The Nine Lives of Pakistan: Dispatches from a Divided Nation

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What’s the reason behind Balochistan’s information blackhole and what can the media do when there is no access?

In 2013, Pakistan was gearing up to witness its first civilian transfer of power, having been ruled over for more than half the years since independence by the military. Then the Soviets invaded Afghanistan at the end of 1979 and Zia’s Pakistan, instead of becoming an international pariah, was embraced by the west as a bastion against communism.

In an interview a few days later, Jahangir was asked if it was not dangerous to continue with her caustic, mocking attacks on the military.

Very interestingly written book, providing multiple colours of the country, its diverse people, culture, history, beliefs, traditions etc. But after a while, I started to see them through the lens of public and private spheres that allow a kind of tolerance. Therefore, religious tensions play an important part in the divisions in Pakistan, but Walsh appears to use satire frequently in his book as well to suggest the political and military involvement in the disputes. He is at pains to point out that many of the protagonists drink (shock horror Muslims drink) and the usual 'western liberalism' versus reactionary mullah debate.Generally it was an interesting read with some well drawn out vignettes of some well and some lesser well-known figures through Pakistan’s history.

Here in Lahore, as the sun dips low, the most fervent citizens are parading down the Mall, the city’s elegant tree-lined boulevard. But despite the rhetoric about a boundless China-Pakistan relationship — “higher than the mountains, deeper than the seas” — I suspect there are limits, and I think they are becoming more apparent. This isn’t always a force for good, and it can certainly retard social progress, but it’s not all bad either. Along the way, he deconstructs the country’s power dynamics, ethnic and religious conflicts, and identity crisis – all of which he argues pose a bigger threat for Pakistan than the much touted dangers from the Taliban. The angels came to spirit me away,” is the way he puts it, using the Urdu slang for the all-powerful men of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), whose presence is felt, even when not seen, throughout The Nine Lives of Pakistan.I do mention the phenomenon in the book, though, through the story of a former intelligence officer who approached me after I was expelled from Pakistan. Walsh is an international correspondent for the New York Times of long standing who was bureau chief in Pakistan for a decade, before his encounter with an intelligence agent and subsequent deportation. However, by including others who were lower class or female as major roles in the book, there might have been a more complete overview and resulting discussion of the experience across all members of society.

For one thing, a towering man with a sullen face stands outside my room, preventing me from leaving.

Manto is best known for his short story “Toba Tek Singh,” a powerful parable about the absurdities of Partition in 1947. A wonderful book that sets a new benchmark for non-fiction about the complex palace of mirrors that is Pakistan Walsh has a rapier wit, a talent for skilfully sketched pen portraits and a sharp eye for tragedy, paradox and absurdity.