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issue crime The way we
were karachicharacter
Was MNA Ali Akbar Wain's suggestion to lift the ban on alcohol an absolute shot in the dark or did it actually have some merit? Kolachi investigates the booze and drug culture in Karachi to find out... By Shahid Husain Treasury member Ali Akbar Wains made headlines last month when he suggested in the National Assembly of Pakistan that the government should relax the ban on alcohol to wean young men and women from addiction to deadly drugs like heroin and morphine. "In my personal
opinion, the government should relax the ban on liquor to arrest the rising
trend of the use of drugs like heroin, morphine and hashish among the youth
of the country. Most drug addicts are It may be recalled that the government of Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto imposed a ban on liquor in April 1977 in order to woo the reactionary mullahs, dominating the Pakistan National Alliance (PNA) that spearheaded a massive movement to oust Bhutto. However, he failed to appease them and these fundamentalist elements later played a vital role in brutalizing an otherwise peaceful Pakistani society under the umbrella of Pakistan's worst military dictator General Ziaul Haq who toppled an elected civilian government in July 1977 and continued to rule the country for 11 long years through coercion and demagogy until he perished in an air crash in August 1988. Prior to previous Afghan War, the word heroin was almost unknown in Pakistan though a small segment of the population did indulge in drinking alcohol or smoking hashish. As far as opium is concerned, it was being used by people in this part of the world as elsewhere since ages. "The heroin boom was
so large and uncontrolled that drug abuse swept Pakistan itself in the early
1980s, leaving it with one of the world's largest addict populations. In the
late 1970s Pakistan did not have a "Drug addiction rose to 5,000 users in 1980, to 70,000 in 1983, and then, in the words of Pakistan's Narcotics Control Board, went 'completely out of hand,' exploding to more than 1.3 million addicts in less than three years," writes Alfred W McCoy, professor of Southeast Asian history at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in his remarkable book The Politics of Heroin - CIA Complicity In The Global Drug Trade. How badly the drug boom affected the downtrodden in Pakistan can be gauged from the fact that the Lyari Town in Karachi that provided refuge to Baloch, Muhajirs, Punjabis, Sindhis, Kashmiris, Seraikis, Pushtoons, Memons, Bohras and Ismaelis who lived there amicably without any sectarian or communal strife and played a vital role in Pakistan politics besides being a symbol of a vibrant culture was transformed into a drug heaven within a few years after General Zia took hold of the reins of power. In the 1968-1969 democratic upsurge in Pakistan that ousted military dictator General Ayub Khan, the people of Lyari, especially its youth, under the leadership of Baloch Students Organization (BSO), played a vital role. Earlier too, Lyarites were known for their political consciousness and their loving nature but the ugly intrusion of drug mafia after General Zia usurped power brought about a metamorphosis in their midst. No wonder that today gangsters rule the roost in Lyari since drugs and weapons always go hand in hand. Lyari is merely one of the
localities in Pakistan where drug and arms culture made a heavy print. In
fact one can find the footprint of drug mafia in every nook and corner of
the country. The gravity of the situation today can be gauged from the fact
that there are over four million drug addicts in Pakistan, Perhaps one of the reasons of excessive use of drugs in Pakistan is due to the heightened sense of alienation among the youth. Unemployment, a bleak future, inflation, rampant violence, consumerism and lack of recreational activities seem to have acted as a catalyst for this alienation. It seems that the Pakistani youth today are passing through the phase of "burning out" that manifested itself in France, Germany and several other European countries in the late 1960s. Drugs provide refuge to the people, especially the youth, who have been denied the right to express in Pakistan for decades. The ban on student unions during the Zia era, followed by an almost eclipse of debating, cultural and literary societies in schools and colleges also played an important role in alienating the youth. Though there is a difference of opinion on the issue, there is a feeling that a ban on liquor was imposed in Pakistan just to pave the way for heroin that later filled the coffers of Pakistani ruling junta. There is also speculation that if hashish is legalized as in several other countries, it will curb the use of heroin. Asked if hashish is
relatively less injurious and can curtail the use of heroin if it is
legalized, Dr. Syed Ali Wasif, a senior psychiatrist in Karachi tells
Kolachi: "There is increasing evidence of drug-induced M.P. Bhandara, member National Assembly and proprietor of Murree Brewery agrees. "Heroin abuse is a global phenomenon. It is widely used even in those countries where there is no prohibition such as the United States and India," he tells Kolachi. He says the legal market of liquor, in sharp contrast to the general perception, is quite small. "The legal market of liquor in Pakistan is not more than 400,000 cases per annum though smuggled whiskey and other hard drinks are easily available. But I have no idea about the size of the illegal market," he says. He dismissed the impression that the government was poised to lift the ban on liquor but he believes that not doing so is counter productive. "Punjab's population is more than the population of the United Kingdom but there are only eight outlets of liquor there as compared to 30 in Karachi. I believe that there should be outlets in all major cities," he says. He regrets that though the rich have easy access to foreign-made whiskey, the poor have been condemned to drink illicit liquor called 'chirri' that is poisonous. It is manufactured out of spirit used in furniture industry and is deliberately poisoned so that it may not be used for drinking but sadly enough 'chirri' or 'tharra' is made up from industrial spirit after mixing it with some whiskey, he explains. "No wonder that 100-150 people die ever year after drinking this stuff on Eid," he points out. "There is no outlet in North West Frontier Province but strangely enough there are several outlets in Balochistan and the MMA do not make objections there. We are only demanding that there should be more outlets in the Punjab just as they are in Karachi. I commend the Sindh government. It's a sensible move. They have done away with the permit system." The government of General Pervez Musharraf that eschews the policy of "enlightened moderation" should come up with a clear cut policy on alcohol to shun the hypocrisy prevailing in our midst since long because banned items are available in every nook and corner of the country, making us a laughing stock in the comity of nations.
crime Kidnapping, extortion, and now murders are common crimes perpetrated against Hindus in Sindh. Recent murder of a young trader by religious extremists is causing great unrest among the largest minority group in the province. Kolachi reports... By Amar Guriro The brutal murder of Engineer Garesh Kumar, a young trader from Kunri district Umerkot, has spread panic among Sindh's religious minorities. Police found his decayed remains from a religious school in Kotri on February 8, 2007 after a raid on a local Madrassah in Kotri district Jamshoro. Garesh Kumar was kidnapped from the Market Police Station area of Hyderabad a year and a half ago on August 17, 2005. A case was registered with the police a month later in September when the family failed to locate him. After his remains were
identified, police arrested six people belonging to the outlawed Jihadi
outfit Harkat-ul-Mujahideen (HuM) and some other religious organizations but
yet the real reason behind the A majority of the over two million Pakistani Hindus lives and works in Sindh. Many of them are involved in trade. Kumar also belonged to a well-known Hindu business family. "Initially we thought he was kidnapped for ransom but no demands were made after the kidnapping last August and we got suspicious of other motives behind the crime," said the officer. While the provincial government claims that the law and order situation is under control the number of senseless murders throughout the province especially involving minorities has increased alarmingly. Garesh Kumar was not the only Hindu who was brutally murdered in recent years. There are more cases like his. Just two months ago another Hindu trader, Mukesh Kumar, was murdered in district Khairpur. He was kidnapped for ransom along with three others. Local residents belonging to the Hindu community took to the streets and held protests. They burnt tires, blocked traffic on main National Highway and demanded immediate arrest of Mukesh Kumar's killers and the immediate release of their relatives, who were kidnapped for ransom along with him. However, so far the police and the concerned authorities have failed to arrest the killer or recover the other three. Hindu traders are routinely kidnapped in interior Sindh for ransom, particularly in the upper northern districts of Sindh. Such cases of kidnapping for ransom and murders of Hindus are deeply unsettling the community that already feels marginalized. The volume of torture against minorities specially Hindus in Sindh could be gauged by the fact that more than 60 percent of protest demonstrations, hunger strikes and sit-ins at Hyderabad Press Club, famous for being a Hyde Park for those who seek justice, are made by minority communities specially Hindus. Tariq Leghari, a young
journalist from Dadu confirms intense religious discrimination against
Hindus, "Hindus The case of Chetan Kumar and Gordhan Mal alias GM Bhagat of Umerkot is another one that has not been solved. These two are missing since a couple of years now and no one knows their whereabouts. They are just another addition to the 'missing persons' list. Last month when Hindus of the northern Districts of Sindh were mourning the murder of Mukesh Kumar, a UC Nazim along with his henchmen forcefully entered the house of Sajan, a peasant belonging to the Menghwar caste of Hindus of UC Hathongo, Taluka Khipro District Sanghar and severely tortured his family members including his wife and daughters. Several Hindu villagers from Hathongo staged a protest demonstration against the UC Nazim and Khipro police but to no avail. The protesters staged a sit-in and blocked traffic for two hours. Sajan Menghwar and Photo Menghawar led the protest against the UC Nazim Hathongo Muhammad Yousaf Khan. Talking to newsmen Sajan Menghwar said that on August 15, when the nation had just finished celebrating the Independence Day, UC Nazim along with his armed men entered his home and manhandled his wife and daughters. When he attempted to register a case against the attackers, Khipro police denied to lodge the FIR saying the UC Nazim is so powerful that he would create problems for the local police officers. Such events are not only discouraging religious minorities throughout the province, but also speak volumes about the uncertain law and order situation that exists in the province, despite contrary claims by the provincial government. Local people of both the vicinities are terrified to even openly speak about the real causes of such incidents. Investigations reveal that a powerful syndicate of bandits and their patrons in the northern districts of Sindh regularly kidnap rich Hindus for ransom. They not only kill the hostages if the ransom isn't paid on time, but also kill the abductees despite their ransom being paid. While in lower Sindh, large numbers of Hindu families live and work as farmers mostly bonded labour, threatened by influential landlords. Not only this but Hindus in some areas of Sindh have to pay money to survive. "Many Hindus pay regular sums as Bhatta to different groups of extortionist merely in order to be allowed to live in peace," said Fiza Rajper, an NGO worker of District Nuesheroferoze. She said that Dewan (Hindu) Wholesalers, a wholesale shop of grocery in Nawabshah, belonging to a local Hindu trader, was torched a couple of months ago when he refused to cough up the sum demanded by activists of a political party. Razzak Abro, another journalist, holds the state and the media responsible. "Islam as well as the constitution of Pakistan fully protects the basic rights of religious minorities and it is the duty of the state to protect the rights of these minorities but as usual federal or provincial government does nothing in this regard," Abro said. He also blamed civil society and media for not taking any interest in this regard. "Many of us remain unaware of such cases as the so-called national media or the mainstream media doesn't give these cases due importance. That's why most people don't even get to know about the real plight of these religious minorities," he comments. Kidnapping for ransom is a big challenge for the provincial government especially if it is targeted at a minority community. In many cities and towns or even in some villages in northern districts of Sindh Hindu merchants still control the wholesale trade of the area. Any attack on any trader belonging to any religion itself does not augment well for the promotion of business activities anywhere; but in this case the authorities concerned must ensure that the killers of Mukesh Kumar are apprehended because the Hindu trading community in upper Sindh is an integral part of business promotion in a part of the province where genuine business opportunities themselves are limited. It is vital that Hindu traders do not feel threatened or mistreated in any way, otherwise this would be extremely harmful to the economy of upper Sindh. Before the government tries to persuade foreign investors to come and invest in Northern Sindh rich in natural resources, they must first ensure the safety of the local trading community who in many ways play a crucial role in the local areas.
The
way we were
In a wonderful poem titled "Thinking of Mohenjodaro" published in the mid-1970s, the great Pakistani poet Taufiq Rafat wrote: "Thinking of Mohenjodaro, Alexandria and Rome, / I note how time curves like an acrobat upon itself... The poem ends with these lines: "This year's harvest is late. The archaic sun / Has been playing like a poem on the farmer's nerves. / The ink dries slowly on the half-written page. / Who will read this? /Stranger, the crumbling fort you pass / Is your home." I am reminded of Taufiq's haunting words whenever I think of Mohenhodaro in the context of its links to the architecture of other ancient civilisations, such as the civilisation of ancient Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq), which existed at roughly the same time as the Indus Valley civilisation, of which Mohenjodaro is perhaps the most important archaeological site. Architecture began as a response to the need to seek shelter from the elements and from wild beasts. The earliest shelters were caves - but even here the occupants claimed their territory: 40,000 years ago the Australian Aborigines decorated the interiors of their cave-dwellings with the oldest known expressions of art, and over 20,000 years later the people of Lascaux in present-day France ornamented their cave walls with amazingly sophisticated representations of their environment. Building techniques emerged many years later still, as a nomadic hunter-gatherer lifestyle gave way to a settled way of life based on agriculture. Structural methods were essentially determined by the limits of building technology, the availability of materials, and regional conditions. In forested areas builders used timber; in rocky landscapes they used stone. Sometimes early builders cut directly into the solid rock of cliff face, as in the 13th century BC temple of Ramses at Abu Simbel in Egypt and the first century AD treasury at Petra in Jordan. In places where there was neither timber nor rock, human ingenuity devised mud brick - molded blocks of sun-baked earth, the oldest manufactured building material that is still used widely today. The roofs of Catalhoyuk, a Bronze Age settlement in Turkey from about 7000 BC, are of mud brick, as are the structures in Mohenjodaro and Harappa (circa 3000 BC) and the core of the great ziggurat at Ur (circa 2000 BC). Post-and-beam, the earliest structural method, is still widely used today. A horizontal beam carries the weight of the floor above it and is supported by vertical posts. The Palace at Knossos (16th century BC) has masonry walls serving as posts, and timber beams; about 3,000 years later, China's Forbidden City, Japan's Castle of the White Heron, and Shakespeare's Globe Theatre in London employed timber posts and beams. Where permanence was important, early builders preferred stone. The elements could be rough-hewn and unornamented like those of Stonehenge (circa 2700 BC), or perfectly proportioned and exquisitely carved, like those of the Parthenon, built over 2,000 years later. But stone beams could not provide large spans between supports, which severely limited the enclosure of space, so the second important structural innovation was the arch, which can span considerable distances. Tapered blocks of stone, called voussoirs, are supported on a timber framework until the keystone is dropped into the crown of the arch. The keystone locks the structure into place and the formwork can be removed. In the 1st century BC and the 1st century AD the Romans used this technique to build the Pons Fabricius and the ceremonial Arch of Titus in Rome, and the aqueduct in France now known as the Pont du Gard. Public power, the rule of whole societies, has its origins in religious worship. Many ancient kings were also priests whose source of power resided in secret knowledge; people believed that such rulers could read the skies and predict the seasons, and could intercede with the gods on behalf of mortals. Thus the earliest examples of centres of power are always sacred sites, such as Stonehenge in Britain or the ziggurats of Mesopotamia - today's Iraq. More than 5,000 years ago, the fertile plain between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers was the site of some extraordinary and critically important developments in human history: the invention of writing and the wheel, the beginnings of law, medicine, astronomy and architecture, and the first urban centres, which emerged at about the same time as the urban centres of the Indus Valley civilisation. According to some archaeologists, there is evidence to suggest that there was trade, or at least contact of some sort, between the people of Mesopotamia and the people of the Indus Valley civilisation. Iraq has been called the cradle of civilisation. This civilisation was the work of the Sumerians of ancient Mesopotamia, and the impressive remnants of their city states can still be found in modern-day Iraq. Perhaps one of the best preserved structures still left from this first urban civilisation is the partially restored great ziggurat of the ancient city of Ur.A temple to the moon god, Nanna, it was built between 2125 and 2025 BC by King Ur-Nammu, a reformer, law-maker and architect. Each city had many temples, but that dedicated to the protective god of the city was the most important. Along with the surrounding temples and palaces, it was the spiritual, economic, administrative and political centre of the city. The "Guide to the World's Greatest Buildings: Masterpieces of Architecture and Engineering" tells us that in earlier times, the principal temple had been set on a platform approached by a monumental ramp. Over time, the number of platforms increased, and the resulting stepped towers became known as ziggurats, or "holy mountains." Ziggurats, recalling the biblical story of the Tower of Babel, are found throughout Iraq. The great ziggurat at Ur had three platforms. Though only the first platform remains today, it is still an impressive structure. It was about 70 feet high, on a rectangular base of about 200 by 150 feet. Three huge staircases led worshippers up to a great landing, from which further steps took the privileged few - including the king, who was also a priest and the intermediary between the Sumerians and their innumerable gods - to the shrine above. According to the Guide to the World's Greatest Buildings, this was the focal point of the entire structure, where banquets would be set out for Nanna and offerings of human sacrifice made. The shrine's design, however, is speculative because it no longer exists; the proposed reconstruction of the three supporting platforms made by Sir Leonard Woolley, the English archaeologist who excavated the ziggurat in the 1920s, is more reliably based on existing evidence. Unlike the great monuments of Egypt, the great ziggurat at Ur and all the other ziggurats were built not by slaves but by Sumerian farmers, working during the months between the planting and harvest seasons. The core of the enormous pile was constructed by heaping up millions of mud bricks, the most common building material in a land without substantial supplies of timber or stone. It was then covered in millions of glazed terracotta tiles, which would have made the ziggurat seem to glow in rich, deep colours. As the Guide to the World's Greatest Buildings tells us, the ziggurat and surrounding major public buildings formed the sacred precinct of Ur and were enclosed by a double wall. Just outside was a great mausoleum, known as the Royal Cemetery of Ur; in its 1,840 burial chambers were found fantastically rich grave goods (weapons and vessels in gold and silver, and objects inlaid with lapis lazuli and shell) and the remains of sacrificed retainers. Beyond the double wall lay the main residential areas and the two harbours of Ur, which provided access for shipping on the Euphrates. Like all Sumerian cities on the vast alluvial plain of Mesopotamia, which was prone to frequent flooding, the entire city was raised on a high earthen mound and enclosed by a heavily fortified wall to protect it from invasion. The wall and much of the city have disappeared, the landscape and even the course of the river have changed, but enough remains of the huge ziggurat of Ur to make it the characteristic building of Mesopotamian civilisation.
karachicharacter
One's heart throbs with
excitement When the bright silver-red Santa Fe and the black-golden Northern
Pacific trains, whistling stridently and shunting vigorously, reach their
stations. The beauty of these antique trains captivates everyone but as much
as you might want to sit in them, you can't - not because it is too
expensive but because these are toy trains. Toy trains are a serious hobby
and
Kolachi: When did you buy them? Khalid: My father bought them some five years before partition in Calcutta, India. One of his British friends had a collection of toy trains. My father liked them so much that he immediately contacted the manufacturers of the trains, the Lionel Company in America and imported them. Afterwards in 1958 he imported some more sets from the same company to extend his collection. Since his death in 1963 I hold this collection.
Kolachi: Why did he collect trains only? Khalid: Since childhood my father had a fascination for trains and would spend hours sitting at stations looking at them. When he came across these toy versions replicated too perfection he started collecting them.
Kolachi: How many sets do you have and what does a set comprise of? Khalid: They are seven sets
in all. One set replicates Northern Pacific trains of Europe; one is of
Santa Fe
Kolachi: How do these trains work? Khalid: The trains move on their special steel tracks when supplied with electricity. Special transformers are attached with the tracks to make them shock proof and to stabilize the power supply.
Kolachi: What was their price initially? Khalid: I don't remember the actual price my father bought them for but none of them was less than 100,000 rupees.
Kolachi: How much are they worth now? Khalid: According to rates published on the company's website, all the sets including the accessories worth approximately 800,000 rupees.
Kolachi: What makes this collection so special? Khalid: They are special for two reasons. Firstly, they are very rare in the sub-continent. When my father bought them, in India, only two men owned these trains. One was the same English friend and the other was a Maharaja in Patiala. Even after partition, at least in Karachi, I don't know of anyone else who has such a collection. Secondly, in a poor country like Pakistan pursuing such an expensive hobby by a middle-class family is something special.
Kolachi: Anything interesting you can relate to the trains? Khalid: In 1948, when my father migrated from India, he settled in Hyderabad which was quite small at the time. At night when he would operate the trains, the shunting and whistling of the trains along with the lights emitting out of the windows would make the house mysterious. People, paranoid about Indian spies in the country, presumed my father to be an Indian agent and called up the police. Initially the area police and then the CIA probed into the matter and concluded that my father was sending secret information to Delhi through these trains via some hidden tunnels. The transformers were perceived as transmitters. My father was put under house arrest for 40 days and two of the sets were sent to a locomotive shop in Lahore for inspection. When they found nothing, the authorities sent these sets to America for inspection. Again, they could find nothing. For days an angry mob camped outside our home wanting to get rid of the "mulk dushman agent"!
Kolachi: Are they easy to maintain? Khalid: No, not at all. Their maintenance needs ample time and money. Two of the sets in my collection are out of order since the government took them for inspection. Within the country there is no workshop as such to repair them and only the company's own workshop in America has the technical facilities to repair them. But that is too expensive. Moreover, they move on an extensive track therefore need to be placed in a big room. I have reserved a big room of 10 by 12 ft in my house to keep the trains in.
Kolachi: Have you ever put them up in an exhibition? Khalid: No, not as such. However, in 1958 an international exhibition on toy trains took place in Karachi. Stalls from many countries including USA, China and Britain exhibited their collection of toy trains. During the exhibition the American company claimed that no one in the sub-continent possesses such collections. After reading the news my father went to the exhibit with one of the sets from his collection. That surprised the participants who were expecting contaminated water, filth and slums to be offered by this third world country instead of people with such an expensive hobby.
Kolachi: When did you bring them to Karachi? Khalid: I have been visiting Karachi since childhood but moved here for good in 1972.
Kolachi: How was Karachi then? Khalid: Marvelous! The city was known as a gareeb parwer city with its arms wide-open for everyone. People were friendly, the weather was excellent. Neither did we need fans in the summer nor sweaters in winter. It was so inexpensive that a tram would take you from Saddar to Bolton Market for 5 paisa only
Khalid complains that the city has now become so expensive that unlike his father he has been unable to add to his train collection. He also laments the state of traffic city. "The hero and heroine of '60s movies would cross the Empress Market, hand-in-hand singing a duet without being hindered by terrible traffic. Today even a pedestrian can't move through the traffic," he remarks wittingly. Khalid Khawaja admits that being in Karachi has earned him a reputation for his unique hobby, something he wouldn't have enjoyed in another city. Earning people fortunes through their passions, such is Karachi's character. – Photos by Syed Iftikhar Ali |
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between the ages of 20 and 30
years," Wains says.
significant heroin abuse problem. When
the region's political upheavals of 1978 blocked the usual shipment of
Afghan and Pakistani opium westward to Iran, traffickers in Pakistan's
North-West Frontier perfected heroin-refining skills to reduce their
mounting opium stockpiles. Operating without fear of arrest, heroin dealers
began exporting their product to Europe and America, quickly capturing more
than 50 percent of both markets. Unrestrained by any form of police
controls, local smugglers also shipped heroin to Pakistan's own cities and
towns.
according to
Gulzar Sabtain, parliamentary secretary for narcotics control. "Out of
these four million, 500,000 are chronic heroin addicts, including 60,000
intravenous drug users. The rest use drugs other than heroin," says
Sabtain.
psychosis
because of free availability of hashish, garda and even Ecstasy tablets. I
don't think legalizing hashish will bring about a change because 70 per cent
of the drug abusers suffer from major depressive disorders. The rest suffer
from different types of disorders, ranging from personality disorder to
chronic pain. But it's true that there has been an increase in drug abuse in
Pakistan after bars were closed in the late 1970s."
murder remains unknown. "We found his
body after intense investigations. The killers beheaded him and then burned
his body before burying him," senior police officer Mustafa Korai said.
"Police is investigating claims made by the arrested men that they were
inspired by a member of the HuM to kidnap and kill Hindus," Korai said.
"We are trying to find out if there are any more cases like these. For
now we are going by statements made by the arrested men. We are also looking
for the man who encouraged them to commit such crimes against local
Hindus," he said.
are easy targets for bandits as the local police do not
even bother to register a case or to arrest the killer or kidnapers."
According to Leghari several Hindus were kidnapped recently but there is
hardly any record. "Few years back Sadham Chand Chawla, the former
president of the Hindu Panchayat, Jacobabad, was kidnapped for ransom and
then murdered brutally but despite several protests by his community, his
killers remain at large," Tariq told Kolachi. In such conditions, as is
the case normally, terrified members of Sadham's family, after receiving
serious threats and lack of official interest, migrated to India. Though the
precise number of Hindu families that have fled to India is unknown, locals
have observed that the trend has sharply increased in the last three years.
collecting them is a passion for many, including one Karachiite, Khalid
Khawaja. Made in America and having traveled through Calcutta, Shadadpur and
Hyderabad, these 65-year-old toy trains nowadays rest in a hall in his home
in North Nazimabad. Running a factory that manufactures PVC pipes, these
trains are the most treasured part of Khalid's life, "I have a unique
treasure that others don't have and I feel blessed for this."
and the five sets of Black Engine, that makes seven sets in all.
The sets include engines, passenger trains, army trains and goods trains.
Other than that there is a small car used to clean the track - lubricant is
put in the car and a cleaner is attached to it which cleans the track while
running on it.