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nyone who wants to understand the politics of Pakistan during the martial law of Gen Zia-ul Haq – and its lingering aftermath – must read Akbar in Wonderland, a political thriller by Umber Khairi. A veteran journalist with decades of experience in print and broadcast media, Khairi offers a narrative that, while technically fiction, is rooted in real life events.
Though the names of people, organisations and political parties have been changed, it soon becomes clear who is who and how the government of the day was dismissed at the behest of Pakistan’s powerful establishment.
The story is set in 1991, when a young journalist, Akbar Hussain, is appointed editor of a new news magazine being launched by his newspaper. The military dictator is gone and a civilian government is in place – but democracy remains fragile. The news magazine becomes a tool to uncover (and sometimes manufacture) stories of corruption against the elected government. Articles are often based more on perception than fact – something Khairi no doubt witnessed first-hand during her years in journalism.
She portrays how stories are planted; how half-baked information is passed off as fact; and how the powerful establishment manipulates the media through willing journalists, while targeting those who resist its bidding. Akbar, initially a hesitant participant, finds himself becoming a marked man as he grapples with the dangerous forces at play.
Khairi draws readers into the chaotic, vibrant world of a newsroom at an English-language monthly. She paints vivid portraits of its diverse characters: some using journalism as a stepping stone to political careers, others simply trying to tell the truth in a sea of lies. She captures the atmosphere perfectly – the endless cups of chai, the intrigues of the peons and the stark divide between the editorial floor and the management’s plush offices upstairs. Editors, too, are shown to be far from independent, often pushing the agenda of management, advertisers and unseen powers in a bid to stay in favour.
The system has only become more sophisticated over time, a deeply unsettling reality that Khairi lays bare.
The reader will recognise many familiar aspects of Pakistan’s political landscape through Khairi’s narrative: the hostility of the urban middle class towards a rural-based political party; the rise of think tanks grooming young journalists to “toe the line”; robberies and kidnappings orchestrated by security agencies to “teach lessons”; and the pervasive fear among journalists, who had little protection against threats to themselves and their families.
Yet Khairi also offers lighter moments, particularly in her affectionate portrayal of Akbar’s middle-class, Urdu-speaking family in Karachi. His close relationship with his mother, his role in navigating family politics and his tensions with his brothers are explored with nuance and wit. Still, even these sections are tinged with a painful truth: the public shaming of Akbar’s father and his work, orchestrated by the state to punish Akbar.
In a broader context, Akbar in Wonderland is a sobering reflection on the failures of democracy in Pakistan. Politicians bear some responsibility, but Khairi reminds us that the media, too, has been and continues to be complicit in undermining democracy by spreading disinformation, along with other forces at play. If anything, the system has only become more sophisticated over time, a deeply unsettling reality that Khairi lays bare.
Without revealing the ending, it is worth noting how expertly Khairi builds tension, turning the novel into a real page-turner by its final chapters. Reading this book was a genuine pleasure, even though I began with the expectation that it would be another dry memoir by an accomplished journalist. Instead, it proved to be exactly the opposite: a gripping, thought-provoking story that stays with you long after you finish it.
Akbar in Wonderland
Author: Umber Khairi
Publisher: Moringa Books, 2024
Pages: 341, Paperback
Price: Rs 1,800
The reviewer is a former director of the Centre for Excellence in Journalism and a former editor of The Express Tribune.