Flight to Pakistan

Flight to Pakistan Azam Gill BeWrite Books, UK www.bewrite.net Published internationally by BeWrite Books, UK. 32 Bryn Road South, Wigan, Lancashire, WN4 8QR. © Azam Gill 2003 The right of Azam Gill to be identified as the author has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. The right of Azam Gill to be recognized as the sole author is further asserted in accordance with international copyright agreements, laws and statutes. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data. A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library ISBN 1-904492-24-X Also available in print format from www.bewrite.net Digitally produced by BeWrite Books This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, resold, hired out or otherwise circulated without the publisher’s or author’s consent in any form other than this current form and without a similar condition being imposed upon a subsequent purchaser. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the permission of the publisher or author. This book is a work of fiction. Any similarity between the characters and situations within its pages and places or persons, living or dead, is unintentional and co-incidental. The author and publishers recognize and respect any trademarks included in this work by introducing such registered titles either in italics or with a capital letter. Original cover design by © Cait Myers 2003 To the rock-like jawans and NCOs of Flaming 47 Punjab Regiment, who taught me there is more to life than promotions and pips. Acknowledgements During the act of writing: Ma and my sister Shaista Apa; the brother officers of 22 Punjab Regiment who stood by me, Niazi, Pervez, Rizwan, and most of all Jaffar, a Formanite to the core; my friends and brothers-in-arms, Captains Inayatulla Bajwa and Manzar Shah; Captain Ayaz ‘Sufi’, a Tahreen true and blue; Captain Janjua’s kindness; my batman, number 2280148 Jawan Mohammed Siddique Cheema; Lieutenant Colonel ‘Angel’ Hamadani; Major Munir; Captain Ayaz Sipra; my friend Pochi, a genius; my friend Chief K.D. Buttar, may he never be thirsty; Tony Khokhar and his faithfulness. Then, of course, Khalifa, Khadim Butt, Jungoo, Heera, and P’hola à huis clos. Later: The Hortons and the Wheelers in Grenoble for their friendship and reading an unpublished manuscript. The Garcias for their friendship and support. Roger and Trevor, my brothers-in-law for their encouragement. My mother-in-law for all her efforts. Kaka Lely and Pradeep for giving me an overview, and comrade-in-arms and Legion platoon-mate Karnail Singh, a true Punjabi warrior en service de la France. I owe a debt of personal and professional gratitude to Hugh McCracken, Associate Editor BeWrite Books for a brilliant job of editing, Neil Marr, Editor-in-Chief BeWrite Books, and Cait Myers and Alex Marr, BeWrite Books, for their technical expertise and their creative genius in designing the book cover. During the act of re-writing: Miranda, my loving and patient gem of a wife – God Bless you – and our children, Nathanaël, Fiona and Matthieu. Nathanaël again for his invaluable help and eye for detail in checking the Glossary. Special Acknowledgement: My Literary Guru, Dr. David A. Plott, Deputy Editor Far Eastern Economic Review About the Author Dr Azam Gill is a scholar and a warrior with first-hand experience of front line fighting and covert commando operations – on a seemingly incongruous lifetime’s love-story with literature, study and teaching. Now a French citizen, he was born in Pakistan, the son of a renowned jurist father and a talented playwright and educationalist mother. Accepted as a ‘gentleman cadet’ at the Pakistan Military Academy, he was commissioned to a light infantry battalion of the Punjab Regiment deployed in Kashmir, he also obtained his paratrooper’s wings. In Kashmir, one of the world’s flash-points, Gill successively served as Intelligence Officer, Company Commander and Regimental Adjutant. He was also in charge of the transit of spies through his sector. Later, he received a Master’s in English language and literature from the Punjab University. He published a pamphlet, Jail Reforms, and a book, Army Reforms. Although Jail Reforms was on the syllabus of the Prisons Training Academy, both books were seized and burnt by the authorities. Gill was called to Islamabad and warned that he should leave the country before his imminent arrest. Seeking protection and a new life, Gill followed in the footsteps of the beggars and princes who have served in the ranks of the French Foreign Legion. After basic training, he was posted to the 1er Régiment Etranger de Cavalérie, created in 1645, which carries the official appellation of Royal Etranger. He was rapidly promoted, did a tenure in Africa as part of Operation Barracuda, received outstanding assessment reports and became the first Légionnaire to gain a PhD, which he received from Grenoble University. His dissertation, The Effect of Editing on William Faulkner’s Flags in the Dust, was written in English. At the end of his Legion contract, Gill worked as a language teacher and became a Lecturer at Grenoble University’s Polytechnic. He was then seconded to the French Navy on instruction secondment. During this period, he also wrote a monthly column on Geopolitics for The National Educator, a Californian monthly paper. His articles have been published in book form with an exhaustive bibliography and index under the title Winds of Change: Geopolitics and the World Order, available at online stores. He now teaches English for French National Education. His hobbies include reading, writing, cooking, swimming and French Savate Boxing. Gill lives in France with his wife and three young children. Azam Gill, as European Bureau Chief on Geopolitics for California’s prestigious ‘The National Educator’, has written scores of insightful articles. His works, ‘Jail Reforms’ and ‘Army Reforms’ were published in 1978 by the People’s Publishing House, Lahore, Pakistan. They are now black-listed by the authorities. His groundbreaking academic book, ‘Winds of Change: Geopolitics and the World Order’ was released through iUniverse in 2001. Also by Azam Gill Blood Money, published by BeWrite Books, 2002 Flight to Pakistan One Lahore 1973 – First Day Lahore’s red light district is the westerner’s conception of the mysterious East. Its tortuous gallies, or alleys, form a triangle. One side is the Badshahi Mosque, the largest in the entire Islamic World; a second, the timeless squat of the granite and sandstone fort that legend attributes to the pre-Vedic Rajah Lahu after whom Lahore is named; a third, the hypotenuse, the many entrances to the maze. These gallies nurturing the world’s oldest profession are permeated with the smells of semen, stale food, sweat, and attar. Time stands still before the unblinking gaze of cobblestones worn smooth through the ages. Here, one might conjure berobed Abdul of the crafty visage and curved dagger, villainous under the flickering of an Aladdin lamp, conspiring to get his hands on the purse and chastity of a spinster from Omaha. This is the sinister orient of snake charmers and swaying cobras. A world where day starts at dusk and ends at dawn, following a rhythm unchanged since the time man first paid for sex. The most common name by which these eternal gallies are known to those of the outer world is Heera Mandi, meaning diamond market. Beautiful and 11 Azam Gill cultured women are wholesaled and retailed in this place. A measure of their exclusiveness and inaccessibility to the common man is conveyed by the wistful yearning implicit in the name. Even the common prostitutes in the ten rupee gallies that slither through Heera Mandi are not enough to tarnish its image. As the sun sets over the river Ravi in its vermilion glory, Heera Mandi comes to life. The infinitely wise cobblestones of the gallies receive their steady polishing from the hustling steps of pimps, of rich men seeking pleasures, and of jaded old men looking to satisfy hidden lusts. The garish fluorescence from kiosks illuminates the gallies in which it might just be possible to squeeze in a car but not make a U-turn. However, behind this façade lie the more discreet and powerful nautch girl establishments. Here, a night’s pleasure starts at a thousand rupees – and that merely for the exclusive right to hear a nautch girl sing and to watch her perform her dance, for nautch girls are not prostitutes. They function as either dancer-singers or concubines. To bed a nautch girl would entail protracted negotiations involving a very large purse indeed. Some overhanging balconies display no merchandise, for these are the gallies of repute. The families running these houses are as jealous of their lineage as the best banking families of France, and as proud. One gallie, nevertheless, stands apart. One can drive in and, with some skill and determination, even manage to turn around. Its twenty-four houses have two things in common: women from matriarchal 12 Flight to Pakistan lineages as carefully maintained as the most ancient ruling houses of Europe and Asia, and Mughal architecture. The decor inside matches the architecture – sixteenth century Mughal. Time stands still under the stoic gaze of brass and wood carvings overlooking velvet and brocade covered mattresses and bolster pillows under filigreed lighting. Over the oriental carpet, a white sheet forms the dance-stage with a three piece orchestra of tabla drums, harmonium, and sitar to one side.

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