Calling Sehmat by Harinder Sikka

Author:Harinder Sikka
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9789353050276
Publisher: Penguin Group
Published: 2018-03-27T04:00:00+00:00

13

General Sayeed and Major Iqbal sat side by side, receiving the long stream of visitors who were arriving in large numbers. The compound was packed with politicians, bureaucrats, industrialists and army officers who had come to pay their last respects to Major Mehboob Sayeed. The General was visibly shaken and looked shattered. The doctors at the Military Hospital had attributed his death to a massive heart attack, but Munira linked it to the shock he had received due to the accidental death of their most faithful servant, Abdul.

General Sayeed was torn between his duty as a father and being the second in command of the ISI that was in the midst of finalizing a war on its neighbouring country. He could just about manage a short leave to attend the two funerals. Despite the double tragedy, he was constantly engaged on the phone, taking briefings and addressing crucial issues. Every part of his body wore the signs of stress and fatigue. He could not come to terms with the death of his elder son and that had kept him up the whole night. The sprightly General had aged.

While Major Iqbal handled the rites and formalities, General Sayeed shuffled between the drawing room, attending mostly to the VIPs, and his study, to be regularly updated with developments on the rapidly developing war theatre. Sehmat remained on the sidelines and attended to Major Mehboob’s widow. The moment was ripe, and she knew that every scrap of information she could lay her hands on could prove vital. In his grief, the General had become careless and, on a few rare occasions, had even left classified files on his table, forgetting to lock them in his safe.

This was the moment Sehmat was waiting for. There was no Abdul to keep a watch on her. All the servants, family members and relatives were busy attending to the unending stream of mourners. Utilizing the opportunity, she repeatedly slipped into the General’s study and sifted through the classified documents.

On the second day, an exhausted General Sayeed appeared to be on the verge of collapse. Seizing the moment, Sehmat offered to help him ‘clear the clutter’ on his desk and pack his briefcase before he left for an important meeting the next morning. The General, emotionally drained and too tired to refuse, readily accepted her offer.

Sehmat assisted him in sealing two secret envelopes that were to be sent to the Prime Minister of Pakistan, but not before going through their contents. Both letters contained information on the Indian preparedness, political developments and military status. The papers also contained details of secret agents based in New Delhi who were providing vital information to the ISI and needed to be shifted to safety.

This time around, Sehmat had to think of a better, more foolproof plan to transfer her information to the right ears. She was experienced enough to value the information she had just acquired, and also aware that all telephone lines to the Indian consulate would be tapped. Any communication therefore could prove fatal.

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