Knock wood

Today was the 1-year anniversary of the death of Benazir Bhutto, a revered political figure in Pakistan and also the country's first and only (to date) female leader. She was assassinated at this time last year, immediately prior to a national general election. Her husband, Asif Zadari, rode the aftermath of her death into office and is now the President of Pakistan.

There was much discussion over the past few weeks about what today would be like, and although everyone always hopes for peace we all know what can happen. I'm pleased to report that, as of 8:00 p.m., all's quiet in the city. It was a federal/bank holiday and most shops were closed, although restaurants and a few other places remained open.

But if it's not one thing, it's another -- if you read the paper, you likely saw this. The belief here is that these events are happening for one of two reasons: (a) because it needs to -- i.e. there are legitimate intelligence concerns precipitating the troop move, or (b) because Pakistan may be trying to show the West what happens when its soldiers aren't guarding the Afghan border (open floodgates!). I think it's safe to say that Nick and I both feel at ease here, and that things in Karachi are normal for now.

I bring these things up not to scare anyone, but to try and demonstrate the strange paradox of life in Pakistan. Everyone has to proceed as usual, because otherwise 150 hardcore terrorists hold a nation of 165 million people in the palms of their hands. At the same time, one's usual day can be interrupted at any time with some sort of crazy news. Being here, it's easy to see that I take my normal American life for granted.

And, to give you an idea of population, here are a few quick Google stats:

*Population of Karachi: estimated to be between 17-19 million.
*Population of New York City, America's largest: 8.3 million (excluding the wider metro area).
*Population of Pakistan: approximately 165 million.
*Population of the state of Texas (comparable in size to the nation of Pakistan): 23.5 million
*Population of the US: approximately 301 million.

Not surprising that things get stirred up quickly here, eh? Lots of people in close quarters can make for some interesting surprises.