THE HUNT FOR KOHINOOR BOOK 2 OF THE THRILLER SERIES FEATURING MEHRUNISA by Manreet Sodhi Someshwar Page B
Authors: Manreet Sodhi Someshwar
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government is formed in Kabul, India will have no role to play. Historically India has supported the Northern Alliance, ethnically different from the Pashtuns, who form the Taliban. The Pashtuns view their homeland as Pashtunistan, which spills over the Durand Line into Afghanistan and Pakistan. Pakistan’s own Pashtun population is more than twice the size of Afghanistan’s. While there are twelve million Pashtuns in Afghanistan, a total of twenty-seven million live in Pakistan. This has immense security implications for India – 26/11 was organized by Pakistan Taliban and a future Taliban government in Afghanistan would only lead to more brazen and frequent attacks on India.
Who killed the President? There are two prime suspects: the Tehriki-i-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP. As you are aware, they comprise the Taliban, both Afghan and Pakistani, who were unhappy with the General for allowing access to the US army to bomb them and for drone warfare. Second, a rogue ISI member who does not want a resolution on Kashmir. It could also be a combination of the two. The Thursday attack could come from any of them.
Saby turned from the screen to look at his audience. ‘That brings me to the end of my presentation. I’ll now show you the special phone you’ll carry and explain how to use it. But before that I’d like to leave you with one thought.’
He turned to the screen and changed the slide again. A picture popped up. It was a photograph widely circulated on the internet, reproduced on TV frequently, printed in the national dailies and magazines. A young man held a gun in his hand, a backpack on his shoulders, as people fled in panic. The shot was of the lone surviving terrorist of the 2008 Mumbai attacks. Invading from the Arabian Sea, the militants had fanned across the city and launched several coordinated shootings and bombings. One hundred and sixty-six people died, many more were injured.
As a horrified Mehrunisa looked at the image, red text in bold slid onto the screen:
WE CAN’T AFFORD A REPEAT
Sarhad, Northern Afghanistan
Monday 1:06 p.m.
There was a reason R.P. Singh had such success fighting insurgents in India: he could think like the enemy. Mehrunisa was safe until she located the Kohinoor. Lahore would just be the start of the hunt. And if he had to protect her he would have to be furtive enough to stay hidden from the eyes of her enemies. But time was of essence.
However, Singh couldn’t have found himself in a more inconvenient location. To the south ranged the piercing peaks of the Hindu Kush. In the north the Pamirs framed the border with Tajikistan. Beyond lay China. Down this very remote and beautiful road Marco Polo had travelled in the thirteenth century as he navigated the Silk Route. That great explorer, though, had had all the time in the world. Singh pursed his lips as he consulted the map again. He had spent the previous night in a tent pitched at the edge of a lake. Safdar, his guide, had taken shelter with the local Kirgiz nomads. They awoke to a light snow and icy wind, ploughing through which for six hours had brought them to Sarhad-e-Borghil, 3265m above sea level and at the end of the Wakhan Valley.
Sarhad was meant to be the starting point of the trek. The plan was to cover at least two passes, the 4887m-high Uween-e-Sar Pass being the biggest challenge. Now an abrupt change of plan was needed. Instead of east he would head south to a path that wound up to the Boroghil Pass that continued further into Pakistan. As Singh discussed the change of plan with Safdar, dust devils spiralled in the desolate valley.
The puzzled guide agreed that, yes, the fastest way to reach Pakistan was to trek up to Boroghil Pass on the border with that country and sneak in – it was closed to visitors. But it was a six-hour hike, at the least, and by the time he reached the pass, temperatures would have dropped below freezing. And then he would encounter hostile border
Who killed the President? There are two prime suspects: the Tehriki-i-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP. As you are aware, they comprise the Taliban, both Afghan and Pakistani, who were unhappy with the General for allowing access to the US army to bomb them and for drone warfare. Second, a rogue ISI member who does not want a resolution on Kashmir. It could also be a combination of the two. The Thursday attack could come from any of them.
Saby turned from the screen to look at his audience. ‘That brings me to the end of my presentation. I’ll now show you the special phone you’ll carry and explain how to use it. But before that I’d like to leave you with one thought.’
He turned to the screen and changed the slide again. A picture popped up. It was a photograph widely circulated on the internet, reproduced on TV frequently, printed in the national dailies and magazines. A young man held a gun in his hand, a backpack on his shoulders, as people fled in panic. The shot was of the lone surviving terrorist of the 2008 Mumbai attacks. Invading from the Arabian Sea, the militants had fanned across the city and launched several coordinated shootings and bombings. One hundred and sixty-six people died, many more were injured.
As a horrified Mehrunisa looked at the image, red text in bold slid onto the screen:
WE CAN’T AFFORD A REPEAT
Sarhad, Northern Afghanistan
Monday 1:06 p.m.
There was a reason R.P. Singh had such success fighting insurgents in India: he could think like the enemy. Mehrunisa was safe until she located the Kohinoor. Lahore would just be the start of the hunt. And if he had to protect her he would have to be furtive enough to stay hidden from the eyes of her enemies. But time was of essence.
However, Singh couldn’t have found himself in a more inconvenient location. To the south ranged the piercing peaks of the Hindu Kush. In the north the Pamirs framed the border with Tajikistan. Beyond lay China. Down this very remote and beautiful road Marco Polo had travelled in the thirteenth century as he navigated the Silk Route. That great explorer, though, had had all the time in the world. Singh pursed his lips as he consulted the map again. He had spent the previous night in a tent pitched at the edge of a lake. Safdar, his guide, had taken shelter with the local Kirgiz nomads. They awoke to a light snow and icy wind, ploughing through which for six hours had brought them to Sarhad-e-Borghil, 3265m above sea level and at the end of the Wakhan Valley.
Sarhad was meant to be the starting point of the trek. The plan was to cover at least two passes, the 4887m-high Uween-e-Sar Pass being the biggest challenge. Now an abrupt change of plan was needed. Instead of east he would head south to a path that wound up to the Boroghil Pass that continued further into Pakistan. As Singh discussed the change of plan with Safdar, dust devils spiralled in the desolate valley.
The puzzled guide agreed that, yes, the fastest way to reach Pakistan was to trek up to Boroghil Pass on the border with that country and sneak in – it was closed to visitors. But it was a six-hour hike, at the least, and by the time he reached the pass, temperatures would have dropped below freezing. And then he would encounter hostile border
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