May you live in interesting times. The Chinese are a very perceptive people. The curse they defined is subtle in its enormity. It seems that this curse has been cast upon the entire world in the past few months (A Chinese angle hmmm?).
The past months, starting from the 11th of September, have been a veritable definition of what our oriental neighbors had in mind. Everyday we open our eyes to a new act in this on-going stage show. Yesterday it was the line of control, today its Calcutta. Who knows what tomorrow will bring.
With this spate of occurrences, we obviously are confronted with a spate of Inside Information. Everyone you talk to has heard from someone who got it from a reliable source high up in the army that something is about to happen. And with each new piece of information, we grow more and more apprehensive; until we reach a stage that we just don’t care anymore.
When India began to try to spread its wings right after the terrorist incident, the first thing I heard from a very reliable source was that India plan was to invade via the Thar desert region (I guess they been taught a lesson in Lahore); occupy that territory, then offer to exchange it for Kashmir.
Then someone else said that India was going to try via Kargil route again (they couldn’t be that stupid could they?) And of course we can’t forget the Israeli angle. It was being stated with absolute authority that the Mossad chief had rented a house in Delhi for a prolonged stay. I’m not sure but I had no idea that India tourism ministry was THAT imaginative.
The fact that American troops are stationed on Pakistani soil gave rise to the announcement that India would a) either not dare attack us or b) provide logistical support to the Indian army.
Then you can’t forget the political side. It is being widely proclaimed that Mrs. Bhutto was planning a return to Pakistan. The 11th of April being the exact date flaunted in all the evening dailies in Islamabad. If she comes, then the Sharif clan can’t be too far behind.
What can we believe? Our nightly PTV 9 o clock news is worthless. CNN and BBC are biased. I don’t understand Arabic, so Al-Jazeera is out. Our newspapers earn glamorous enough for us to believe a word they write. When it comes down to it, the only reliable source of information we have is the rumor mill. The question is, which rumor do we subscribe to?
