My Connection To The Marriott Hotel Bombings

The Marriott, Islamabad, was the location of the last stop during our annual country-wide lawn exhibitions under the banners of Mohammad Farooq Textile Mills Ltd. and V9 LAWN PRINTS by suma project V. Before the start of each spring season, we would have a chat with Mr. Sadruddin Hashwani, owner of the Marriott and Pearl Continental Hotels in Pakistan.

During the exhibitions in Lahore this year at the Pearl Continental I ran into Mr. Hashwani. Determined, in face of the already evident U.S. credit crises, he was planning with his architect to build a new tower for the Lahore Hotel.

When I pressed Mr. Hashwani, citing the falling demand for goods and services, running inflation, Musharraf 's stepping down as military chief, elections, insurgencies in the North West Frontier Province and in Balochistan, the Taliban, Afghanistan and the obvious historical U.S. interests, Benazir's recent assassination and the general law and order situation in Karachi and other cities, he pointed to the lawn exhibition hall, packed with ladies in a fabric-buying frenzy and said,"Son, you just have to keep doing."

This year, due to the several bomb threats already before March, we had our Islamabad exhibitions moved to the Serena Hotel instead. Mr. Hashwani told me that they were not even allowing weddings to take place at the Islamabad Marriott for security reasons. Weddings in Pakistan is a massive business.

The September 20 bombing was all over the news around the world - you couldn't escape such news in urban areas. I'm in Barcelona, so there was some delay I suppose. The local cab driver didn't tell me, for example. Friends at Fusion Sushi Club in the Gothic district definitely had conversations at the bar converging on the chaos in the Pakistani capital.