It is Monday morning here and I have again just a little time on the Internet... here is the total from the last three days of one hell of a wild ride...

174 banks burned
158 government offices destroyed
47 train stations destroyed
18 trains burned
48 killed
thousands injured
water and fuel being rationed

There have been several wild rumors... ranging from "the public water system being poisoned" to "bands of suicide bombers roaming the streets"... none are true but they accomplish their purpose.. I recall several similar rumors during the 34 Day War in the Middle East... like "the next wave of Katysucha rockets are filled with nerve gas". etc....

It is 64 degrees here...

I spent the past two days on the streets of Rawalpindi and Islamabad with a driver (fearless)... tomorrow we head to Peshawar and along the Afghan border into the Northwest Tribal Territories... that should be interesting...

I took 75 photos in the last two days but all shops were shut down due to the three days of mourning and violence... I will try to get them developed in a day or so. Will try to make Lahore and Karachi later this week...

I will write more later...

JRJ

Limited time... limited Internet access.. in Rawalpindi... considerable fighting throughout the country. I will keep this room at this hotel throughout the week but plan on taking limited clothing and my camera equipment to Karachi and Peshawar. Travel is now impossible.. trains have been attacked and train stations burned along with dozens of police stations and banks burned... getting just from the airport to the hotel was so difficult... roads were blocked with burning debris.

I am fine... and safe... will check in as I can.

I am in the right place at the right time in history and am having the time of my life!

JJ

London, England 27 December 07 1845 hours local

Pakistan sits tonight squarely on the razors edge...the Muslim state entered this day as one of the worlds most dangerous and unstable nations...tonight she finds herself on the brink of anarchy.

Six hours ago former Prime Minister Bhutto was shot after speaking at a campaign rally in Rawalpindi. She died during emergency surgery an hour later.

The reaction throughout Pakistan has been both immediate and violent. Many have died in riots from Islamabad and Rawalpindi to Karachi. Rival opposition leader, Nawaz Sharif has announced that he and his party will boycott national elections scheduled for January 8, 2008... Sharif has also called upon President Musharraf to resign immediately.

The paramilitary forces of this nuclear nation have been placed on red alert. Musharraf has reinstituted a state of national emergency.

Two hours from now I will fly from London to Islamabad and within the context of conditions in the region I will commence my planned analysis of a nation now on the verge of civil war. What had been expected to be a moderately difficult endeavor tonight seems far more complicated...

Seldom do we ever have the chance to witness history first-hand... the days ahead now appear to offer just that...

JRJ

Bhutto Killed

Am at Heathrow in London awaiting my connecting flight to Islamabad. Bhutto was killed in a suicide blast at a rally outside Rawalpindi about an hour ago. I am told that Musharraf has placed the country back under Emergency Rule. Not certain what that means in terms of freedom of movement but we shall soon find out. Also not certain what impact this will have on the scheduled elections. I am also told that there is considerable rioting in the streets.
Will check in later...
JJ

Read more about Bhutto's assassination from CNN here.

Jim Johnson, around the world...

Lecturing at the university

Tel Aviv 34 Day War August 2006

Entering Cotabato Southeast Asia 2007