12 October 1999: And then everything changed

October 12 was just another day in the year 1999. The weather in Karachi was hot and sunny. After having gathered stories from the Sindh High Court and anti-terrorism court (ATC), I reached office at 5pm. The state TV was airing news in the Kashmiri language, suddenly the anchor switched to Urdu.

I inquired from my colleague as to what the news presenter was saying. What? PM Nawaz Sharif had instated Gen Ziauddin Butt as the new army chief and he was pinning another star on his shoulder. I was aware that the incumbent Army Chief Gen Pervez Musharraf was then on a visit to Sri Lanka.

The prime minister had appointed another official as the Army Chief in his (Musharraf) absence and, for a journalist, it wasn't really difficult to assess the circumstances. I had sensed that today – October 12, 1999 – was going to become an important day and it eventually became a significant day in the history of Pakistan.

For some, it may be the darkest day, while for others it may be a key turning point in the country's history. Seventeen years have passed since all this happened. I was then in the eighth year of my journalistic career as a court reporter and the stories I had gathered until 5pm were all but killed after this development.

I realised the same moment that Gen Pervez Musharraf was returning from Sri Lanka that evening. When I called flight inquiry, I came to know that the flight from Colombo would reach Karachi at 7 pm. In a moment, I left for the airport imagining the possibility of having an opportunity to talk to General Musharraf and inquiring from him about the reason for his sudden removal.

When I arrived at the airport, it was 6pm and everything was normal. Passengers were arriving and departing as usual. In the meantime, several senior journalists also arrived there and, I assumed, with far better questions in their mind than what I had phrased. They all waited for Musharraf to come out of the passengers' lounge and respond to their queries.

Soon, we saw a large contingent of police reaching the airport. Shortly afterwards, senior police officials also reached the airport but they stayed inside their vehicles.

But the police moved on as Rangers' vehicles arrived at the airport.

The movement of law enforcers vehicles had begun to visibly unsettle the common passengers and their relatives, when Pakistan Army vehicles reached the airport, prompting police vehicles to leave the area.

Soon, Pakistan Army soldiers arrived in a truck and started evacuating the airport's outer lounge -- even moving the Rangers personnel to one side and restricting journalists to space on one side. The arrival of senior military officials had now also begun.

Lt-Gen Muzaffar Usmani, the then-Corps Commander in Karachi, arrived in a car and went to the airport with several other officials.

A car with a four-star military plate also accompanied Lt-Gen Usmani's vehicle. I had understood it was for General Pervez Musharraf, but an army officer got out of the car and covered the stars and flag with a cloth. Seeing this, the senior journalists with me started whispering to each other.

A family -- two men and a woman -- arrived and went inside the airport building. Somebody told us this was the army chief's family -- his daughter and son.

Then, some Navy and Air Force officers arrived in a car and swiftly entered the airport building. It was obvious that the military officers had arrived to take control of the airport, but why the PAF and Navy officers?

Such questions were answered gradually. It was learnt later on that they were Naval Aviation officers who came from PNS Mehran and the PAF officials came from PAF Faisal Base. They took control of the Civil Aviation.

Later on, the number plate of the four-star car was revealed and Pakistan’s flag was also hoisted on the car again. After this rumours started spreading that whether

General Pervez Musharraf’s position was intact or not? No one knew at that time what was happening.

All were waiting for General Pervez Musharraf to step out of the airport building so that all relevant questions can be asked. But all were kept waiting. After a while, senior journalists thought that General Musharraf probably left through Terminal-1. All reached the terminal but no one could be found there as well.

After getting frustrated at the airport, I thought that I should turn to state television’s building. Outside the building, I could see few army personnel deployed. A similar situation could be witnessed at Radio Pakistan too. Few army vehicles were also present there.

After reaching the office, we called ISPR Karachi In-charge Colonel Ashfaq He told us that the situation would get clear in a while. On the TV, patriotic songs were being broadcasted. These patriotic songs were telling us that the season of politics in the country was about to change.

Later on, we got to know that many things have changed. It was the Chief Executive General Pervez Musharraf addressing the nation on state TV. His address was also being aired on radio. And with that, an ordinary day of October 12 became extraordinary.

After the intense heat of the day, the evening’s expected coldness turned into political heat. The political scenario of the country had changed. In fact, everything had changed.

Later on, we witnessed plane hijacking case, treason case and many other events ...