Daily Times

Omar Shahid Hamid’s fifth novel is a fast-paced thriller that moves back and forth through the officers in the Pakistani intelligence wing trying to hide the truth that may jeopardise the very foundations of this infrastructure.

The story picks up its pace from the first chapter. Soon after an Indian spy is captured in Pakistan, he reveals the presence of a mole – someone who is so articulately placed within the echelon of power that his mere identity may crumble the entire chain of command of the intelligence community. Hamid’s experience of being a counter-terrorism expert, in reality, helps him to add much depth to this narrative. Instead of just discussing the action, he delves right into the crux of the matter. He places the readers in between the action and lets them experience the fear, excitement and gloom.

Hamid blends crime, thrill, espionage, tragedy, regional politics and romance in one bundle of emotions to keep the readers wondering what will happen next. The main character of Betrayal is Sameer Ali Khan – an unfortunate husband who saw his wife and daughter lose their life in a terrorist attack in Balochistan. Despite being a dedicated and wise officer and a National Security Advisor, Sameer is unable to track down the culprit.

Sameer, while in pursuit of the mastermind behind the attack, meets Aleena Farooq – the love he thought he lost.

Aleena left Sameer before he got married to Asma – the wife he lost. Sameer kept wondering if Aleena betrayed him. Sameer learns about the reasons for Aleena’s sudden disappearance. Did Aleena have an ulterior motive for her disappearance and her sudden emergence in Sameer’s life?

Sameer eventually finds more about Aleena, who was a supermodel in France. She has been managing a fashion business in France and also looking after her father’s business back here in Karachi. Her son, Zeinedine, has been arrested on charges of terrorism – a subplot that leads to another pandora box that is waiting to be opened. Constantine D’Souza is finding a mole in London and at the same time, Sameer accompanies Aleena to resolve Zeinedine’s predicament.

Sameer, however, has his own life to look after, especially when he resigns as the national security advisor following his quarrel with the Prime Minister. The PM wanted Sameer to stop an investigation on corruption charges levied upon a person having a close acquaintance with the PM. The people in the intelligence community opine that Aleena is the mole and is associated with agencies abroad. This premise was reached based on Aleena’s return into Sameer’s life, her connection with French businesses, and her mentioning of the word ‘Deaf Leopard’, in one of her telephone conversations tapped by the intelligence agency.

To add fuel to an already combustible situation, D’Souza learns about the meeting Sameer and Aleena had with the head of the Indian external intelligence in London at an art gallery. They did meet Krishnamurthy separately. However, was this disguised to look like two separate meetings?

Hamid creates sub-plots explaining the lives Sameer and Aleena are living and how their meeting again leads to more exposure to secrets. Is Aleena somehow related to the mole? Will D’Souza find the truth? Will Sameer take vengeance from the mastermind who took his family from him? And most importantly, who betrayed who? These questions will be answered once you go through the book. The book’s final pages will keep you hooked, for sure.

The writer is an independent researcher, author and columnist. He can be reached at omariftikhar@hotmail.com and Tweets at @omariftikhar