The South Asia correspondent of The Economist provides here a vignette of the life in Pakistan that few people read about in the newspapers. The first part is a series of well-written essays on the unique character of Pakistan; the second takes up various "classes" of people-businessmen, politicians, soldiers and landowners-who are important in Pakistani society and politics. Also included is one of the last interviews given by President Zia ul-Haq before his death last year.