Yvonne Ridley – Experiencing Real Pakistan A Tale #5

The other images that I saw were angry

men pouring out of the mosques on Friday.

My very first contact with Pakistan was sending

a letter to General Zia al-Haq because

he had locked up a number of journalists

and I was a member of the National

Union of Journalists which has an international network

and is part of an international federation of

journalists and I wrote to him on behalf

of my union branch and urged him to

release the journalists who were held in prison

at the time and this was I think

in the late 70s early 80s when I

wrote that letter.

Pakistan, I know, I know, it's full of

Islamic radicals, nuclear weapons, ambitious generals and corrupt

politicians.

I was amazed when I went to Pakistan

because it was not what I expected.

All I had seen from Pakistan was the

fighting of the mujahideen during the Russian invasion

and occupation of Afghanistan and Peshawar was a

great focal point of the mujahideen men.

The other images that I saw were angry

men pouring out of the mosques on Friday

and setting fire to a flag, usually an

American flag, sometimes an Indian flag and that's

all that I ever saw.

So women were invisible, you know, they were

just airbrushed from the news and this is

the western media and I'm sure it's in

some ways it's been quite a deliberate tactic

but I was amazed at how visible

and prominent Pakistan women are in public life

and I think that the Pakistan government is

one of the few governments that positively discriminates

for women during elections in as much as

a number of seats are guaranteed and, you

know, this is very important.

I can't deal with spicy food but I

love the Pashtun cooking and the best fish

I've had in the world comes from an

open-air restaurant at that point when you're

heading up to Peshawar, at the point where

the river is brown and green or blue

and green and the fish in that, it's

just a little road restaurant.

Whenever I return to Pakistan, if I'm anywhere

near there, I go to this restaurant.

I love the fish and I try and

get to Pakistan at least once a year

and I have lots of friends there.

I love the country.

The thing that makes me sad is the

lack of resources, the lack of education and

this is a country, I think, that could

really launch if it wasn't being held back

from within by some politicians and from the

outside by the international community.

Tourism, you know, you've got the seas, the

sands, the mountains, the rivers.

The country is just waiting to be discovered

by the outside world and the Pakistan people

themselves.

What I love is this can-do attitude.

You know, never have I gone to Pakistan

and had a problem where somebody has just

said no.

Just the such positive, can-do attitude and

it's from the smallest child in the street

to the oldest person, you know, it's just

there.