New fiction

Falling planes and poisoned swords

Jun 12th 2008
From The Economist print edition
Illustration by Daniel Pudles
T!"! are many mysteries in Pa#istan$ The %iolent deaths of se%eral political leaders&
includin' (eneral )ia ul a* and +ena,ir +hutto& ha%e ne%er been e-plained$ .ne or
two wars with India are also a pu,,le$ / history of military rule and a 'lorious culture
of court intri'ue are to blame$ 0et& despite this rich sub1ect2matter& and a pri%ile'ed
and %oluble !n'lish2spea#in' class& Pa#istan has produced little decent literature on its
political dramas$
/ 3ondon2based 1ournalist& former air2force officer and& on this e%idence& promisin'
satirist& 4ohammed anif has sei,ed upon (eneral )ia5s demise$ !ndin' a cruel 112
year rule& durin' which he did much to turn Pa#istan towards Islamic fundamentalism&
the 'eneral5s plane fell out of the s#y in 1688$ In Pa#istan& at least& it has always been
assumed that either his army or /merica #illed him7ne%er mind that the /merican
ambassador to Islamabad died with him$
4r anif5s hero is a trainee air2force officer& /li 8hi'ri& who is plottin' to #ill )ia with a
poisoned sword at a national2day parade$ e wants to a%en'e his father& a rene'ade
war hero& who he belie%es was murdered by the army5s Inter28er%ices Intelli'ence
9I8I:$ The plot is foiled after /li and his lo%er& a fellow recruit& are arrested and
tortured$ +ut then they are released; the I8I wants )ia dead too$
In his last days )ia is portrayed as a murderous buffoon; bullied by his wife&
sobbin' to /llah and sufferin' dreadfully from worms$ / cast of almost2real characters
from his rule7now synonymous with the /merican2funded and Pa#istan2based 1ihad in
/f'hanistan7surrounds him& includin' .+3& a tall bearded 8audi construction
ma'nate& who wants to be important$
/ll this is amusin'& as is the tale5s finale$ 0et& for satire to bite& its characters ha%e to
be more comple- or ori'inal than here$ From its title& %a'uely su''esti%e of /sia& to
.sama bin 3aden5s wal#2on role& 4r anif5s boo# feels formulaic$ Its absurdity& bein'
unsurprisin'& seems a bit forced$ +ut it is a 'ood enou'h effort to #eep an eye out for
4r anif5s ne-t boo#$ e will ha%e lots to write about$