The military tanks rolled over the lawn. The grass underneath got destroyed, but the men in the tanks didn’t care. All they cared about was to hit their target. All they cared about was to attack the enemy.
Once the tanks stopped, Adnan waved his hands in front of them. ‘OK, guys! Well done and that’s enough practice for today. You are doing great. Now go home and relax. Tomorrow is another tough day ahead of us if we want to catch the militants in time before they take over the whole of Pakistan.’
Adnan walked to the main office of the army headquarters on the other side of the field. he would need to get back home to his wife Mariam and their young daughter Fateha. He wanted to see both before they went to bed and were taken over by deep sleep.
As he took his stuff and walked to his car that was decorated with a military stamp, Adnan would not help but think about the vastness of the Pakistani army. Millions and millions of rupees went into maintaining it on a weekly basis. Most of his friends worked for the army and a significant young men considered army as the most reliable place for future employment. Army was the only work place that seemed to offer long-term prospects and stability.
Adnan drove through the quite roads of Islamabad towards Rawalpindi. The roads were much quieter ever since the militants started their suicide attacks in many areas of Pakistan. People were afraid to leave their house, afraid to drive on crowded roads, afraid to go and do their shopping in the markets. The atmosphere was tense, to say the least. People lived under uncertainty, fear and anxiety.
Adnan drove past the Meriot Hotel, which had been badly damaged a few years back. A militant had blown himself up with a car bomb and killed a number of people on the side. Security has increased everywhere considerably since then. There were road blocks and check points everywhere. Driving from one place to another took extra time, because you got stopped at least twice within a fifteen minute drive. Adnan was lucky to have the army stamp on his car: this meant that he was stopped only once in fifteen minutes.
Adnan drove past the Raw lake and into his neighbourhood. He wondered if his mother, who lived upstairs from them, had made his some special dinner again. They had servants doing the cooking and cleaning, but his mother insisted on helping them out.Unlike Mariam’s mother who was very proud of the fact that they could afford servants and that there was no need for them to do any housework themselves.
As Adnan parked his car, he could see that the lights were still on. Mariam and Fateha were still up.
‘Hello, I’m home,’ he shouted and walked into the front room. The two ladies were curled up on the floor by the heater. The area had had bad power and gas cuts of late. They were lucky to have heating at least once in a while.
‘Hello, salaam. How was your day?, Mariam asked as she got up from the floor.
‘It was fine. I maybe sent to the mountains in a few months. Will you be ok with Fateha and my mother when I am gone? Adnan sat down on the sofa and turned on the TV. He flicked to a news channel.
Mariam looked worried. ‘I’ll be fine. You know that. But I don’t know if you’ll be fine. The mountain area is not the safest place... Remember, we have a daughter to think about now. She wants to have fond memories of her dad.’
‘I know’, Adnan said patiently. ‘But this is how it is working for the army. They send you where they think they need you. You know that. It will only be for a couple of months’
The TV screen was showing scenes of yet another attack. A militant had struck in Karachi.
‘See, we need to protect our country and our people’, Adnan said as he faced Mariam. ‘If I protect the country, Fateha will have very fond memories of her dad.’
------------------------------------------------------------------
For more on the army business in Pakistan, see:
http://www.defencejournal.com/jul99/history-pak-army.htm
No comments:
Post a Comment