ISLAMABAD, Oct 7: Pakistan has to stand up for itself and should not let foreign powers take advantage of its position, B.K. Zahrah Nasir, a writer, said on Sunday.

Speaking at a launching ceremony of her book, Gun Tree, in a local hotel, she said the West had never stood by Pakistan. In the current critical situation, she said, Pakistan should not trust empty promises and deal with its internal problems before allowing Western allies to take control of all affairs.

She said foreign intervention was not the answer and the West ignored Afghanistan when its people were starving. If American contingents were to land here, the internal repercussions for Pakistan would be very serious, she said during a question-answer session that followed a talk relating to her experience in Afghanistan.

The first woman ever to accompany Mujahideen, from their hide-outs in crevices to real-life battle scenes, Zahrah, re- named, Banafshah Khomar, by the group who took her in, had a first-hand taste of the Soviet-Afghan war.

The Gun Tree was a Mulberry tree, on which the Mujahideen used to hang their weapons. Though Zahrah never went back to Afghanistan after 1983, the year Russian offences became more intense, she could still vividly recall the bullets and bombs whizzing past her.

A journalist by profession, Pam Morris of Scotland came to Afghanistan with the original intent to wire accurate reports of the situation on ground back home.

But Banafshah Khomar had not counted on becoming so totally involved with the freedom fighters. The endurance test she was put through, helped alleviate the pain of a battered wife who had lost her young children in a custody battle.

Zahrah feels her transition to womanhood coincides with the respect and care the Mujahideen gave her. Impressed by the Afghan way of life, she accepted Islam. She carved out a new identity for herself, as close encounters with death changed her outlook on life. She evolved into a bold and confident person.

She learnt to put together a Klashinkov blindfolded and was soon hitting right on target. Zahrah has taken shots at planes and people, but that doesn’t make her any less a person, as she writes in her book.

She met her husband, Nasir, while she was working in the Gulf in 1985. The marriage was solemnized by the Grand Mufti of Oman on whose suggestion she took on the Arabic name Zahrah. After the marriage the couple came back to Pakistan. —Hajra Ilahi