Amdavadi saw fear in Pakistani eyes

The director of Sanchetna, Hanif Lakdawala, toured Pakistan from February 22 to 25, a few days before Sri Lanka’s cricketers were attacked by terrorists in Lahore. He was visiting the country as a member of a team from the South Asians for Human Rights (SAH) organisation.

Lakdawala shares exclusively with DNA’s readers his experience of Pakistan and its people, as they deal with serious threats to their democracy.

We spent almost four days in Pakistan, two days in Lahore and one in Islamabad. The rest of the time we were travelling. We went by road and crossed the border at Wagah checkpoint in Punjab.  This was my first visit to Pakistan. My first impression of the country, as we moved away from Wagah, was that the people were very happy with their newly elected government. We were received very warmly by Pakistanis living close to the border.

My first impression was, however, short-lived. The situation is very different in the country. It is not that Pakistanis are unhappy with their new democracy — they are, in fact, happy with it — but I could see that they did not expect it to last long.

What was really disturbing, however, was the fear that was palpable among Pakistanis. They are now scared of terrorists themselves. Most people believe that elements sympathetic to the Taliban in the armed forces would lead the next coup, no matter when it comes.