Hmmm… I was supposed to be going carpet shopping this afternoon … but the best laid plans of mice and men… blah blah blah… no shopping to be had after all. MD came in this afternoon and informed me that none of us (foreigners) are allowed to leave the Cantonment, I kinda thought he was reiterating a previous mentioned edict where the Pakistani Army had stated that no foreigners were allowed to leave the base. This particular edict was some time in place and I understood had been flaunted and ignored with regularity by all foreign nationals for quite some time.
But todays directive was seemingly somewhat more decisive…. I guess they meant it this time. It relates to the shootings that occurred last week on a road leading into this base, in which some members of the Pakistani Army were killed. As was inevitable, there have been a number of suspects rounded up in association with the incident (I think he said persons of Afghan origin) and I am lead to believe that under what is the standard local method of ‘strenuous questioning’, they have given up information relating to who is responsible for the attack. Seems the perpetrators may have been in the employ of some foreign interest… the words Taliban and Al Queda did come up in this particular conversation… but, never mind who or what… the crux of the matter is that due to the aforementioned interrogation of said suspects (and possible subsequent disappearance of same), it is predicted that there may some sort of retaliation in the form of .. oh … I don’t know…. maybe a suicide bomber in the township of Quetta and likely targeting members of the Pakistani Army and/or their associates.
So as a precautionary measure all the foreign nations are currently confined to the Cantonment. Being a non military person I am not obliged to follow this particular directive and so I could drive off into town should I so choose. But given the current climate… I think not 😐
It seems quite surreal actually… security is being stepped up a notch, especially as regards their precious foreigners… but at the same time doesn’t feel like the threat is anywhere near us in here. I’ve spent a very pleasant day reading… chatting online… archery in the late afternoon…. a delightful curry for dinner (Thanks Shahid)… a few glasses of red wine… excellent conversation…. etc. It really doesn’t feel like anything could happen we’re so thoroughly insulated. So long as we stay in the base I guess 🙂 Weird.
The confinement to base thing has occurred in the past and MD assures me that it usually only lasts a couple of days. They will arrest a few more people, smack them around too and perceive the threat to have passed… all returns to normal apparently. Shrug ??
I took a pic of the little guards at the driveway and will add it in here tomorrow when I eventually drag myself out of bed… I am so tired here – just not getting any sleep…
