Travel and Safety in Pakistan

How to Visit Pakistan and Enjoy the Ride. (courtesy John Diaz)

Whenever I tell my fellow Americans I have been to Pakistan -- twice -- their reaction indicates that I must be crazy or clueless. Yes, it can be a dangerous place. Heed the warnings from the US State Department. But it's possible to visit Pakistan and enjoy the experience.

Friends in Secure Places
This is not a country where a Western visitor can stroll around and explore at will. On my first visit in 2012, I was with a group of American journalists escorted by the East-West Center and a Pakistani partner organization, PILDAT. In 2014, I was on a teaching grant from the US State Department, which took precautions for my safety whenever I was scheduled to leave the hotel. In order to get out of the security cocoon and see something, you need local friends who know the territory and are willing to spend time showing you around while looking out for your safety. Having friends on the inside will allow you to discover places like the Karachi Boat Club, a riverside escape from the craziness of the city, but for members only.

A warm welcome in Karachi at 3 am. Thanks Mushtaq!

Welcome to Karachi
If you are fortunate enough to experience Pakistani hospitality, it can be overwhelming. On my most recent arrival in Karachi, my Sindhi journalist colleague Mushtaq Sarki met me at the airport. With flowers. At 3.a.m. "This is our tradition," he explained. When we later realized my son had left his I-Pad on the Turkish Airlines plane, Mushtaq worked his contacts at the airport and the hotel dispatched a car to retrieve it. What are the chances of that happening in any other country? Another aspect of the hospitality tradition is showering the guest with gifts, so pack a generous number of gift items from your home country to reciprocate.

Awesome women journalists in Karachi.
(courtesy US Consulate)

Instant City
Before visiting Karachi, I highly recommend reading "Instant City," a book by NPR reporter Steve Inskeep that explains why the place is such a fascinating, hot mess. Even if all you see is the streetscape from a fast moving van, armored car or taxi it's a cultural overload of donkey carts and brightly painted buses and trucks. My first trip to Karachi included one day when the streets were eerily empty. The city was on lockdown due to the latest violent outbreak of a political feud. Our group ventured out anyway and our van was quickly followed by some menacing dudes on motorcycles, the kind who have a reputation for being possible assassins. Even on a "normal" day, traffic is always unpredictable as police shut down random streets for constantly shifting security reasons. Like people in my hometown of Los Angeles, folks here understand when you are late to an event because of traffic. Perhaps for this reason, people have a tendency not to plan ahead and do things on spur of the moment. Any invitation is likely to be followed by a hopeful "insha Allah," which means "God willing." Because of "load shedding" Karachi residents must endure hours of blackouts every day, and demonstrators frequently hit the streets to demand electricity, causing closures and traffic jams. My hotel had a generator that kicked in a couple of times a day.
With an adventurous American friend, I was fortunate to find a friendly hotel-approved cab driver who helped us escape the security cocoon long enough to have an elegant dinner at Okra and a night camel ride on the beach. He also alerted us when it was time to cut the camel ride short because "people are talking bad about you." Don't question these warnings and stay safe.

Shopping buddies helped me navigate the (now-closed) Sunday market in Defense.

Standing Out and Fitting In
Not all women in Pakistan cover their hair and, unless I've been invited to a mosque or other religious place, I don't either. But I carry a scarf just in case. My blonde locks are a sure attention-getter, and it's not always harmless curiosity. If your Pakistani host tells you it's time to move out of an area, don't question it. Many of your outings will be to places like the Port Grand mall, which requires passing through TSA-like security to enter the array of upscale shops and restaurants. In 2012 I was able to shop for bargains in the stalls of the Sunday market in the upper class neighborhood of Defense, with translation and price-haggling assistance from a helpful journalism student. But marketplaces are frequent targets and this type of shopping was discouraged in 2014. I've been told the Defense market is no longer operating. In any case, you'll want to visit a shop like Koel and buy a few shalwar kameez, the kaftan-like dresses (and shirts for the men) worn everywhere in Pakistan. You'll get lots of compliments from Pakistanis who appreciate your willingness to embrace their culture.

Shopping for Shalwar Kameez in Karachi.

Lahore
This garden city takes pride in being a center of higher education. It's greener and less dusty than Karachi, but security is still a concern. For a fun night out, friends led the way to the Food Street, a relic of times before the 1947 partition of Pakistan and India. The crumbling colonial-era buildings have been turned into food stalls serving local specialties, including every part of the animal. Pakistanis love meat and being a vegetarian here can be a challenge. Again, it helps to have friends looking out for you. My host made sure we were served the freshest food and not something that had been sitting around for a while.

You'll need friends to help you place an order on the Food Street in Lahore.
(courtesy Linda Roth)

My visit coincided with a planned political demonstration near the hotel where I was planning to stay, so I was moved to an extraordinary Heritage Hotel called The Moor. This place is so secure that you must be pre-cleared in order to stay here. The room service, delivered by a friendly butler, was fine for breakfast and a light dinner, and I was able to walk to a nearby restaurant with a colleague.
Lahore has a number of historic attractions that I couldn't fit in on this business trip and coming back to see the India border ceremony is definitely on my list for the future. (Update: the border crossing has also been a terrorist target. Use caution when visiting.)
Be careful at ATMS. A bank machine swallowed my friend's card and the local branch of the issuing bank was no help. To get a replacement she had to contact customer service in the US on Twitter. Even though the exchange rate wasn't very good, I opted for changing money at the airport or hotel.

At the Great Faisal Mosque in Islamabad.

Islamabad
When staying at the Marriott, be aware that his hotel was the target of a suicide truck bomb in 2008, killing at least 54 people, injuring several hundred and leaving a large crater in the hotel. Security is a concern every time you enter or leave. On my first visit, I was welcomed to the home of a Pakistani journalist and his charming family. They managed to get the kids'  homework done and put dinner on the table just in time for the nightly "load shedding" blackout, and we ate by candlelight. The city is laid out in blocks with large undeveloped spaces and doesn't invite the visitor to take a stroll anywhere. Again, you'll rely on your local contacts to show you such highlights as the Great Faisal mosque, which is off limits to non-believers. All government buildings, and even NGOs, have dudes with automatic weapons to guard their gated compounds. Friends will guide you to places like Khaadi for upscale clothing, or outlets for more basic handicrafts with negotiable prices. Saidpur Village, while touristy, gives a glimpse of life outside the urban zones, where kids will eagerly jump in front of your camera and a nearby goat market shows off tonight's dinner still on the hoof. To escape the city, plan a trip up the Margalla Hills to the Monal restaurant.

Welcome to the goat market at Saidpur Village.

Peshawar
Some of the nicest and most welcoming Pakistanis I met in 2014 were journalists who had traveled from Peshawar to participate in our training in Islamabad. Peshawar is the capital of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the tribal area in the northwest of Pakistan.  As of this writing, it is far too dangerous for an American traveler to take advantage of their warm invitation to visit their beautiful and often violent city in the foothills of the Himalayas. But someday...  insha Allah.

Meeting journalists from Peshawar in Islamabad. (courtesy Linda Roth)

Hearts and minds

It's hard to get a handle on the dollar amount of US aid to Pakistan. US AID's website puts it at $5.1 billion since 2002. The Kerry-Lugar-Berman bill increased funding levels to $1.3 billion per year when it passed in 2009. A recent trend has been for the US to fund reliable partner organizations in Pakistan, rather than filtering huge grants through Washington DC's "beltway bandits."

One success story is AURAT, a civil society organization that is focused on the empowerment of women. Larisa Epatko of the PBS News Hour posted this summary of AURAT's mission and accomplishments.Read it here.Our group of journalists met with leaders of the organization in Islamabad, as well as several women who were brought in from remote areas to tell their personal stories of how US aid has helped them. A few of them are pictured, above.

 The big picture, according to AURAT, is that public education has increased awareness of domestic violence and made it more acceptable for women to receive education and vote. Grants for recovery from the floods that have devastated Pakistan in recent years have been channeled through the female in the household, as well as micro-business grants that help women become self-supporting so that they can send both their daughters and their sons to school. For me, he most memorable story came from Saima Anwar, a young woman who is the first practicing female attorney in the troubled Swat region, with legal training made possible by US aid.  She helps women assert their land rights and file complaints about domestic violence. I asked her why such a progressive woman would continue to cover her face in traditional Muslim fashion. I saw the fire in her eyes as she replied," I wanted to show you can do anything, even if you cover your face."

Our Pakistani journalist colleagues had mixed feelings about the impact of US aid. Islamabad broadcaster Aneela Khalid Khan said the challenge for the US is to "win the hearts and minds of the people." Geo TV's Mehboob Ali, who covers the Swat region, said flood victims in Pakistan are grateful for the US aid they have received. "It does work," he said, "it does change the opinion of the people." Karachi-based Dawn TV producer Hafsah Syed complained, "Pakistan is a country of beggars." Like many Pakistanis, she called for an end to the "transactional relationship" in which the US rewards Pakistan for good behavior and takes away aid for behavior the US doesn't like. As I write this it's happening again: the doctor who aided the CIA in confirming the whereabouts of Osama bin Laden was sentenced to 33 years in prison; in response, the US congress has cut aid to Pakistan by $33 million. Another tricky issue is the requirement that any US aid project must be identified with the logo identifying the contribution of "the American people." There have been instances of Taliban fighters targeting brand new clinics or schools because of the logo. On the other hand, how can the US win hearts and minds with beneficial projects if no one knows the US taxpayer is footing the bill? Finally, there's the confusion between military and humanitarian aid. If the US helps build a road through a strategic area, does that benefit the military or the villagers who can now get their products to bigger markets? Probably both, but the Taliban targets the road anyway.

The United States has been a huge contributor to the Benazir Income Support Program, or BISP. US taxpayers have paid in more than $2 billion since 2009. The money is parceled out to Pakistan's poorest families, who would be scraping by on about a dollar a day without BISP benefits. Our group took a tour of the program headquarters in Islamabad, with vast rooms of clerks and computers to take registrations and handle complaints.

We were welcomed by BISP chairwoman Farzan Raja, a former press secretary to the assassinated prime minister Benazir Bhutto. Raja uncannily mirrors her mentor in appearance and speaking style and serves in Pakistan's national assembly. She is a politician who also plays a direct role in distributing public aid.

She told us that BISP benefits have reached 6 million families, with the goal of registering them as voters and sending their kids to school. Critics told us that the program is heavily tilted toward people who support the PPP, the current ruling party associated with the Bhutto family. We moved on to Karachi, with no way to know for sure which side is closer to the truth.

What Did Pakistan know about Osama bin Laden?

Since 9/11 most Americans have come to accept additional security checks and other restrictions on their privacy as part of the war on terrorism. But submitting to a TSA body scan at the airport is a small thing compared to the way the war on terror affects everyday life in Pakistan. According the the Sustainable Policy Development Institute, Pakistan spends 65% of its budget on the military, leaving only 35% percent for energy, education and other needs of a developing country.
Armed guards are not just for government buildings here, but a necessity for offices and factories and even some homes. It's an environment that scares away badly needed foreign investment. Even Pakistan's national sports pastime, cricket, has suffered because of a terrorist attack on a visiting Sri Lankan team in 2009; international matches can no longer be played in Pakistan. One analyst explained that "terrorism damages the brand name" of the entire country.

Pakistan's brand was further damaged by the revelation that Osama Bin Laden was hiding in plain sight in Abottabad, a city near the capital that is also home to a major military academy. When Navy Seals raided the compound in May 2011, killing the man believed chiefly responsible for the 9/11 attacks, many Americans saw it as proof that Pakistan can't be trusted to track down even the most notorious terrorists. Our group of visiting American journalists had a number of opportunities to question what the Pakistanis knew about Bin Laden's whereabouts and why they didn't do more to help bring him to justice. Riaz Khokar, a former foreign secretary and ambassador to India, China and the U.S, said it was unlikely Pakistani intelligence knew of OBL's hideout: "If you look at the house, remember the first story was that it was a $20 million mansion but it wasn't even worth $20,000," he said. "Believe me, the man was living there in squalor and penury. You just had to see the pictures of the filth and dirt. He had no security, no men with guns and rifles. I'm not justifying it, I'm just saying that if he was a guest of the government of Pakistan I can assure you he wouldn't have been living like that." Listen to his comment here.


Other officials insisted on being "off the record" so they could speak more freely about the US-Pakistan relationship. We didn't speak with any Pakistanis who felt the need to apologize or explain how Pakistan could fail to notice the presence of the world's most wanted terrorist. Instead, there was a feeling that the US should apologize for violating Pakistani sovereignty by conducting the OBL raid. It was just part of an often repeated wish list that included:

• a formal US apology for the deadly Nov. 11 airstrike on Pakistani troops;
• multi-billion dollar reimbursement for Pakistan's expenses in the war on terror;
• energy considerations, including civilian nuclear power and a possible gas pipline from Iran;
• end to drone strikes;
• more non-military aid from the US without strings attached.

On the American side, it was no surprise to hear that Pakistan's wish list is "not happening." American military analysts acknowledge the difficulties Pakistan is facing in trying to gain control of the tribal areas where Taliban fighters move back and forth across the Afghan border. Extremists sometimes take refuge in villages that straddle the border, making it difficult to say for sure where Afghanistan ends and Pakistani sovereignty begins. "It's their Vietnam," said one military expert, describing the frustration of battle-weary Pakistani troops and their families. Conspiracy theories thrive in Pakistan, including the possibility that the military is in on the drone strikes on terrorist targets, but allows the US to take the blame. Another unproven theory holds that the US wants to seize Pakistan's nuclear weapons. Pakistan responded to widespread anti-American public sentiment by closing supply routes to NATO coalition troops in Afghanistan, forcing the US to find "another way to do business"  with 1,000 truckloads a day. A briefing from a top army general revealed Pakistan's pride in its military, from actions against Al Qaeda to the role of women in a variety of key assignments. Americans, on the other hand, describe Pakistan's armed forces as "professional but not modern."

One American noted that the US tends to focus on what's happening today, while the Pakistanis feel the pent-up resentment of history. It's impossible to discuss US-Pak relations for very long without someone invoking the name of Richard Holbrooke, the influential US diplomat who was serving as a special envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan at the time of his death in 2010. Holbooke raised expectations of a fresh start in US-Pak relations, and Riaz Khokar is among those who hope for better days. "We have been friends, allies," he said. "We have shed blood together."

Update: In July 2012, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the US was "sorry" for the raid that mistakenly killed Pakistani troops last year. Pakistan reopened the supply routes. However, drone strikes continue to strain US-Pak relations.

Wanna buy a goat?

A short walk from Saidpur Village was a goat market. Except for a few moms escorting their kids through the market on their way home from school, I was the only woman there. But I was treated with both courtesy and curiosity by the goat sellers.

 One spoke a few words of English and insisted I take this picture of him with one of his nicest goats. The going price is the equivalent of around $70, I was told, but maybe that's what they charge the tourists. However, I had to decline. This is one souvenir that would never get past the USDA.

Saidpur Village

My Lonely Planet tour book describes Saidpur Village in Islamabad as "model village" set to open in 2008 to "showcase Pakistani cultural handicrafts and traditions." 

Visiting on a Friday afternoon in 2012, the reality was hardly a showcase. There were several upscale restaurants, but most of the shops seemed to be struggling or abandoned, and the only pottery for sale was at a small roadside stand. 

But it was a welcome break from government policy briefings because of the actual village adjoining the tourist attraction. 

Children eagerly jumped in front of our cameras as we picked our way along the stream that runs through the settlement. Their faces are unforgettable.

Threats to Journalists

 Visiting the Ministry of Information in Islamabad was like a trip in a time machine. It's a throwback to when "journalists" in Pakistan worked only for state-controlled media, dutifully distributing government press releases. The minister, Dr. Firdous Ashiq Awan, sat at the head of a long conference table. We were seated among the members of her sizable staff. The lights dimmed and we were shown a 14 minute video called "Vibrant Pakistan." A narrator with a soothing American accent assured us of Pakistan's stable business and political climate, and even the war-torn tribal regions were presented as enticing tourist destinations.
 Watch the video here.
 
The minister was more politician than spokeswoman. She is also a sitting member of Parliament from the ruling PPP, the center-left party of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto's family. Dr. Awad spoke of the "gap of perception and reality" between Pakistan and the US, saying international partners "have not helped us the way we were expecting." She criticized US drone attacks on terrorist targets as a violation of Pakistani sovereignty and said "our friends have not given us the political space to explain why we have to be with them as a power," quickly adding, "no one wants to disassociate from the USA."

The gap between perception and reality was most obvious when the discussion turned to the threats facing journalists and what the government might do to improve their security. The minister said the threats were "fabricated" and directed against "oversmart guys who put their own interest ahead of the national interest."
When a Pakistani stringer for a US news organization respectfully challenged her statement by telling how he had once been seized and warned not to include certain facts in his reporting, the minister did not budge. She went on to criticize sensationalism in privately-owned media that has developed in the past decade. "Free media is a new concept for us," she said. "You can have a proper security cover (for journalists), but they need proper training." On that note, it was time to adjourn for refreshments and photo opportunities.

UPDATE: We met other Pakistani journalists who told us of the dangers they face. One of them was found strangled to death less than a month later. Read the article by John Diaz in the San Francisco Chronicle here.

After I returned to the US and had time to do a little more research, I learned that Dr Awan had turned in her resignation in December 2011, when she was criticized for her response to "memogate." The scandal involved a memo in which representatives of Pakistan's civilian government allegedly asked for US help in curbing the power of Pakistan's military. Shortly after our visit, she was reassigned to the Ministry of National Regulations and Services. Her replacement is another PPP politician, Qamar Zaman Kaira. His bio says he is known as "one who raised his voice for freedom of speech and democracy during the military government in the country." Only time will tell if he will confront the forces of darkness and make Pakistan a safer place for journalists. A good place to start would be demanding more effective law enforcement to catch, convict and punish those who harm journalists. For another dose of reality, read this excellent Q and A with assistant editor Sajid Hussain of the News International in Karachi, one of the Pakistani journalists on our exchange.Read the article in Global Journalist here.

It's hard to see the role of the "Ministry of Information" in modern public relations. It's not just Pakistani journalists who need training; government spokespersons need to learn their role in responding to press inquiries and communicating with the public. Freedom of information and transparency should be encouraged in all public agencies, rather than having one "Big Brother" that gives out only self-serving propaganda and runs state-owned broadcasting media in its own interest.

Media Challenges on Both Sides

 
Before we embark on this adventure, here's a little more information on the participants. They are:
American Journalists
Ms. Terry Anzur, News Anchor, KFI News, Burbank, California
Ms. Tara Bahrampour, Immigration Reporter, Washington Post, Washington, DC
Mr. Dan Boyce, Capitol Bureau Chief, Montana Public Radio, Helena, Montana
Mr. John Diaz, Editorial Page Editor, San Francisco Chronicle, San Francisco, California
Ms. Larisa Epatko, Reporter-Producer for Foreign Affairs, PBS News Hour, Arlington, Virginia
Ms. Jenna Fisher, Asia Editor, The Christian Science Monitor, Boston, Massachusetts
Pakistani Journalists
Mr. Shabbir Ahmad, Producer, Geo TV Network, Islamabad
Mr. Mahboob Ali, Correspondent, Geo TV Network, Mingora, Swat, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Mr. Sajid Hussain, Assistant Editor, The News International, Karachi
Mr. Abdul Ghani Kakar, Chief Investigative Reporter, Daily Awam, Quetta, Balochistan
Mr. Azam Khan, Reporter, Radio Pakistan, Charsadda, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Ms. Aneela Khalid Khan, Reporter, Radio Mashaal and Reporter/Anchor, AVT Khyber, Islamabad
Ms. Sumeera Riaz, News Producer, Express News TV, Lahore
Ms. Imrana Saghar, Reporter, Daily Express, Multan, Punjab
Mr. Mushtaq Sarki, Reporter, Sindh TV News, Karachi
Ms. Hafsah Syed, Executive Producer/Head of Features, Dawn News TV, Karachi

Each participant was asked to prepare a brief presentation for panels on such topics as US aid to Pakistan, economic relations. Along with Jenna Fisher of the Christian Science monitor, I presented the American view on challenges facing the media. Jenna discussed the budget cuts that have limited foreign coverage by US media outlets in recent years. I showed video of how US TV networks covered the killing of Osama Bin Laden, taking into account the short attention span of the US audience, our tendency to focus on one big story at a time, and the narrow focus on how any event impacts Americans, often leaving important international voices out of the conversation. Representing the Pakistani side, Sumeera Riaz emphasized the free and independent media that has developed in Pakistan in recent years, largely due to the development of private TV and radio stations as an alternative to state-run media. Sadly, the other Pakistani journalist on our panel, Abdul Ghani Khakar, was delayed in Pakistan by US visa issues.

Pakistan remains one of the world's most dangerous countries for journalists.. Americans may remember the beheading of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl in 2002. Several of the Pakistani journalists spoke of colleagues they have lost, brave reporters who literally died to tell a story.  But many of the Pakistanis in our group spoke of the daily pressure of more subtle threats, such as intimidating phone calls, when they report something that angers a corrupt politician, a sectarian group or the military. Read more from Reporters Without borders, here: http://en.rsf.org/pakistan-14-journalists-murdered-in-13-04-04-2011,39950.html

 There were moments that touched the heart. TV reporter Aneela Khalid Khan and Imrana Saghar of the Daily Express spoke of the high price Pakistan has paid for the war on terror, losing lives, schools, hospitals and an entire generation of opportunity.
Sparks flew during a discussion of Pakistan's nuclear weapons, when Dan Boyce of Montana public radio introduced an Atlantic Magazine cover story with the headline, "The Ally from Hell." Both sides didn't hold back when discussing how the domestic political realities in both countries prevent policy makers from doing the right thing.
Guiding our discussion are experts from the East-West Center. Among them, environment and energy expert Toufiq Siddiqui, part of a team that won the Nobel Prize for research on climate change. He educated the American participants on critical shortages of energy and water in Pakistan, preparing us for the frequent blackouts and power surges we would later experience on our visit there, and something the Pakistanis endure every day. Guiding our American steps in Pakistan will be Shabbir Cheema, a senior fellow with Asia Pacific Governance and Democracy initiatives. This native of Pakistan, veteran diplomat and scholar immediately impressed me with his skill at defining the narratives of both sides and guiding the sometimes emotional discussions to areas of common ground. Discussing the tangled history of US military and humanitarian aid to Pakistan, he said of the American view, "The CNN soundbite is: 'We didn't get our money's worth.'" Pakistanis, on the other hand, feel betrayed by a relationship that emphasizes military aid and feeds corruption at the expense of effective solutions to the urgent needs of a developing nation.

Journalists on both sides did their homework and came prepared to get the conversation started. Mushtaq Sarki from Sindh TV even looked up my website and wanted to know more about my textbook on multimedia storytelling. http://eu.wiley.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-1405198699.html

I was fascinated by Mehboob Ali's TV story on skiing the mountainous Swat area, which most Americans associate with the fight against Taliban extremists. Here's the link on youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hJO2h8lae7A&feature=youtu.be

Break time meant more photo ops and a chance to sample some authentic Hawaiian food. Here's June Kuramoto of the East West Center teaching us how to eat poi. (Hint: add some sugar.) She also handled the daunting task of reservations and logistics for all of the participants' travels.

Read more on the East-West Center's web site, here:
http://www.eastwestcenter.org/seminars-and-journalism-fellowships/journalism-fellowships/pakistan-us-journalists-exchange

Pakistan: A New Adventure Begins in Hawaii

When I told people I had been accepted to a journalism exchange program in Pakistan, the reaction from most Americans was, "Why would you want to go there?" But when I mentioned that the adventure would begin in Hawaii, the question quickly became, "Where can I sign up?"
The Pakistan-US Journalists Exchange is a project of the East-West Center in Honolulu. According to its president, Charles Morrison, it was founded in the early 60s when then-Senate Majority leader Lyndon Baines Johnson was trying to drum up democratic votes, he looked to the new state of Hawaii and pushed for the establishment of a government program that would allow Americans and Asians to work together on issues of common interest, including governance, education, health, demographics and the environment. US tax dollars are at work here;. the center currently receives about $17 million annually in public funds and the US-Pakistan journalists exchange has been funded by the US State Department through the Embassy in Islamabad. However, the atmosphere is more like the academic freedom of a university. "We never take a position on an issue," Morrison said. "We are a neutral forum. No international problem can be solved by the US alone."
The exchange of mid-career professional journalists from the US and Pakistan began last year. We are the second group of participants, six Americans and 10 Pakistanis were chosen. The program coordinator, Ann Hartman, set up a Facebook group that allowed us to get to know each other in the weeks leading up to the trip, exchanging press clippings and samples of our work. For the Pakistanis, the journey to the US involved a frustrating visa process and, in the case of Mehboob Ali, a brief airport detention and close questioning by US homeland security. This talented Geo TV journalist is based in the volatile SWAT region and has distinguished himself with coverage of anti-terrorism efforts and a notable interview with the late Ambassador Richard Holbrooke, yet he was treated with suspicion. To make matters worse, the group's luggage was lost and they had to endure a couple of days with little more than their travel clothes. Still, they never complained and quickly embraced the task of addressing the issues facing our two countries. And taking pictures. Lots of pictures. In another life they could have been my students from USC/Annenberg, bright, attractive and passionate about the profession of journalism.