Pakistan is looking to a new government following its elections on Feb. 18. Any new ruler here faces the challenges of a highly diverse nation squeezed between India, Iran, Afghanistan and other south and central Asian states -- and the job of bringing peace to the "frontline nation in the war on terror".
But apart from being a Muslim state with a nationalist "anti-India" streak and a love of cricket and kebabs, what else do Pakistanis have in common? In the following reports, The Jakarta Post's Ati Nurbaiti shares her impressions from her 10-day visit last month. She was one of the Indonesian journalists invited to Pakistan on an annual visitors' program, co-hosted by the Pakistani government and the Institute of Regional Studies in Islamabad.
Far from the campaign crowds in the cities below, a Buddha figurine smiles serenely in the shadows of a pair of stupas. The statue in the courtyard, part of the remains of a monastery, is not of immediate interest to a casual visitor from Indonesia, home of the Borobodur Temple, but the guide here draws you to the precious find.
"Come, come, this is very beautiful," he says.
Parts of the Jaulian monastery survived destruction and the small figures supporting the stupa include elephants and lions, reflecting the influence of both Indian and Roman cultures.
This is a highlight of Taxila, located in the region where the Indus Valley civilization around the Indus River had its origins. Now a protected area under the United Nation's cultural body, UNESCO, the Indus Valley was the site of the sophisticated construction of cities up to 2500 BC. The oldest city, Moenjodaro, is located in what is now Sindh province, home of assassinated leader Benazir Bhutto.
From the village below, where residents make replica figurines for tourists, it is a climb of some 200 steps to reach the compound. Here, young monks once studied the way of the Buddha, living alongside their mentors. Although razed by fire in an attack by the White Huns around 460 AD, archaeologists have identified classrooms, chapels, a kitchen and scullery, a dormitory and an assembly hall.
Buddhism was not the first religion here. Although Taxila, later known as the seat of the Gandhara civilization, became one of the world's centers of Buddhism, it was founded by worshippers of the snake.
One writer describes these people as "descendants of Zohak, the Iranian king with two snake-like tumors on his shoulders". M. Hanif Raza writes the Takkas invaded the region around 1200 BC, ruling the area centuries before Alexander the Great attacked Taxila in 326 BC, followed by several other invaders.
A nearby museum houses many of the findings from excavations dating back to British colonial rule. Besides several Buddha statues from the monastery, artifacts abound of propagators of various faiths seeking to convert everyone they can along the valley and mountain trails, crossing what are now Pakistan's borders with other south and central Asian states.
There are also signs of the traders who traveled similar routes along the famed Silk Road to China's northern Xinjiang province, and the crockery, toys, gold ornaments and coins found under mounds of dust and soil in what were ancient cities.
Experts, we're told, have yet to decipher the meaning of many of the unfamiliar scripts found throughout these areas.
With the different conquerors seeking fertile lands, and the merchants and propagators of all manner of faiths passing through the region, Pakistan's diversity can be traced to Persian, Greek, Arabic, Turkish, Hindu and Buddhist influences, among others. Among the Zoroastrians, known as worshippers of the sun, was the wife of founding father Muhammad Ali Jinnah, who then converted to Islam.
Add to this tapestry the mystery and challenge of a danger zone in the beautiful mountainous region, and the area becomes the dreamy goal of the adventure-seeking traveler.
Back in the cities, it's modern Pakistan again: roaring political campaigns in full swing at 11 p.m., filling a small neighborhood field to the brim; families enjoying lavish midnight buffets with bright-eyed curly-haired toddlers running around -- and a live lion growling in the evening shadows of leading politician Nawaz Sharif's family compound.
And they said there was "no night life" in Pakistan.
Perhaps like thousands of years ago, people here really live life to the fullest.
