Taal Matol
Malaysia, no!
By Shoaib Hashmi
Believe it or not, I have spent the last week once again in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. No it was not out of choice, the people first threatened to take me to India, then to Sri Lanka. I yelled and screamed that I was too old to travel, and I hated travelling anyway, and had spent a week in Malaysia and didn't think much of it and didn't want to go again, so they settled for Thailand, then at the last minute they changed it to Malaysia again!

issue
Fiercest of them all
Recent incidents testify that Taliban operating from Darra Adamkhel and Swat are more intolerant and rigid in their beliefs than other groups
By Rahimullah Yusufzai
Though it is difficult to find moderates in the ranks of the Taliban, the militants operating in Darra Adamkhel who killed the kidnapped Polish engineer recently could be described as the most radical among the lot. Their actions testify to the fact that they along with the Taliban from Swat are more intolerant and rigid in their beliefs than rest of the militants.

RIPPLE EFFECT
Gem of a documentary
By Omar R. Quraishi
Finally something to do worthwhile in Karachi with the arrival of Karafilm Festival, sorely missed because its organisers weren't able to hold it last year and the year before. Given the rigours of work and other pressing commitments, I wasn't quite able to do justice to the season pass that my wife had generously gifted me. However, there were some very good films I managed to see -- and as usual, almost all of them were documentaries.

The life-long discipline to avoid the use of first person singular has to be suspended because it is not possible for me to render to Khalid Hasan his due in any other way.

As the youngest leader writer at the Pakistan Times in 1962 I had the additional responsibility of looking after the letters to the editor. Letters written with an obviously elegant fountain pen on coloured rice paper, green or pink, always commanded attention. These were pithy comments consisting of a few words each on a variety of subjects. Each letter in a word stood separately by itself and often Khalid and Hasan did not begin with a capital letter. No one who was tired of crossing the Ts and dotting the Is in epistles written in all possible versions of English could ignore these letters. They provided a good introduction to a gifted young man who liked to pick up issues wrote with clarity and purpose and apparently did not lack confidence in himself.

I did not see him before 1965 when he came to watch a film at the international festival the Pakistan Film Institute had organised, revealing an interest in cinema and film celebrities that he retained throughout his life and which inspired his intimate friendship with Zia Sarhady and A.J. Kardar, among others. That cold night he was wearing an overcoat, a reminder of his days at the Lawrence College, Ghora Gali, and the Cadet College, Hasan Abdal, where he had spent many years trying to teach English to boys who were destined to rise high in the country's armed forces. Now he was an Income Tax officer, having cleared the CSS test with high distinction.

After a few pleasant encounters he sought my advice about joining the Pakistan Times. I told him the editor would gladly welcome him because he possessed a personal style, something Khawaja Asaf considered an essential qualification for any writer.

The P.T. reporters became a livelier team after Khalid Hasan joined. He produced excellent copy, did his job quickly and cleanly. He had little patience for the routine stuff and tried to find off-beat themes -- the life and loves of Noor Jahan for instance. Soon afterwards he began writing delightful columns that were to win him acclaim far and wide later on.

One of his feats at the PT was the creation of a pro bono publico role for Sardar Sadiq, the lead political actor in the constituency stretching from the Regal Chowk to the Charing Cross on Lahore's Mall Road. In the middle of this golden furlong, as it was called, stood a small bookshop which formed the vantage point from where Khalid Hasan and his team viewed the caravan of life. Whenever a matter of public interest journalism arose, such as the cutting of trees along the Mall, a statement by Sardar Sadiq promptly appeared in the PT and he received plaudits without batting an eye and without caring to find out whose case he had pleaded.

Within a few months of his joining the PT, Khalid Hasan introduced me to Mr Bhutto at Malik Aslam Hayat's house, a few days after the PPP had been founded. He knew ZAB well but had not yet decided to throw his lot with him. He had developed friendly relations with a number of politicians and men of letters and knew the art of building associations through sparkling conversation and well-organised correspondence. His reputation as a raconteur par excellence spread and his company was sought at evening gatherings of the affluent class.

I do not remember whether Skipper Kardar introduced him to Hamid Jalal or Hamid Jalal brought him and Kardar together but, with both, Khalid Hasan developed strong bonds of friendship. He had known Faiz Sahib from his childhood days but it was probably from Hamid Jalal that he acquired his interest in probing Manto's literary masterpieces and translating him into English. He would win many laurels on this journey.

Yahya Khan was among the early admirers of his talents and chose him for a peculiar assignment – to visit the important capitals of the world, find out what they thought of Yahya and Pakistan, and suggest measures for improving their image. He realised he had some money that needed to be burnt. He and I succeeded in doing that in no time, hopping from one cellar to another and finding out where evening meals could be had in pre-dawn hours.

Mr Bhutto became the President and Khalid Hasan his Press Secretary. The two mercurial characters could not enjoy their embrace for long, especially as both liked pricking pompous pretenders' egos. Bhutto offered Khalid a posting abroad and his friends, including myself, persuaded him to opt for Paris.

In Paris, and later on in London and Vienna, Khalid Hasan managed to considerably control his impulsiveness. His writing acquired greater depth and he perfected his skills as a translator. In between, he served for a while at Altaf Gohar's Third World Quarterly and his on-again off-again relationship with the latter could not survive.

When Benazir Bhutto came to power Khalid Hasan, full of hope of becoming useful to her, returned to Islamabad but her courtiers were perhaps afraid of him. They blocked his ambition and after telling them what they were he went abroad again. Finally, he settled down in Washington and occupied himself with writing first for one Lahore daily and then for another one.

Khalid Hasan was a journalist of unusual substance and an impeccable columnist. He could not stand nonsense from anyone and this enabled him to acquire devoted friends as well as jealous rivals. He had a way of getting round the editors he worked for – K.M. Asaf, Arif Nizami and Najam Sethi – except for Razia Bhatti but then she was Razia Bhatti. He had a special relationship with editors under whom he had never served – Faiz Ahmed Faiz and Mazhar Ali Khan, the latter was admired and respected, the former was loved and revered.

Khalid Hasan's literary works are yet to receive their due. Beginning with a translation of Raja Anwar's story, he offered some brilliant translations of Manto into English, persuaded Zia Sarhady to leave a fragment of his lifestory, retrieved Faiz's script for a film on the dancing girl of Moenjo Daro, translated Inam Aziz's memoirs and rendered some of Faiz's poems into English. Considering that he never missed a chance for an evening binge and never ignored the calls of friends the amount of writing he did offers a measure of his talent, his command over both English and Urdu languages and his felicity of expression.

He was a friend of friends, a committed upholder of whatever dhara (caucus) he chose to belong to. He would go to any length to fight for a friend. He had a way of making friends and could charm even reserved personalities such as Qurratulain Hyder. Friends like Shujaullah, F.E. Chaudhry and the late Abdullah Malik could tell many stories of his generosity to friends – sending them gifts, especially books, from the other end of the world. I myself found him a wonderful host in Islamabad, London and Washington, effortlessly combining the western style of hospitality with affection-laden courtesies of the eastern culture. He expected all his friends to come up to his standards of comradeship and was hurt if they didn't. I too paid for failing to realise this and further for putting off explanations till the next meeting.

Khalid Hasan could not escape politicians but he was too individualistic to be bonded to any party. It was difficult for any politician to command his respect for long. The cause dearest to him was Kashmir and the callousness with which the matter was dealt everywhere caused him anguish. "They have given up Kashmir," was his frequent lament. He had his own views on democracy and liberalism and his lack of patience with the humbug sometimes made him sound cynical and abrasive. He loved nothing more than freedom and the iconoclast in him would not keep quiet if he found the king naked.

He will never be out of the innumerable hearts he touched during a breezy innings – magnificently played.

The inevitable was fast approaching. As days passed, even the distant hope of Roman Ehsan's recovery that some of us might have had faded into eternity. It was all too obvious that within days, if not hours, he would not be among us. All regular visitors to the Lahore Press Club (LPC) prayed for Roman in their hearts, but were hesitant to even discuss his condition with others -- as if they had already submitted to the Divine will.

Roman Ehsan, who passed away on Feb 1 at the age of 43, leaving behind a wife, three daughters and a son, easily fell among the most popular of Lahore's journalists. One rarely saw him disturbed or agitated; in fact, he would manage to make others smile even during the most testing of times. However, this was only one side of the picture. When the news of Benazir Bhutto's assassination reached the LPC, he vented out his emotions as if he had lost a close relative.

After doing his Graduation from Govt Islamia College Civil Lines in 1986, he joined daily Jang as an apprentice sub-editor the following year. When daily Musawat, a PPP spokesperson newspaper, re-opened after Gen Zia-ul-Haq's death in a plane crash on August 17, 1988, he was among the first ones to join it.

Before the October 1990 general elections, Roman re-joined daily Jang as a sub-editor. Soon, he was transferred to the reporting section, where he got a chance to work with the likes of Anjum Rashid and Hamid Mir. For the next decade or so, he worked as a special correspondent for the newspaper with the PPP as his beat. In this capacity, he cultivated close relations with the party's top leadership, but never sought any personal favours. After the launching of Geo TV, Roman was among the first ones to join the channel. In 2008, he joined Dunya TV as bureau chief, but luck did not allow him time to oversee the channel's launch.

Roman Ehsan's close friends remember him as an excellent team player. "He remained positive even in the most adverse of situations. When we started our careers, our salaries were barely enough to meet the expenses. During this period of adversity, he helped us develop the habit of sharing with and caring for others," says Rana Farid, a close friend of Roman who now works as news editor with a leading Urdu daily.

Coupled with his gracious nature and pleasant behaviour, team spirit made Roman a popular figure among journalists of Lahore. No wonder, he was elected as president of the Punjab Union of Journalists (PUJ) in 1994. The same year, he was also elected as a member of the LPC's governing body. However, designations hardly mattered for someone as well-liked and well-respected as Roman, who was known for adopting ideological stances on issues.

The scribe was witness to at least one such incident. When Bryan D Hunt, principal officer of the US Consulate, Lahore, assumed charge of his office about three years ago, he invited journalists to his place for discussion over hi-tea. Roman was the only one to dare disagree with the American official; he contested Hunt's argument that all Pakistani political parties have rigged elections or have benefited from this practice. Having worked closely with PPP, his beat, Roman argued that the party had been the victim of rigging by the establishment in all general elections since 1988. It is important to remember that the PPP was in opposition at the time and most of the journalists present on the occasion hailed from then-Punjab chief minister Pervaiz Elahi's 'chopper group'.

Roman had brain hemorrhage on Dec 28. Rana Farid tells TNS that he was unusually unhappy and angry a day before that – the occasion of Benazir Bhutto's first death anniversary. Despite best of efforts to save him and the formation of many medical boards, his brain never showed any signs of recovery. His condition was so bad that many TV and radio channels aired the news of his death a week before he actually passed away. Throughout this period, the atmosphere of the LPC remained tense and gloomy, as everyone missed Roman's company and prayed in vain for his health. In a way, the announcement of Roman's death took his fellow journalists out of a state of shock, but only briefly!

Believe it or not, I have spent the last week once again in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. No it was not out of choice, the people first threatened to take me to India, then to Sri Lanka. I yelled and screamed that I was too old to travel, and I hated travelling anyway, and had spent a week in Malaysia and didn't think much of it and didn't want to go again, so they settled for Thailand, then at the last minute they changed it to Malaysia again!

I've come back with the same impression, the place names are totally unfamiliar and so is the language, except that I was able to get acquainted with three places namely Putrajaya, and Cyberjaya of which the second has something to do with computers, and the Jaya part has something to do with place. And then there is the Petronas Towers, the tallest building in the world which is why they were able to tempt Sean Connery and Catharine Zeta-Jones to make a film there. And this time I went and came back via Bangkok. I might as well have gone on foot. Bangkok must be the longest airport building on earth, three sides of a large quadrangle, and the plane lets you down at one end, and they put you in buses and drive you all the way round to the other end; then they make you walk all the way back the three sides, past endless Duty Free shops. Good thing is they have, at every floor, little 'Smoking Rooms' full of smokers puffing away. I mention it because this must be one of the very few places where the smoking rooms have been left alone. The ones at Abu Dhabi airport and at Manchester have all been closed down as have all at New York and London. The whole world is becoming claustrophobic enemy country for us smokers and we are the latest endangered species! The hand, and mouth of every man is against us, but I haven't heard the cigarette makers complaining so there must be as many of us as ever. Phooey!I was in New York the night they stopped smoking in all the bars at midnight. As midnight rolled round I thought I would be polite and asked the bargirl whether I should go out into the street if I wanted to continue smoking. She just looked at me and said nothing. So I pointed to a bunch of men sitting at a table who seemed to be smoking away happily. "They had the good sense not to ask me, you silly oriental git"! Touche! She walked away and we have been friends ever since, only I do my smoking on the curb, as the Yanks say!

Though it is difficult to find moderates in the ranks of the Taliban, the militants operating in Darra Adamkhel who killed the kidnapped Polish engineer recently could be described as the most radical among the lot. Their actions testify to the fact that they along with the Taliban from Swat are more intolerant and rigid in their beliefs than rest of the militants.

This isn't the first time that the Taliban from the gun-manufacturing town of Darra Adamkhel have committed such a brutal act. If they are to be believed, the recent bombing of a Shia religious gathering in Dera Ghazi Khan in which 32 people were killed was also organised by them. Their spokesman, Mohammad, had phoned reporters to claim responsibility for that attack. There is no apparent way to verify the claim. Dera Ghazi Khan in Punjab is far away from the area of operation of the Darra-based Taliban in the NWFP but it is possible they executed the attack with the cooperation of jehadis belonging to southern Punjab. Or the attack could have been carried out by a jehadi group aligned with the Baitullah Mahsud-led Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which is the umbrella organisation for the Darra Adamkhel chapter and other Taliban groups in the NWFP.

In the past also, the Darra militants specifically targeted Shias travelling between Peshawar and places in southern NWFP via Darra Adamkhel. They would look out for soldiers and Shias while searching vehicles plying on the road passing Darra and drag out those who appeared suspicious. For some time the strategic Kohat Tunnel, built by Japanese engineers, was in control of the militants and they would search vehicles at its entrance from the Darra side.

Like the Darra Taliban, there are other Sunni extremists in the militants' ranks who consider the Shias a legitimate target. Qari Hussain, a Taliban commander from South Waziristan loyal to Baitullah Mahsud and known as a trainer of suicide bombers, is also intolerant of Shias. He is referred to as the Ustad-i-Fidayeen, or teacher of the Fidayeen, the name used by the militants to describe the suicide bombers, and he doesn't hesitate to send a bomber or two to attack members of the rival sect. One or two Shia soldiers taken prisoner by Taliban in South Waziristan were executed some time back while most Sunni prisoners were spared and eventually freed as part of a deal with the government.

The Taliban from Darra seem to be extending their area of operations in a bid to spread their influence. They once claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing against security forces in Mardan. They have carried out attacks in other places also but Peshawar and Kohat, the two districts adjoining Darra Adamkhel, remain their biggest targets. In fact, for the Darra Taliban the Peshawar and Kohat cities are part of their patch because their group among all other Taliban militants operates closest to the two places. The authorities often suspect the hand of the militants from Darra in some of the suicide bombings and bomb explosions in Peshawar and Kohat. The Taliban from Darra were also blamed for the blowing up of the big electricity pylons linked to the Shaikh Mohammadi grid-station outside Peshawar twice last summer. Those bombings were meant to disrupt power supply to Peshawar and some other cities and towns and paralyse life in the Frontier metropolis. The militants nearly achieved this objective as Peshawar received intermittent supply of inadequate electricity for several days.

As a result of an intense military operation in Darra Adamkhel last year in which gunship helicopters were used, the militants were dislodged from places such as the Kohat Tunnel and the road was opened to traffic. The road, busy and vital for transportation of people and goods between major regions of NWFP and beyond up to Karachi, had remained under Taliban control for weeks and was closed to traffic much to the embarrassment of the government. Despite losing control over the Kohat Tunnel and parts of Darra Adamkhel, the militants were able to preserve most of their strength while relocating to the adjacent Orakzai tribal agency and other hideouts. Still able to strike in parts of Darra Adamkhel, they often attack the security posts near the Kohat Tunnel and at the Kotal Pass, both serving as links between Kohat and Darra Adamkhel, with rockets and other weapons. The Taliban threat in and around Darra Adamkhel hasn't fully gone away.

The first suicide attack against a jirga of tribal elders and clerics took place in Darra Adamkhel. This also shows their violent nature as jirgas were sacrosanct institutions in the Pashtun society and one couldn't imagine a jirga attended by elders of the tribe and Ulema being bombed. But the Darra Taliban broke the taboo killing scores of people and showing the way to other militants to include bombing of jirgas in their strategies aimed at creating fear among tribal elders and clergymen wanting to mobilise the tribesmen against the Taliban at the behest of the government. Subsequently, suicide bombers attacked tribal jirgas in Bajaur and Orakzai agencies, killing more than 100 people and causing injuries to many more.

Though the group of Darra Taliban is part of the TTP, it appears to enjoy autonomy in decision-making and in planning and executing attacks against the security forces and other targets. Mohammad Tariq Afridi is the top Taliban commander for Darra Adamkhel and Mufti Ilyas is his deputy. Another important commander is Hamza while someone who goes by the name of Mohammad and phones journalists to pass on information is the group's spokesman. Some commanders of Darra Taliban died fighting the security forces.

During the military operation, the security forces demolished the houses of a number of Taliban commanders and members. This further provoked the militants who were already on a mission of revenge. Apart from security forces, they have targeted tribesmen opposed to them and forced others to accept their edicts. The militants initially had won the respect and support of the tribal people in Darra Adamkhel by taking on the powerful gangs of drug-traffickers, kidnappers, car-lifters and other criminals. Some of the gang members were eliminated and others were forced to give up their business or leave the area.

The kidnapping of the Polish engineer Peter Stanczak by the Darra Taliban from Attock district in Punjab last September was one more operation that they executed outside their known sphere of influence. The militants killed Mr Stanczak's driver Inayatullah and security guard Mohammad Saleem along with the Polish firm's public relations officer Mohammad Riaz at the time of the kidnapping. It was a well-planned and executed operation as the militants knew about Mr Stanczak's movements while working for the Polish firm carrying out a seismic survey for oil and gas in Pind Sultani in Jand district of Attock. The militants wanted to exchange the Polish engineer for 60 of their men in government custody. Later, they demanded release of four men only but the government refused to oblige them as the militants whose freedom was demanded were reportedly high profile and releasing them would have embarrassed Islamabad and alarmed the US and other Western countries. The militants reportedly declined to take ransom money and instead insisted on release of the four men held by the government. The jirga of tribal elders that was negotiating with the Darra Taliban in Orakzai Agency kept trying until the end and managed to seek a two-day extension of the deadline that the militants had given. But the negotiations failed and the militants executed Mr Stanczak in keeping with their threat to do so if their demands weren't met.

This was the first time that a foreigner kidnapped by the militants was killed. The government and the armed forces would now be under pressure to initiate another, better targeted military operation against the Taliban from Darra Adamkhel. Otherwise, the impression about the government being helpless before the militants would be reinforced. The Darra Taliban on their part showed that they mean business and could be ruthless in the pursuit of their objective. Determined to have their way, they weren't bothered that the killing of the Polish engineer would affect relations between Pakistan and Poland, generate negative feelings among Polish people about Pakistanis, particularly the Taliban, and Muslims, and scare away foreign investors and foreigners living in Pakistan.

The Islamabad High Court has declared Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan a "free citizen". The decision was made after Dr Qadeer's petition last year challenging his detention. In the course of its proceedings, the court was informed of the ongoing negotiations to reach an out-of-court agreement between the government and the scientist. The release is probably the outcome of this secret agreement whose details had been officially kept secret. The court has also barred the public disclosure of the 'secret agreement' attached with the judgment. It is speculated that the agreement allows 'limited freedom' to 73 years old Dr A Q Khan.

But the decision has rung alarm bells in the Western capitals. "In the moments we are living, with the problems of proliferation, it's not a good sign…" said the European Union foreign policy Chief Javier Solana. The White House spokesman said that President Barack Obama wants assurances from Islamabad that the scientist behind Pakistan's nuclear weapons programme will not be involved in nuclear proliferation. Pakistan's government reportedly acknowledged the request.

The New York Times quoted a Pakistan government official as saying that President Asif Ali Zardari has sought to assure the United States that A Q Khan is still restricted in his movement and his activities are being closely monitored. Moreover, he is barred from foreign travel, making financial transactions and can be visited only by an approved list of acquaintances and family members.

Dr Khan was put under house arrest in 2004 after he confessed on television to having sent nuclear secrets to Iran, Libya and North Korea and sought the nation's forgiveness.

Though pardoned by the president, he was put under house arrest. Only after the inception of the new government in April last year, his house detention was relaxed allowing him to meet friends and speaking to the media. Khan, 72, was diagnosed prostate cancer in 2006 for which he was operated upon. Later there were reports about him suffering from deep vein thrombosis. In July 2008, he retracted his remarks alleging he was forced by the then president Pervez Musharraf to make the statement.

Director-General Strategic Plans Division (SPD) Lt Gen (retd) Khalid Kidwai alleged that Dr Qadeer's statement was not true. He said the pardon was based on two conditions. First, the scientist would not commit any breach of national security. Second, if any other evidence or country emerges in this case, the granted pardon would be reviewed. Kidwai said that Dr Khan's accusations -- that he was forced to tender a public apology as a result of a deal to take all the blame -- are far from truth. "I would like to categorically say it is absolutely false." He said they had evidence about Qadeer's network dismantled more than four years ago and "we can produce it in camera at any level -- court, parliamentary committee, tribunal or any group of people." Kidwai said a dozen centrifuges, used for enriching uranium, were sent to North Korea by Qadeer's network in the year 2000 while one was sent several years earlier.

The government (Musharraf or present?) has been maintaining all along that Dr Qadeer spearheaded an international proliferation network which had supplied centrifuges and other equipment to these countries. A source privy to these developments confided to TNS that keeping Dr Qadeer under detention has been a difficult task especially at a time when he has been pardoned and there is no law which can implicate him for unauthorised nuclear proliferation. It was only after this episode in 2004 that an export control act was enacted in the country.

UN Security Council resolution 1540 of 2004 called upon the member states that they should "take and enforce effective measures to establish domestic controls to prevent the proliferation of nuclear, chemical, or biological weapons and their means of delivery, including by establishing appropriate controls over related material." The only law that was applied in Dr Qadeer's case is that of Security Act which can be invoked against a person any time in his lifetime who is exposed to classified information. Khan has already spent five years under house detention, the maximum punishment one can get under new legislation.

Following the UN 1540 resolution, in September 2004, a fresh comprehensive Export Control Act was enacted. This act provides for "controls on export, re-export, transshipment, transit of goods, technologies, material and equipment related to nuclear and biological weapons and their means of delivery. On conviction by the court of law an offender can be punished with imprisonment for a term of up to fourteen years, or with a fine up to rupees five million, or both, and or confiscation of the offender's property and assets inside or outside Pakistan."

To ensure effective implementation of the legal framework, the Strategic Export Control Division (SECDIV) has been put in place. This division is functioning under Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In addition, an Oversight Board has also been notified to monitor the implementation of the export control mechanism. Only time will tell if these measures would be enough to convince the western powers of the official sincerity to implement UN resolution in letter and spirit.

Finally something to do worthwhile in Karachi with the arrival of Karafilm Festival, sorely missed because its organisers weren't able to hold it last year and the year before. Given the rigours of work and other pressing commitments, I wasn't quite able to do justice to the season pass that my wife had generously gifted me. However, there were some very good films I managed to see -- and as usual, almost all of them were documentaries.

The first one was a production for BBC Earth called Snow Leopard: Beyond the myth. It ran for 48 minutes and its production date is 2008 though much of the filming was done in 2005 because one of its protagonists, Nisar Malik, took time off from the filming to lead a for relief work after the October 2005 earthquake. The film chronicles Malik, who led the expedition, and British photographer Mark Smith's journey to Chitral (mistakenly mentioned at the beginning of the documentary of being located on the edge of the Himalayas. This is not true since the western edge of the Himalayas in Pakistan is the Nanga Parbat massif much further to the southeast) to film the legendary snow leopard.

Avid mountaineers and trekkers would surely know that the snow leopard, along with some other animals like the famed Marco Polo sheep (with its awe-inspiring horns), is a living legend in its own right and can be found, though in dwindling numbers, across the Hindu Kush, Karakoram, Pamirs of Central Asia and Afghanistan and parts of the Himalayas. The expedition managed to find a female snow leopard along with a cub close to a road leading from Chitral and filmed it for much of that winter. However, once the snows melted away, they lost sight of the two for several months. They then tried their luck in some high-altitude pastures in the district. Here all they could find was a family of marmots. This part also made for some comic relief in the documentary, thanks to Mark Smith's jokes on the lack of mobility and general laziness of that particular marmot family.

The filming was followed by a question and answer session. A couple of good questions were asked. One came from a foreigner who asked Nisar Malik why the government of Pakistan or even a private sector Pakistani entity did not get involved in this project, which could be a good chance to promote Pakistan's positive image internationally. Something like this would also clear away Pakistan's popular image as a country overrun by bearded marauders beheading European engineers and blowing up girls' schools. Nisar replied -- and quite understandably so -- with some bitterness and told the questioner that this was a question that would be better answered by Pakistanis who are in some position of authority. When asked if the documentary would be released in Pakistan he said it would be aired on the Indian Discovery channel (dubbed in Hindi) because no Pakistani channel had shown any interest. It is disturbing because it was one of the best documentaries that I have ever seen and I have seen quite a few. Also, what could be more positive than an excellently made documentary on an animal found in Pakistan which is a source of much awe, legend and imagination in the whole of the world.

During the Q & A session, Nisar Malik also said something along the lines that he did not believe everything he said in the film. A pity that no one asked him what exactly these 'things' were. He said that Sir David Attenborough's -- the documentary's narrator -- had done more or less a voice-over and had not in fact accompanied the team to Chitral.

If Sherry Rehman is reading this, or if someone in her ministry is for that matter, they should give this documentary a close look -- dub it into Urdu and show it on PTV -- so that Pakistanis can know something worthwhile about their own country. If PTV is not interested, some of the private channels should consider it. And if they are wondering about corporate interest, it can be marketed in a manner that such interest could be generated.

For those interesting in the film, the available option is Internet. It can be found in six parts on the following link: www.youtube.com/watch?v=jKm7Dmpt6Us. And those who know about downloading shows through P2P (peer-to-peer) sites -- popularly known as torrents -- they can try downloading the torrent for the documentary at www.mininova.org/tor/1848821

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The appointment of Sir Sherard Cowper-Coles as Britain's special envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan reminded me of the time when I read his name in a list of MI6 officers leaked on the Internet by a former British intelligence officer. Just to be sure, I went back to the link http://cryptome.info/mi6-list2.htm and found that Sir Sherard indeed was listed as an MI6 officer. The full entry, along with date and location of postings is as follows: Sherard Louis Cowper-Coles: dob 1955; 80 Cairo, 87 Washington, 97 Paris, 01 Tel Aviv, 03 Riyadh. In Tel Aviv and Riyadh, Sir Sherard served as Britain's ambassador. The list was not so recent because it did not include his time as British ambassador to Pakistan. Interestingly enough, the same site also listed the current British high commissioner to Pakistan, Robert Brinkley, as one of Her Majesty's ambassadors who happens to be a MI6 officer.