Pakistan through the Eyes of an Estonian

Recently we had as our guest a lady musician of some repute from Estonia. She had studied her music in Russian Schools and was well versed. She chose to visit Pakistan because she wanted to see first hand how people are oppressed, human rights reduced to mockery and people flogged and hanged publicly. My little daughter came across her on ORKUT and became friends. For her to see things herself, I arranged her VISA and had her fly over to Islamabad.

The first people she bumped into at the airport were the FIA Women Officers. Well dressed and curteous; their demeanour surprised her. She had lost some baggage at the Transit in Heathrow, so I took her to Shaheen Cargo. Within minutes they told her that her baggage had been traced and that she will recieve it in two days through the British Airways Flight, which she did.

She was quite surprised to see my average Pakistani home. A drawing dinning, a small lounge and three bedrooms with attached bathooms and hot water. In the evening I drove her to Daman e Koh and she was spell bound. We ate at Laziz and drove down to Jinnah Super Handicraft market. The owner of the Sindhi store is one Prakash Lal from Mithi Pakistan. I told him that the lady was our guest (ie Pakistani). He showed the best courtesy and showeed her with many pleasantaries. The entire staff took photographs with her.

Next day we moved to Lahore, my parent city. On the motorway that works with express effciency, we were challaned by a motorway Police Officer for over speeding.To her surprise, he was a turbanned sikh Pakistani Officer.

At lahore we stayed at our defence home and the local downtown of Y Bloc impressed her. We had the evening meals at the Food Street and then I took her to the old Lahore by Night. We visited Lal Khoo, Shah Alam Market and then exited to Anarkali. I took her over to Bano Bazar and then drove along the well lit Mall Road. Her next surprise was the Dam Pukht at the Pearl Continental and later drove along the main Boulevard. I even had the drummers and dancers at Liberty Square to entertain her for a few minutes, a chore joined by the goat and monkey man.

The next two days were spent in seeing some of the poor colonies and areas of Lahore in the Rickshaws. She saw beggars, street kids, Khusras and we ate street food.

A few days later she visted some of the villages including Gujranwala.

She saw openess in the Pakistani society for being the guest of a Christian, given free gifts by a Pakistani Hindu, Challaned by a Sikh Pakistani Cop, and all the colors of Lahore/Gujranwala/Rawalpindi/Islamabad/Taxila and Gadoon. She saw the creativity in colored and decorated vans, trucks and buses, diverse cuisine and beautifully laid out hosed in Defence. She saw the hospitailty of the poor in Chungi, Yohannabad, Old Lahore, Gadoon and Ghazi.
She saw compassion in the school and hostel run by me for Kashmiri oprhans, eating food at the charity Lungar in Hathi Chowk Rawalpindi, and a vist to an Islamic orphange in Lalzar.

To conclude, the lady neither saw public floggings nor gun totting terrorists. She saw all dimensions of the Pakistani society and felt excited. While leaving, she remarked that these were some of the bes days of her life.

I agree with Manto that we are on the up.