Pakistan, April 1 -- A few years ago I visited an active volcano not far from Jakarta in Indonesia in the company of my dear friends Tahir Chaudhry and the late Qazi Imran. This volcano is nestled in mountains full of pine trees and gorgeous pineapple fields at its base; rich in alluvial soil, a residual of previous eruptions. One learns every day; I always thought pineapples grow on trees! Popular with tourists it has many resorts. Our resort had a swimming pool fed by hot water from volcanic springs. It is known to contain minerals and salts that help in curing arthritis and skin ailments.

After an overnight stay, we headed to the volcano rim where you can see simmering lava percolating to rise and spill over. It is an intimidating sig...