Established 1961 Lifestyle SUNDAY, JULY 28, 2019 Dancers with masks participate in the ‘Tastuanes’ (an indigenous pre-Columbian word for ‘leaders’), a Catholic feast in veneration of Santo Santiago (Saint James the Apostle), in Tonala, Jalisco State, Mexico, on July 25, 2019. — AFP photos is father was assassinated by a notorious “It’s less a thing of making a sketch of Saulat Mirza,” Karachi hitman, while his police partner was explains Hamid, calling the character a “sketch of a par- Hmurdered by the Taleban. Personal tragedy ticular type of young man... who kind of in the last 30 haunts the hard-boiled novels that are turning years or so essentially gave their lives away to these ide- top cop Omar Shahid Hamid into one of Pakistan’s most ologies thinking they were doing the right thing.” The popular English-language authors. For nearly two goal is not to excuse such actions, he insists. decades Hamid has worn a badge in Karachi, the mega “Understanding the motivations of someone is a positive port city on the Arabian Sea that for years was rife with tool if you’re someone who has worked as an investigator vicious political and extremist violence. Now a deputy in counterterrorism for a very long time,” says Hamid. inspector general, he is also fast becoming one of “What he has written is fiction but it’s very close to Pakistan’s most recognizable writers, publishing four reality,” says Faheem Siddiqui, Karachi bureau chief for books in quick succession since 2013. Geo News. “As a crime reporter, I know what had hap- His work has even nabbed the attention of major pened in the city. It took a great deal of courage to write streaming outlets on the hunt for new original material about these events.” Hamid’s plots go beyond his own from South Asia, including Netflix, which has already losses to appear at times like thinly disguised retellings of seen major success with similar material in TV series the seismic moments that have rattled Karachi in the last such as Sacred Games, about Mumbai’s corrupt under- 30 years-from the murder of American journalist Daniel world. Hamid said the secret to his success is his Pearl in 2002 to the killing of former prime minister unflinching accounts of political corruption, contract Benazir Bhutto’s brother Murtaza. killers, and crooked cops alongside nuanced portraits of Karachi’s divided neighborhoods. “Books like mine Dangerous city wouldn’t work if I pulled punches,” he tells AFP. “It’s that Once a quiet port nestled on the Arabian Sea coast- grittiness, that uncompromising reality that I think a lot line, Karachi was transformed by the flood of refugees of readers enjoy.” At times the reality has hit dangerously from neighboring India after partition in 1947, setting the and heartbreakingly close to home. Hamid did the bulk of stage for disputes that needle the metropolis to this day. his writing while he was on sabbatical after being advised Years later the port became a conduit for weapons, nar- to leave Karachi and take a break from policing in 2011 cotics, and a new flood of refugees from war-torn when he was threatened by jihadist groups. Afghanistan, transforming politics and ratcheting up vio- lence to make Karachi one of Asia’s most dangerous Close to reality cities. “The last 30 years have been a rollercoaster ride,” he says his latest novel “The Fix” released in June may ruffle more feathers, as he explores corruption in cricket. Pakistani police officer and Pakistani police officer and Weeks after the release of his first novel “The explains Hamid. “For a nation of cricket fanatics and conspiracy theorists, crime stories writer Omar crime stories writer Omar Prisoner”, his mentor and police partner Chaudhry “If wasn’t politico-ethnic violence it was sectarian it’s strangely been an area that has never really been Shahid Hamid gestures as Shahid Hamid gestures as Aslam-the inspiration for one of the book’s protagonists- violence in Karachi that lead to jihadist terrorism.” explored,” he explains. For all his explorations of he speaks during an inter- he speaks during an inter- was killed in a Taleban-claimed suicide blast. In his third Writing, he explains, was a release. “I had a lot of frustra- Karachi’s darkest corners, Hamid remains hopeful for his view with AFP in Karachi. view with AFP in Karachi. novel “The Party Worker”, Hamid portrays the rise of a tions about things that had happened in my career until —AFP photos brutal hitman who killed at the behest of a fictional politi- that point,” says Hamid. “I felt a need to vent about beloved home, while admitting the sweltering, overflow- cal party ruling the city with an iron fist. For Karachi them.” The themes Hamid explores may surprise those ing city may seem like “an absolute hellhole” to outsiders. insiders, the character mirrors the life of feared hitman looking for screeds to lionize the police and demonize its “It may not be everyone’s cup of tea,” he shrugs. “But as Saulat Mirza, who served as the feared enforcer for the enemies, with stories of extrajudicial killings and corrupt a city, it will keep going.” — AFP once-powerful Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) par- officials frequently appearing. ty-and whose list of victims include Hamid’s own father, Though he often takes aim at Karachi’s dangerous and Shahid. powerful, he has received little blowback, he admits. But In this file photo taken on July 5, 1997, a police officer inspects the bullet-riddled car of Faheem Siddiqui, Karachi bureau chief for Geo News, gestures as he speaks In this file photo taken on December 11, 1998, Pakistani police officer Shahid Hamid, managing director of the state-run Karachi Electric Supply Corporation during an interview with AFP about top cop-turned-writer Omar Shahid Chaudry Aslam (left) escorts Saulat Mirza (center), a suspect in the murder (KESC), who was killed along with his driver and guard by unidentified gunmen in Karachi. Hamid in Karachi. of six US nationals and numerous killings, in Karachi..