As I had my paperwork completed , a guy on a small beaten up bike and a machine gun casually over his shoulder was already waiting for me . Dressed in a traditional Baluchi outfit , a kind of a long , light shirt and loosely fitting pants , his face battered by the sun and wind , yet a friendly smile that shone through an impressive beard .
He ’ s from “ Levies ”, a paramilitary unit in Pakistan which looks after safety in the Baluchistan area , the area that borders Iran and Afghanistan . For many years , the Pakistani government required foreigners travelling through this region to always be escorted by the military . To the credit of the government , the escort is provided free of costs .
The next few days I would always have armed people by my side .
I followed the escort , on my bike , through sandy roads of this little town , to a military compound , nothing more than old concrete buildings where one of the detainees is busy sweeping the floor .
Here I witnessed my first insight into Pakistani hospitality ; tea and sweets were awaiting our arrival . Overheard conversations in English , as I ’ d asked the military
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