Without deferral, I bade Gilgit adieu and pointed back north, hoping to clear the landslide again by helicopter. Locals contend that the dam's bursting is imminent, considering the fate of two similar events in Hunza Valley in prior times. Some 30 villages downstream have been evacuated, schools closed indefinitely to accommodate refugees, and Army helicopters are busy shuttling supplies. Although the Pakistani government declined assistance from China, understandably, many locals declare their relief effort as being insufficient and overdue, particularly those living upstream.
Regarding safety in northern Pakistan, I shall relate my impressions. To be sure, Pakistan is not a place where the blemishes of American foreign policy are glazed over. Many Pakistanis perceive America to have waged war on the Muslim world, whose activities have inflamed terrorism and insecurity in Pakistan. Furthermore, American drone operations in western Pakistan, along with their civilian collateral, are probably indistinguishable from terrorism to those affected. But hospitality is an overriding feature of the Pakistani moral constitution, unwavering even for an American recipient. In short, the Americans are not well-regarded in Pakistan, but hospitality trumps politics, at least in the north.
Friendly graffiti in northern Pakistan ("Long live Benazir")
