Islamabad

Is it 'Adios amigo' in Pak-US relations?

Even at the best of times, Pakistan-US relations have been marred by mistrust.

Historically, the United States has gravitated towards Pakistan when it has needed to in terms of its strategic interests. In the late 1950’s, for example, the US not only supported a military dictator (General Ayub Khan)  but also operated airbases inside Pakistan to be used against the growing military power of the Russia. 

In 1962 a U2 long range reconnaissance aircraft took off from Badaber, on the outskirts of Peshawar, for a spying mission over Russia. The plane was due to fly all the way to Norway, but was shot down by the Russians, who then triumphantly put the pilot, Gary Powers, on display to the world.

History on wheels

Just recently my team and I drove to Lahore to join the Vintage Cars Club of Pakistan's rally from the southern port city of Karachi. The cars were arriving in this historic city, once the playground of the Moghul and Sikh emperors, and were preparing for the final leg of their journey to Islamabad, the capital.

The drivers were an assortment of personalities, each with his or her own tale to tell. While most of the original owners were too old or dead, the stories and the legends left behind were etched into the minds of the connoisseurs who came from all four corners of the land.

The proud owner of a 1026 Dodge Brothers happened to be the Nawab of Tank. Registered in the name of the elder Nawab, the car still had the registration on the inside.

Life in the flood zone

If I'd been told two weeks ago that the annual monsoon rains in Pakistan would devastate so much of the country, affecting so many, I would have raised an eyebrow at the remark.

But watching the story unfold from Doha's presenter desk last Thursday, the pictures of devastating flooding in Pakistan confirmed that these were not just your regular rains; this was much bigger.

Our teams had been mobilised on Wednesday and by the time the water hit Islamabad it was clear that this was a more serious situation than any of us imagined.

I was deployed to Islamabad with a view to moving to the Swat Valley as the crisis unfolded, while my colleague Kamal Hyder was to follow the flow of the floodwaters to the Punjab.

We are talking about an area the size of the UAE, Wales or the American states of Vermont, Maine and New York combined. It's huge and every square kilometer has been affected.

Scale of diaster

The worst monsoon rains in 100 years

It's being described as the worst monsoon in living memory, and for good reason. I myself was ready to evacuate my family, even though we live in the relative safety of the capital.

Some of our neighbours saw dry river beds come to life and flow like major rivers right next door. I saw cars and belongings being washed away.

Not far away, rescue workers frantically tried to crawl through the thick Acacia trees to reach a steep slope where a passenger airliner had slammed right into a mountainside as it tried to circle before landing at Islamabad International Airport. Even though the tragedy was still fresh and the smoke still billowing out from the wreckage, another calamity was about to strike as the rain let loose a trail of destruction.

I remember sending an urgent message to the news desk that the rain was wreaking havoc, as small streams became raging rivers.

Northwest inundation