe was progressive. vety evliphteaed in thought. and quite wed] off He speot liberally oo the education of all his sons and daughters. My nnaher, Zarin, graduated from Oelhi Univer- sity and carned a master's degree from Lucknow University ara ome awhen few Jndian Muslim women ventured aut to gee even a hasis. education. After graduation, she married my father and shifted tc Nehar Wali Havel. My parents were not very wel] off, and both had to work to make ends meet, especially to give their three sons the best education they voukt aifurd, The house was sold in 1946, and ony parents muved to an austere povertment here built ina hollow square at Baron Road, New Delhi, We staved in this hotuse until we migrated wo Pakistan in 1947, My macher became a schoolteacher 9 alganent die Family inca, My parents were clase, and cheir shared passion was to give their chill dren the besr possible apbringng—our diet, aur educacion, and our values. My tnothec walked two niles (more chan dhree kilometers} eo school and ovo miles back, net aking a tonga {a horse-drawn car Fiagy}, to save money ty buy fruit for us. We always louked forward eo thas [ruit, Prewieling a gee edincation to dut children hag always remained the14 Iw THE LINE OF FIRE focus of our Fumuly, a value that both ny percncs tock (ham chew parece and instilled in us. Though we were not by any means rich, we always studied in de top schools. In Dellsi, Javed anal 1 joined Church I tigh School, tar [have nomemory ofa. Neither da [bave any memury of Gieruls or neighbors.‘| | : HAPTER 2 SETTLING IN KARACHI Ki! is avery old ciny, like most of our cities, it dates back to antiguney. It started off as a fishing village on dhe coacc of the Ara- bian Sea. In 147 it became she capital of Pakistan. The capital has since been shifted to Islamabad, a pieenresqne new city nestled in the foothnlls of the Hemalayas. On our arrival in Karachi, my father was allotted two rourns in a korye barracks of ten. tee-cuam onits ina place called Jacob Lines There was a kitchen and ant old-style toilet that had no Aivsh mechanism, Along woe side vf eb: building ran a veranda covered by a green wooden wellis. Guher uprooted members af our fmily—assortcd aumes and ancles and copsins—came to hve with us. At one ume chere were cightecn ofus Irving mm diese owa rooms. Buc we were all happy. I now nealize that we accepted all this discamfom hecause our morale was supremely high—as were our spamic of sacrifice and our sense of accom- modation. Acrually, we could have Gled a claim to pec a house in place vaf dhe boge hurne that my maternal grandiadier bad awoed in Dedhi Left behind, it had become “eormy property.” But fer sore feasuc to ute pursued this. One tight J saw a thief biding behind the sofa in our apartorert, ‘Though Twas only a hele boy Cwas bokd enough te quietly slip ue to my mother, whe was sleeping on the veranda (my facher had lete for Turkey). Peal her thar chere-was a chief insede, wid she scurted scream ing. Chir neighbours assembled. The ehief was caught with the anly thing of valuc we had—a bundle of clothes. While be was being thrashed, he cried ut that he was poor and very hungry This evoked. 1916 IN THE LINE OF FIRE such syripathy chat when the police came to take bien away, my muther declaed chat he was nat a thief and served hires learcy seal instea, dt qwas a sign af the sense of accoroumodation an of helping ear orker that we shared in chose days. Our cook, Shaukat, wie had conus with ny another when she gor married—in her duw-ry, 90 to speak-—alsa came with us from Delhi. He was an excellent cook, He now lives m Hyderabad, Sindh, and f bast moet him when Pwas a major petieral. My brother Javed and Pwere congiled in Se, Paurick’s $¢ hol, ran by Cadholic misstonaries, but [ den'r remember muuch aboue je at chis dime, except that we had to walk. a role to it and a mile back (about 1.5 Kdlomerers each way}. My Gather started working at dhe new foreign office, which was theo tovared ina buifding calted Mahatea Palace. bt was acer te become the resadence of Muss Fatema Jinnah, sister of Pakistan's founding father, Muharamad Ali Jinnah. whore we respectfully call Quaid-e-cucarn, “preat leader.” Te ig how a tuseuta We wouk! visit hits there seerie- tienes, [ cemertiber that tie Lacilities vere so sparse that he didi e even have a chair to siton Hy used a wooden crag: insucas|, Olten che adler van short of paper clips, cuiumbtacks, and even pens. Iiy Fagher wou kt use ghe thorns of a desert bush that grows everywhere my Karachi ta pit his papers togecher. He would alsa sonactimes write wich a thorn Ty dipping ican ink. This was the stare of affairs an the new Pakisean, not Teast breause India was stalling anal raising alt sorts of hurdles racher thar sending us our pection of the pre-Partition assers. Actually, dhe British Lad decided ta quit India—"grace ireedurn," as they arcoganely valled it i June 1948. Bur Lord Lous Mounrbarten, te base viceroy, persuaded Suondon char Britain could nowhold on tll then and had dhe dare moved forward to August 147. Fis was anneviced in April 1947. In che Genetic Evan manths befure Partition, one ul ihe many decisions made nautually by the representatives of Pakiscaty, India, and che British government was che allocacion of assets in the owo new countries, Now free and no longer under the dictaess af the [ritigh gav- ercoment, India was not Honoring its cornminmene My father was a very honest aman, swt tech at all, but he would pre moacy tothe poor - “because their need is preatec." This was a point ofSETTLING IN KARACHL 7 contention wich may mother, who was always struggling to make ends Tuect, “First meet your uwh needs belure meeting the needs of orbers,” she would tell hin Like moose Asian mothers, despite cheit dermure public demeanor, my mother was che dominance influence on our fira- ily Bur om the istue af giving to the needy my facher always gut his way, because he wouldn't talk about it, My mother had to continue working ta support us. Instead of becoming a schoolteacher again, she joined the customs service. 1 rerutmber her in her crisp white uniform juirlg to, Korangi Creek for che arcival of the staplate, which she would ifspect. Lalio renietiber that she once seized a cargo of smuggled goods and was given a big reward for st, Ong sad event that | remember fy was the death of ove founder, the Quaid-erAzam, on Sepember 11, 1948. Iwas akin to a therteen- month-old baby losing its only parent. Cluaid-e-Avam Mohammad AG Jinnah has best been desenibed by his biographer, the American writer Stanley Wolpert: “Few individuals significantly alter the course of bistory. Fewer still modify the map of the world. Hardly anyune cant be credited with creating a hatiui-state. Meharimad Ali Jintiah did all three,” His death shook the coufidence and ¢euberance off the infant nadon, The funeral procession had to pass direugh Bondar Ioad--the pram avenue at Karachieevery close to aur house, Premember sitting ‘on a wall along the toad for haurs wairing fir the fiancsal coredge, with Eriends from our locality, When it came, everyone cred. I could aot bold back my tears. Inwas a day of the greanesc national loss and muum- ing. The nation felt a sense of hopelessness and uncertainty. [t3s to the credit of the Quaid's successor, Liagat Ali Khan, aur first prime minis ter, chat te ably pulled the nation owe ofits depression. Those were bappy years in Karachi. Hardship was overcome by hope and che excitement of beng mi our dew county aod plying one’s part im beilding it. This exciternetn an bupe infused the young tao. The thrill shar comes From the menuty of hope w be fulfilled, the excitemenc of great things eo cong, often retuens to me. Once again | am transported back to being a litte hoy qin the cram co Pakistan. Those ‘years in Karachi were an importang aime fir me, as indeed chey were frit all of us who had taken such a risk by emgrating to our new country.LE tre THE Line or Fine ‘Gradually. as we settled Wown, the iamtial exubecawe wore off, acd the Uticectainties oF our present and fue begart co weit on my puretits, Ameqmertphosis rook place an ine i dhe first months aid years alter Partigon. An yprooced lade hoy found earch that was naneral co him He tack root init forever. Iwould protece chat earch: wich my hfe. a ecie eset Gra ar ly emia tinea cnemcnan nan defnenienittitahabdee raitand Hoes fh es thie| | | CHAPTER 3 TURKEY: THE FORMATIVE YEARS Tz years after arciving in Karachi, my father was posted to oor embassy in Ankara, Turkey, 23 superintendent of the accounts department. My brothers and I were very excited by the idea of going ta anarler country, Gur seven-year stay there would! prove co have a huge influence on my worldview. Torkey and Pakistan have many things it comameon—firt and foce- mest, Islam. Just as Pakistan was a new country in 147, Ateurks country was a “New Turkey.” With che tall of the Ottoman caliphate, Mustafa Kernal had saved Turkey from balkanizacion and medemized ie by dragging ic out of dogma and obscurantism. His grateful people val hira Aqeink, “father of the turks.” As a victonous commander be was porliaps inevitably also callod pasha, “gorerat.” In face, even his soc ond nani, Kemal, which tears “wonderful,” was give to bire by a teacher because he was quite rerdathable aga young boy: Thos, Mustalar Kemal Pasha Ataciirk. Much of Pakisen’s cuisine criginaced in Turkey, $a does Urdu, our national lguage—my parents’ cingue. Orde is a‘Carkash word means ing “army” Two characteristics ofthe Torkish peaple have made a spe- tial imprint on my mind. One is cheir deep sense of paciatism and price in everydhioy Turkash. The other is eheir very visible love and affection for Pakistan atid Pakistanis. Fer three young boys, the journey to Turkey war dilled with worler. Fireg, we sailed on HMS Onwerka trom Karachi to Basra ine Tra, Travel tog by slip was a unique experience for us. Then we took a wait Ankara, ajonmey of about duce or four days, but very enjnyable cam- 14oh Im THE LINE OF FIRE paced with the fateful train te Pakistan in 1947, a top Graughe wath fear and danger. We four! a bouse im Ankara and stayed in it far a year. We would eve to three more houses, staying for a year each in che second and Unie, hefore seuling wn che Eourth for che remainder of our time in Turkey These were anly medium-size houses, but comfortable and adequawe fhe eur meeds—certainly a far cry fram the ew-room apart- ment we had lett bend. Asa wauking woman, nay mother joined the Pakistani embassy a3 a Cypist. She was a very gcd typist and won ag embassy competionn fur speed, Perhaps that as why she ia also a good harmonium player. She badd a pera voice toc, Heth roy parencs loved music and dancing, espe- dilly balliuom dancing. My father was a very elegant, very gracelnl daneer. During the corwoation of the queen of England, there was a dance competition in which many of our embassy people partcipated, After a process ot climunation, my parents wor the first prize in ball- rican dancing. Naturally the embassy staff did their utmast t help us setele down, but it was really aur Furkish relatives who made us feel ac home. Onc of ray mother's brothers, Ghazi Ghulam J Eaider, whe hecame ele first English-language newscaster on Radio Pakistan, «was—haw shall I put 3 —a great romantic, He was always dalling in love, and every so often we would discover that he had marnicd apain. Uncle Haider's Grst with was a hail-Takish wonan whese mother was a full Tark. Her brother, Hikmet, left Jodi for Virkey and sealed dew there. Om reaching Ankarg eny father ted to locate Hikmnet, even plasitig an advertisentent in the newspapers, withouc success, ‘Chen, a3 hick wuuld have it, 2 Turkish woman whe knew Hiknoce jeaned the | akiseani embassy asa typist. Her name was Mehershan. Haknoce was an Istanbul She telephoucd him, and he came to Ankara to mect us. Fle wamaduced Us Co oar other relatives, We would meet every ao often, and we were: abverg ty and ont ofeach vther's umes. One of these relatives wos Golbnel Kadri Bey He wag matried to Leman Khanum. OF their to sons, Metin was earenely handgianie, wih a solet-brows inoustache and corly hair, and (chetin as a wanderfal man. Lani soll in contace with them For the first six of eight months of our stay, ory brodhers and | were i 3 i } 5vane a gg, TURKEY: THE FORMATIVE TEARS 21 enculled in a Turkish schoul. The English caved dhere was rudimentary, bur the school helped us to learn very good Turkish. which veeat a long sway in enabling us w became goed friends with Turkish boys. Children et thar age learn very fast and very well, and our accent and pronunc- ation Became perfect. Soon, we were 30 Auent that eur Turkish friends couldn't tell we were foreigners. Even nowy, whet [ speak Turkish it: Pakistan, it is very different from that of uur interpreters, Hue we reedes! English gs aur meodivo uf insiuection. My pare nu discovered a German waman whe had a private school acended by a number of fore eigtn boys and girls. Wee were adinitted to fer school and studied chere for the rest of our tirat i Turkey. She was Madame Kundver —-Kocdrec being het Turkish bushand's surname. She laid great emphasis on mathemanes and geography, and thar is why Javed and [ became very good in boch subjects, we were especially good at making calculacons in our Beads. Madame Kudret had a unique abiliey eo make us enjoy mathematics, and she tauyhe us easy methods far rental calculacienss, She boned! uc skille by making the children compete wath one attorher My later marks were abways the bese in mathematics and geography, thanks to Madame Kudrer. Even i class wa (ube equivalent of cench gtade tn che Unined Stacesi, when my grades dropped dramatically for reagan. that J shall explain, | earned a perfect score in mathernatics. Madime Kodres als qughe us world geography; we learned how w draw and cead maps and bow m ideadify councries, capitals, oceans, rivers, deserts. and mountains. This knowledge helped me immensely when Ljoined ¢he Pakistan Army. Since Madame Kudret’s schoul was cocducaciomal, there were non- Turkish earls rien toe All theee of us brothers were very sry around gitls. They would unrite us ee their hemes and parties, but we sruulld invariably fcel very awkward. [think dey revized this and found it very amusing: cen-yearepld pris are ar mere mature than wnpeareuld boys, and they could rua circles around us It was im Turkey, too, that [ developed nny lifelong fondness for sport. I trained in gymnastics and played voilleyhali, badminton, and fuwtball, Badmincon is not a Turkesh sport, but it was played in our embassy. Turkey is a soccer-crazed marion. Of cuurse we also played marbles, as dirt: boys do the world over, but this made my mother very angry. Our hands would be chapped inn winter, sorctcti nes v2 dic point2 Tro dE LINE OF FIRE ofbleeding, naling it obvious thac | Bad beer. playing inarbles, I would bandage oy hands add hide the martes fram iy mcher hy pucting them in socks, Twas a precocious bur naughcy lite hoy, always good acmy sundics, bun ret briliiane like Javed, | was not very studious; Javed was. Those who are famibar with hdark Twain's works will understand when I say thas] was something ofa ‘Tom Sawyer, with che difference that | wene cn schoo? hap} Uhe orchard im the Lebanese embassy in front of our house had many Crus trees. Tobserved the guard there and noticed that he would tke a short cound of the embassy building in one direction, and them a mach Jangee round coming back. It was on the longer round thar I would pet inte the embassy compound and pluck fruit from the trees. Since | got involved in boyish garues and pranks and often alia dings thatother boys woulln’t ut catldn't do, T became very popular in my neighbochoou Someries my mother would discover ty antics and get very angry, She would even gecangry with my fiends when they came to collect me. “Co away,” she would say, “let hint sendy.” Vhis would upset me, but chere was line I could do except hide my time and wait for an oppurrane moment to steal out to play with then. One ouodoor activity chat my mother could nut keep me from was accompanying ony futher oa duck stioats. [te would po with the cinbassy staff toa lake dalled Gol Bashi, which is ao ina crowiled part of Ankara, [ finind these: soars masr enjoyable and adventurous The Honst excining pare was the silent, motionless wait when the ducks would dyin, and m was even more exciting when occasienally [ wus ailerwed to shows. I can never forges my firss surcesstal shor, when f got a duck in the wacer. I must admit that | never succeeded wah flan, shots. Like neighborhoods die world aver, ours had boys’ gangs, We would tight, tut die fighting: was nothing serious. We threw stones at each euhicr atl made shichls with whieh te protect ourselves. Lach gang had its gon flag. Even at hae aut Twas very Quad at making strategies and, planning cactics ty ambush and srap ocher gangs We would hore them, into an area, ambush them, and run eff with their fag cw the wep ofa Ail. Tt was defeat for chem and victory for us! Being the qutdoers ¢ype, 1 suffered torture when Iwas dorced ro stay ga . . + ert at é at Nah op eae Raf” Pe so en net GR,TURKEY THE FORMATIVE TEARS 2 indoors, { bad more than nay fair share of energy. and it had ro be expended somehow. It had to find oudets outside che Iowse, burning it up inside was bnposible. OF course. in slose days dhere was mu celovi- sion, which has turned many of enday's boys inta couch potatocs. Javed was very fond of bowks, buc | read them anly when J had to. We became members of the British Caruncil Library and would ake one our weekly quot af owe books each. Feing a voracious reader, Javed would finish his books in a couple of days and then read my books in che next (o—if not sooner! Before the week was op he would want to cetuco to the library and take out four more hooks. ! bad perbaps cead bone, or motewen that. So T would insist chatwe wait until che end of che week, alter which [ would want to renew one of che books and take out only ocve ney atte, This would upset Javed and lead ta armaments. We bad a Turkish casid named Butina whert we respectfully called Hanim, mesning “madanue"—thus, Fatima Hanin Gur parents made ita point that we show respect co elven: regardless of aheia station in lite. We were ner allowed tn call our dantestic stall “servants” they were employees wher carucd an honest ang and deserved respece. Fatima Havin was an old, uneducated woman, quite a simpleton really, but excemely hardwnrlang, We would sell her chat che earch is Har and char Pakiscan is at ies edge and when you look down you con see paradise. Either she ceally believed us ar she went along with our gang. because she always insisted chat we ake bec oo Pakistin so that she could fovk uewen and see paradise. There were bo inilitary attachés at our embessy—colonels Mustafa, and (smail—whose smart Cea¢toouial udilietcns atnacted me tu the army ata very young ape. But a tat whe had a greater inpact on me was Hameed, their personal assistant, Hatneed was a junior coo mis— sinned officer, a very smart anc handsome youny oan {rem Kashmit, Tle was very fond of our family and would. take me and Javed our an jong treks in the balls. Phere was a 700 very fr away, and we would ek op fo it and then return on foot. Hamced was very good at games and would coach us. ft was he who taupht me badminoon and volleyball sAcrows the rogd Erom our embassy was the house of a reared Tuclash Feneral who bad become a big induscrialist. } fe had s beauriful daugh- ter varied Repan. She could see [ameed sitting in bis office from ber window: Cine day he was called and invited ty bave tea at their home26 Tarek Line oof FIRE Much to Hameed's consternation, the oll general offered bir his beautilid daughter's hand im marriage. “Whey married, and it coused quite a sor. When [ameed was transferred back to Palostan, she weot along with him. Fle was sc bright that be advanced in rank aod cecred as amayor. He started his own business and did quite well. The fast ome [met bint was when I was a brigade rigor in Karachi. Sadly. be sutitred a heart attack ad died suddetity. On one of tay foreign trips ag peesi- denc of Pakistan my wifé and J met Reyag in Londen. My love of dogs began in Turkey, We had a beautiful brown dog rammed Whiskey. [loved him. He was killed in a road accident but left wath me a ltfelong love of dogs. I prefer small does, chaugh, not the hope ones. This surprises my frietds, for they expecta Commande th have sot thing like a rottweiler. 1 think people who keep rutheviiers, and similar dogs, have a need vo culdivare a macho image. hur seven years im Turkey passed in a flash, Wie departed wich very heavy hearts, saying good-bye toa country that we had came ro Inve, co our relatives, and oroue many gond friends. Wewere all crying. Those were among che most enjoyable and formative years of my hit. Cur Journcy back-was filled with wonder, too, for my father drove his small ‘Austin Mini op te Basra. $e deuve chrough Turkey, Syria, and Lebanon. We crossed Jurdan inte Irag. endiggat the port ciey of Basta. From there our var was put inte the hold of a ship and we recurmed to Karachi by eb, just as we bead! lett mw sewen. years Carlier, aes saree ' | ' j Ime, CHAPTER 4 HOME Ji Qetober 1956, whet Iwas thirteen years old, we arrived back itt Karachi. The sheer hassle of serling down dulled much of the pain of leaving Turkey ancl ou magny fiends amd relaives dere. Coming home has its wn charm, #0, uf course, even cheugh our home was very different now. [n the seven years thar we had been away, Karacha had expladed ineo a large and whrant casmopelian metropolis. The city was burmming with life. My father teported back to che foreign office, sol! located im Mohatra Palace, We even found a house in Nazimabad Block 3, one of many neve setdemenics that had mushroomed after independence to aceon medate the tombons who Bad Aled India. [t was well planned. wide roads and bowevards. Most of its neighbechourds were middle- class of Jewel-iniddle-class, Ours was une of the dew families on the SIEGE EO OWN A Lar, Aly mocher soon found anocher job. My parents were Ciendly weeh, a Purch couple, Mr. and Mrs. Drink, Mr Brink was the general pian ager of the Phihps factory, locacnd un a new industrial area callect SITE, and my mother became bus secretary Her pay was good, and one of che perks of the job was chae she got a Philips cadio at a discoune. She worked thece far along time. Years Leer, F scayed fos three days with che Brinks in the Netherlands. That (afl, Javed anu T took the entrance examination for classes aire and eight, respectively, at Se, Patrick's, the old and highly regarded Cathelic inissionary schol for boys that~u had actendod cartier. Both of us did aBw Is rae LIME OF FIRE very badly in Urdu. rut f ug studied that langwagy in Turkey Javed got in anyway, because of his excellence shovang m every ocher subject. [ did't, and eas temporarily adonitted to a school called Mary Colaco. My parents inmmedhately worked to bring our Urdu up to scratch. We qucked it up quickly; it was, after all, their tongue. They both taught it tous, and they also hired a tutor. [became good enuugh to pet into St, Patrick's after chree or fur manths, chough I suspect thar my swift admission may also have had something to do with Javed's high score on the first quarterly examination he tok They must have thought that the brother of such a bright buy couldo’t be a completely hopeless case My younger brother, Naved, jeined St. Patrick's School dater, in class six, in 1957, Ele war a steady boy whe earned average uradey In Ankara we had walked to school throgh beautiful fields, In Karachi our shoul was t00 far for walking, anut ste route waslt't prewy either. Someumtes my father dropped us off in his cary asnally we wene by bus. The bus was always brining with people, with hardly ever any vacain seats, To reruin home, Javed and PF watked from scihoal te the egal Cinema nearby, where che bus bad to slow down ac a bumiing, There, we would both jump onte the moving bus, thanks eo our gym- Bastics—a dangerous practice, but boys at that age noronaily chew caution to the wind. Itwauld take us half an hour to get hore, dead beat from the beat and che humidiry Our aeighboehaod. Mazimabad, was a tongh pliee to live, anc it has become rougher since. [would mot call a che Harken of Karachi, bat perhaps it was dhe South Miron. A hay had io be streetesmmart tu survive There were the inevitable street gangs, and nocdless to vay. [joined one Needless to say, c0, Iwas ome af the congh hays. Flying kites is a faverice sport in Pakistan, bur ic us dione with adit ference. Flere, a in Afghanistan, peaple dip che suing in glue filled wih crushed glass. There are kite fights. wich one fher trying to cur dhe: song, of the other to make him lose bis kite, The Byers’ fingers abways get cut, and bleed. The cuts are very painful, much worse than paper cuts. The severed kite Moats slowly ¢0 the ground ara. in an unspaken tra- ditton, the bay who caches it gets co keep it, Arccem popular American novel set in Adghanistan, The Kite Reruns, brings this rradicon to life, and my own experience incloded a vanation |HME 2? nf a key moment its thar sioey There was o bully in our atea who would wall ap wr the boy who had caught a kite and clermared shat he hand ic over, or else. Mose boys would oblige. One day my older ‘brother got bold of some string from acut kite, The bully, acoompanicd ‘by neo other buys, radely asked bitn to bane it over, held my heacher's hand and said, “Why should we give you che string?” Then, without thinking, I punched die bully bared, Aight ensued, apd t really thrashed him, After thar people recognized me asa sore of boxer, and 7 became known as a dada geer-an unitranslacable teem thar means, roughly a rove guy whor you dons mess wath, The lesson 1 fearned was that if you call a bully’s bluff he crumbles. The secret 1s o2 stand your ground tora few secands, and your iucal fright vanishes. This lesson later stood me in good stead as a commando. Premember Sc. Patneck's with preac affection. [learned a Lot dere, aciul not only frum books. CY course L couldo’t help being nauedity, and T would get punished, especially by one teacher, Min De Lina. 1 chink that at the back of their minds, coy teachers compared ne anfavourably swith roy brocher, who continued to get superb prades. S$omeomes [was raale ey kneel ind comer; sometimes | had co sand ourside the class— roam. Once whom [was standing cutie, | saw ey father coming to meet with che principal. [sneaked hehind che bunlding so thar he wouldn't see thar { was berg punished. ‘Fhe punishment I remember best happened when Father Todd caught me chrowing chalk at another boy in class and gave mie six uf the choicest blows on my posterior with a sterdy cane. It seuryy like tell ‘When, a president of Pakistan, [ returned we St. Parrick's fora reumon, Creminded Father Todd of che caring. “T felt like sitting vce ice, Fauler,” Teold hicr durityg my speech. An old classmate of mine came 0o hie ophane atl sail, "Father, dhd you kiuew at that cine char you we ce Catling the presidential seat?” Evcryone laughed. Bacher Tadd is a sood seul and [ have grcat regard fr han, as [alo for all nry teachers. (Goo reaches was Mr. Mendis. He was very good and worked an Inniding our character. I can newer forget heaw he would uy to inculeate in us the aunnbetes thac make a genleran. Te hinvelf personified the qualhties of a pentleman. Tn28 Cn THE Link OT FIRE Ofcourse my pranks weren't limited to school, My comantic uncle Ghazi Ghulam Haider, the one whe nuatiied the hale-Turkish worn, ‘was great at mixing with youngsvers and youl ake the lead in many practical jokes. He would pile eight or tea of us boys into his car—a German Opel Rekurd - art go looking for mischief, One day, ue took ua to Frere Gardens, where people go to relaxin the evenings, He srutted a man who was as bald as a golf hall, sitting on a bench. Fur serve reason, the man had oiled his bald pate, making mat- ters-worse, fay it was shining like a noirror and inviting couble. “Pll give Five rupees to dhe boy eeho slaps chat man an che head,” annaunced. ‘Unele Haider We all shrank back, asking ham how we could do such a thing and getaway widh iL “Warch me,” said my redoubtable uncle. Fle walked righ up behind che mam and gave him a tight smack right in the middle of his shiny head, saying, “Bashir, thece you are. ['ve been. searching for you." It musc have stung like hell, The baldy spon arovited in shock, but before he could say anythityz my tule apolugized pre Fusely. “Tamm su extretacly surty ity broshen Vou ate a carbon copy ofa guar] fiend frome and Deristook you ir hits. He was stipposed bo be hece.” The pour man, sulin shack, shifted wo ancrher bench some dis- tance away, looking sheepishly this way and hay. [4 were apliasc bar would qhink up something less dangerous and embarrassing nex, Lo and behold, he raised che stakes, “New I will give ten rupees,” omar diss beliceing cars heard humm saying, “to the buy who smacks his hald head again." We were appalled. Tp get away with at-once was a miracle. To get away wich it ewice was asking for very serious trouble. When we demurred, Uniele [laider said, “Watch me.” [He stole up behind the man again and smacked birn even bardes on che head, sxying, “O Bashir, these you are. J just saw a roan whe looks exactly like you and amacked him on the head” The paar man spin around again in otter sonsteroatian, his eves wild with disheliet His mouth gaped like a goldfish Before be could gee a word cut, Uncle Haider started aati tng cenuite. He apologized even more profusely, asking irk nioch disriay, “How was IT to know thar you had shifted sean?” Withowe giving the stunned man a chance uy gay anything, he walked away: We all rolled on the grass with laughter.