Season of the Rainbirds

NOTE

All characters in this novel are fictional; most of the events are, too. However:

— the terrorist attack mentioned in ‘Wednesday’ (chapter 7) is based on the first attempt on General Zia’s life: on 7 February 1982, the Al-Zulifiquar (the terrorist team led by Benazir Bhutto’s brother, Murtaza) fired a SAM-7 missile at a plane carrying the General.

— The Little Green Book containing the ‘President’s thoughts’, mentioned in ‘Thursday’ (chapter 8), did exist; it was commissioned by Ayub Khan during his rule (1958–69).

The quotations from the Qur’an in this book are from N.J. Dawood’s translation for the Penguin Classics series.

I am indebted to Tariq Ali for his excellent books on Pakistan, Pakistan: Military Rule or People’s Power? (Cape, 1970) and Can Pakistan Survive? (Penguin Books, 1983); the books provided social and political context for some of my childhood memories.

A glossary of Urdu words used in the novel will be found at the end of this book.

N.A.