What’s your take on Pakistan?

Tomorrow I’ll be getting up around 8, pack my things and walk the 300m to the bus station, where I’ll look for a bus to take me to Wagha, the only border crossing between India and Pakistan. In the last couple weeks I’ve met many people who thought going that way isn’t really a smart idea considering the recent developments in the area. The Kalash valley, an area up north has been taken over by the Taliban, the risk of abduction in Balochistan is unusually high, violence is rampant in Karachi, Osama bin Laden is supposedly turning into a popsicle somewhere in a cave high up the mountains in Chitral and the Pakistani government never really had, like ever, control over the tribal areas close to Afghanistan.

All very good and valid reasons, why one shouldn’t travel to Pakistan just now. So maybe I’m not smart (a lot of people keep telling me that…). I’ve even had someone suggest that I’m only doing this so I can say I’ve been there. So I’m not only not smart, I’m a bit of a show-off as well. All of which I can really live with. After all, I know that I will be just as safe in Pakistan now as I was the last few years travelling the world. Obviously there is a risk, but I think this can be managed, just as the risk of crossing the road here in India can be managed. It all comes down to me. The way I behave as a traveller and visitor in a foreign country.

I’ve done my research. I know the areas in Pakistan to avoid. Some I will have to travel through on my way to Iran, like West Balochistan, but even this is manageable. I will travel on local busses as much as possible, I’ll try (probably not too hard) to avoid popular tourist joints and I will wear long pants. You might laugh, but in countries like Pakistan and Iran it’s not very respectful to wear shorts for anything but the beach and it pays off respecting the people and culture of your host country.

And let’s not forget that Pakistan is not at war, despite the so called War on Terror. Without a doubt, Pakistan is right in the middle of that war, but I refuse to believe that a whole country can only consist of extremists. Rather, I believe that the Pakistani people will offer me the hospitality that the whole of the Middle East was once known for (and probably still should be; I’ll let you know). On all my travels, I have always felt welcome and I don’t see why Pakistan should be any different.

I haven’t been to Pakistan before, but I’m as excited about going there like I was on that first day of that first trip 9 years or so ago. Personally, I think almost any country can be travelled in, no matter what the circumstances (let’s exclude a full blown war here, shall we?). Many people have visited Pakistan before me and many more will go after I have been there and I don’t think we’ll be in any kind of danger. If I didn’t think so, I wouldn’t be going.

So… What’s your take on the matter? Is Pakistan a travel country or should it be avoided?