Background interviews with traders and locals based in Makran suggest there are still hundreds of Zambad drivers stuck at Pakistan-Iran border. Photo by Saher Baloch/File
QUETTA/GWADAR: In the initial days of Ramazan, I was on a trip to the Pakistan-Iran border region, amid the soaring temperatures. There was not a single vehicle I could hire to return to Quetta. This is why I had to hitch a ride on a blue Zambad vehicle (a pickup truck) filled with oil canisters our journey of over 300km was through katcha and dusty roads.
Due to the tough journey, I was not fasting while both the driver of the Zambad vehicle and its cleaner were fasting. There were three bottles wrapped up in wet cloth to keep the water relatively cool. In the middle of the journey, the harsh weather forced the driver to break his fast, by drinking from one of the bottles. He had not taken anything at Sehri apart from a few sips of water from one of the bottles at the border. “The Almighty will forgive me f