On board PNS Zulfiquar: Diary of an 'embedded' journalist
This is the second installment of a three-part travelogue. Read the first part here.
Day 2
0700hrs: Today I made it on time. It was still dark and foggy outside.
The day’s plan was slightly different from yesterday’s — instead of an aircraft, there was a destroyer ship waiting for us at Karachi’s naval dockyard, armed, fuelled and ready to sail. But before that, Commander Pakistan Fleet (COMPAK) Vice Admiral Arifullah Hussaini briefed us at the Naval tactical training school about the maritime force’s ventures and adventures.
On our way to the naval dockyard, the discussion turned towards the infamous hijacking of a destroyer by an allegedly defecting naval officer.
The back and forth became amusing when senior journalists turned to the naval officers to verify the stories they had heard — the uneasiness on the officer’s face was obvious. He tried covering it up with a forced smile, until a second officer spoke up, saying they had little knowledge of the incident as it was a matter of national security.
Hearing this, the journalists laughed and continued hypothesising about what might have happened on that fateful night.
Good times.