Yesterday on 18th of October 2006 early in the morning around seven o’clock while riding in a public transport vehicle I was heading towards federal capital of Pakistan Islamabad, from Kohat to Islamabad by road is now two and a half hour journey due to improved road conditions , coach driver was playing music on cassette recorder mostly old songs in voices of Lata Mangeshkar and Madam Noorjehan, all the passengers including me were enjoying the music, a Sikh passenger Gurmeet Singh sitting beside me has politely asked me to stop smoking, I accepted his request and told him I know Sikh religion does not allow smoking of tobacco in any form, young Gurmeet Singh has told me that he is from Peshawar and by profession a Hakeeem, he owns a shop in Jund area situated near the river Indus on Kohat Pindi road and since last three years providing medical treatment to the people their twice a week. When I asked him whether he has got some formal education in medicine, he has told me that it is his family profession and he has learnt every thing from his family elders. Most of these Hakims they provide some medicines to improve sexual male potency, and they use opium in making these drugs.
Young Hakeem Gurmeet was having long beard a turban on his head and a dagger (Kirpan) was also visible under his long shirt, in short he was in outfit of a religious minded Sikh, during the year 1988, I was briefed about Sikh religion by my Indian university fellow Miss Madhoori Chawla, she was a liberal and Americanized Sikh girl and was quite tolerant of her smoker friends like me. Eventually Gurmeet Singh had covered his face with handkerchief and had told me politely to smoke; I moved towards another empty seat near window and had lit my cigarette. In Jund area Gurmeet went out along with many other passengers and driver had offered front seat to me, I had comfortably placed myself in front seat and eventually have managed to reach an entry point of Islamabad motorway popularly known as 26 number stop. I was waiting for a taxi to reach my destination inside Islamabad, suddenly a car was stopped near me and its driver had offered lift, I accepted it and on our way the driver has told me that he is Kabeer Khan owner of workshop and a car dealer, in G eleven sector of Islamabad he had dropped me near a taxi stand from where I had hurriedly caught a taxi to reach the Office of International Foundation for Election Systems(IFES) a US based organization in F-6/3 sector of Islamabad, IFES will monitor forthcoming national elections in Pakistan and head of IFES Pakistan Country Director Barbra a Canadian national is skillfully making the arrangements to expand her monitoring mechanism till NWFP and its adjacent tribal areas during elections. From IFES after getting information from the receptionist about my concern, I hurriedly reached head office of Associated Press of Pakistan Islamabad, where all my colleagues were just concentrating on live coverage on Private TV channels provided to Benazir Bhutto and her party workers, when I entered in office of my boss Managing Director APP Mr. Riaz Hussain Rai he was also concentrating on TV screen, after exchanging late Eid greetings with my boss I hurriedly discussed business with him and he had handed me over to Mr. Ambrose Joseph who is Incharge of District Correspondent of APP. After addressing all my concerns kind Mr. Ambrose Joseph had allowed me to go back to my home town Kohat, I had caught a taxi to reach Peer Wadhai station from where I can catch a van to reach back Kohat, on the way I stopped a taxi near fast food shop had bought a chicken burger and disposable bottle of a cold drink, and soon in back seat of the taxi I was having my lunch and taxi was speedily heading towards van station. After getting myself comfortably seated in front seat of a public transport van popularly called luxury coach, destined from Pindi to Kohat, I again lit a cigarette, when the van slowly started moving outside its station, a ten years old boy carrying a special and hurriedly printed edition of an Urdu News Paper reached near me, I was stunned after reading its headline, which was stating that Muhtarima Benazir Bhutto has arrived in Karachi and Suicide bombers have reached their too. I was unable to accept that headline as truth, but now on 19th of October 2007 at 11:30pm while writing these lines I am convinced when it is confirmed by official media sources that 134 persons are killed in suicide bomb attack on Caravan of Mrs. Benazir Bhutto that suicide bomb attack on her was an open secret before its occurrence, then how it has occurred?
Submitted by
Abdur Raziq
Leave Your Comments