On an unusually cold December evening in Karachi, American journalist Jon Friedland is kidnapped from one of the citys poshest neighbourhoods. His captors plan to post a video of his execution on Christmas Day. The kidnapping has come at a bad time, embarrassing the Pakistani government in front of their US allies. The clock is ticking. Will the police and Intelligence Agencies recover Friedland alive?
With the stakes so high, only one man can possibly crack the case: Akbar Khan, a police officer who has been languishing in Karachis Central Prison for years, punished and betrayed for a crime he did not commit. In desperation, the Agencies ask Constantine DSouza, a Christian police officer who serves as Superintendent of the Prison, to get Khan to cooperate. But there are others who are not as eager to allow Khan back out from his prison cell, most of all the United Front, the fascist political party that controls the city with an iron fist.
Caught in the middle is DSouza-pressured by the Agencies to help them tap Khan for information, and by the United Front to ensure that the scheme does not succeed. 25 December approaches and the fate of Friedland hangs in the balance. The story careens through the streets of Karachi for a ground-level tour of the War on Terror, taking the reader into an all too real world of jihadis, corrupt police officers, duplicitous members of the Intelligence Agencies, and bloodthirsty political henchmen-all placed together in a city where no one is quite what they seem.
About the Author
Omar Shahid Hamid has served with the Karachi Police for twelve years. During his service, he has been actively targeted by various terrorist groups and organizations. He was wounded in the line of duty and his office was bombed by the Taliban in 2010. He has a Masters in Criminal Justice Policy from the London School of Economics and a Masters in Law from University College London. The Prisoner is his first novel. |
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