Your Go-Bag

You're not going to have time to pack.

When the news breaks (border escalation, airstrikes, a sudden evacuation order), you'll have minutes, not hours. Your hands will be shaking. Your kids will be asking what's happening. Your wife will be on the phone with her mother. You'll grab clothes and forget the documents. Grab water and forget the medications. Grab the phone charger and forget the cash.

This isn't a character flaw. It's how humans work under acute stress. The solution isn't "be calmer"; it's to have already packed.

A go-bag sits by your front door, zipped and ready. You don't touch it unless you're checking it or grabbing it on the way out. It contains everything your family needs to survive 72 hours away from home. When the moment comes, you pick it up and walk.

What goes in: the individual bag

One bag per adult. This covers one person for 72 hours. Everything below is available from shops you already visit.

Documents: the irreplaceable items

Nothing in your bag matters more than this. You can replace food, water, and clothes. You cannot easily replace identity documents in a crisis.

How to store them: All of this goes in a single waterproof pouch. A zip-lock bag works; a document folder from any stationery shop works better. One pouch, sealed, in the top compartment of your bag where you can grab it fast.

Digital backup: Take photos of every document and save them in a folder on your phone. Also email them to yourself so they'll be in your email archive even if your phone dies. If you use Google Drive or similar, upload them there too.

For the full document prep walkthrough, see the FCDocument Pouch Field Card.

Cash: ATMs won't be running

In any crisis, whether earthquakes, political unrest, or conflict, ATMs either run dry or go offline within hours. Digital payments require internet. The only universally accepted payment method in a crisis is cash.

How much: Rs. 20,000-50,000 per bag.

What denominations:

• Rs. 500 and Rs. 1,000 notes only. Not Rs. 5,000.
• Rs. 5,000 notes are hard to break in normal times. In a crisis, when a shopkeeper is selling the last packets of biscuits and water, he's not making change for your five thousand. Smaller notes give you flexibility.
• Keep some Rs. 100 notes too, for rickshaws, small purchases, and tips that speed things up.

How to carry it: Split it. Half in the bag, half on your person (wallet, inside pocket). If you lose the bag, you still have money. If you're pickpocketed, you still have the bag money. Wrap it in a plastic bag to keep it dry.

Water and food

Water: 1.5 litres minimum per person. One standard mineral water bottle. It's heavy (1.5 kg) but non-negotiable. You can refill it on the way if you have purification.

Water purification: A strip of Aquatabs (Rs. 300 from any pharmacy) or a small bottle of unscented bleach. This lets you purify water from any source along the way. Compact, almost weightless.

Food: Enough for 3 days that needs zero cooking or refrigeration:

This gives you roughly 5,000-6,000 calories spread across three days. It's not comfortable eating; it's survival eating. The sattu mixes with water for a complete meal. The chana and dates are grab-and-eat energy. The glucose biscuits keep kids quiet and fed.

Power and light

Power bank: 10,000mAh minimum, 20,000mAh if you can manage the weight. Keep it charged and check it monthly. A dead power bank is dead weight. A 10,000mAh gives you 2-3 full phone charges; a 20,000mAh gives you 4-5.

Phone charger: A cable that actually works with your phone. Test it. The number of people who pack a charger that doesn't fit their current phone is astonishing.

Torch: Small LED torch with extra batteries. Not your phone flashlight, which kills your phone battery. A dedicated torch costs Rs. 200-500 and runs for hours on a couple of AAs.

First aid and medications

Medications: If anyone in your family takes daily medication (blood pressure, diabetes, thyroid, anything), pack a 7-day supply in the bag. This is critical. Pharmacies may be closed. You may not be near your regular one. Seven days of prescribed meds in the original packaging with the prescription label.

Basic first aid:

• Paracetamol (strip of 10)
• ORS sachets (5)
• Pyodine (small bottle)
• Bandage roll and gauze pads
• Medical tape
• Antihistamine (for allergic reactions: Loratadine or Cetirizine)

Clothing and comfort

One change of clothes. One. Not three, not a "just in case" outfit. One set that works for the weather:

• Summer: light cotton shalwar kameez or t-shirt and trousers
• Winter: add one warm layer (fleece, sweater)

Rain cover: A plastic poncho from a Rs. 100 shop or a large garbage bag with a hole for your head. Getting soaked in a crisis leads to hypothermia in winter or skin infections in monsoon.

Comfort items: One small thing that matters to you. A tasbeeh, a small Quran, a family photo. Don't overthink this; just one thing that keeps you grounded.

Tools

Knife or multi-tool: A small folding knife costs Rs. 300-800. Useful for cutting bandages, rope, packaging, food preparation, and a hundred other tasks. Nothing tactical: a simple folding blade.

Lighter or matches: In a waterproof bag. You might need to start a fire for warmth, signalling, or boiling water.

Pen and paper: A small notebook and a pen. For writing messages, noting addresses, keeping track of information when your phone is dead.

Rope or paracord: 5-10 metres. Lightweight and endlessly useful for hanging a tarp, securing items, and improvised repairs.

The complete bag

Here's everything in one list:

Weight limits

Your bag should weigh 7-10 kg maximum. That's not a suggestion; it's a hard limit.

Why: because you might be carrying a child on your other arm. You might be walking for hours. You might be running. An overpacked 15 kg bag will slow you down and exhaust you when you need energy most.

Weigh your bag. Use a bathroom scale: step on holding the bag, subtract your weight. If it's over 10 kg, take things out. Start with items that duplicate something else or the "just in case" extras you added.

The heaviest items in your bag are water and cash. Everything else is relatively light. Don't try to save weight on water; dehydration is a bigger threat than a slightly heavy bag.

Priority order if you need to cut weight

If your bag is too heavy, cut in this order (from first to go to last):

1. Extra clothes (keep one set only)
2. Rope and tools (nice to have, not critical)
3. Comfort items
4. Excess food (keep sattu and one other, as they're calorie-dense)
5. Never cut: documents, cash, water, medications, phone charger

Seasonal adjustments

Pakistan's climate is extreme. A bag packed for December won't serve you in June.

Summer (April-September)

• Extra water. If you can manage 3 litres instead of 1.5, do it. Or add extra Aquatabs and plan to refill.
• Electrolytes. Extra ORS sachets or electrolyte powder. Dehydration in a Karachi summer with physical exertion can become dangerous within hours.
• Light, breathable clothing. Cotton only. Dark colours absorb heat.
• Remove: Heavy layers, extra blankets.

Winter (November-February)

• Warm layer. Fleece, sweater, or a light insulating jacket. Karachi winters are mild but Sindh interior and northern routes get cold at night.
• Emergency blanket. A foil emergency blanket (Rs. 200-400 on Daraz) weighs almost nothing and retains body heat. Not a replacement for real warmth but better than nothing.
• Remove: Nothing critical, just add the warm layer.

Monsoon (July-September)

• Waterproofing. Everything in zip-lock bags: documents, electronics, food.
• Rain cover for the bag. A garbage bag over the backpack, or a dedicated rain cover.
• Extra plastic bags. For keeping wet clothes separate from dry ones.

Check your bag at the start of each season. Takes 10 minutes. Swap the weather-specific items. It's the difference between a bag that works and a bag that works for the wrong month.

Kids' bags

Children age 5 and above should carry their own small bag. It shouldn't be heavy, 2-3 kg maximum, and it gives them something to carry, which psychologically helps them feel involved rather than helpless.

The ID card

This is the most important item in your child's bag. A laminated card (get it done at any print shop for Rs. 50) with:

• Child's full name
• Your name and CNIC number
• Your phone number
• Spouse's phone number
• A relative's phone number (someone not in your household)
• Home address
• Blood type (if known)
• Any allergies or medical conditions

If your child gets separated from you (in a crowd, during an evacuation, at a relief camp), this card is everything. Pin it inside their clothing or put it in a pocket they can always reach.

Where the bag lives

By the front door. Not in the bedroom closet. Not in the storage room. Not in the car boot (that's your car kit, not the same thing).

By the front door, in a spot where you can grab it on the way out without stopping. Everyone in the family should know where every bag is.

If you have multiple exit points (ground floor house with a back door), consider positioning bags near your most likely exit.

In an apartment: Near the shoe rack by the front door is fine. If you're worried about it looking out of place, get a plain backpack that doesn't scream "survival bag." A normal-looking school backpack works perfectly.

Maintenance: the quarterly check

An unchecked bag is worse than no bag. You'll grab it in a crisis, open it to find expired medicine, a dead power bank, and food that went bad months ago.

Every 3 months (set a phone reminder):

1. Power bank: Charge it to 100%. If it won't hold a charge, replace it.
2. Water: Replace the bottle with a fresh one. Sealed water doesn't go bad quickly, but rotate it anyway.
3. Food: Check sattu for rancid smell (should smell roasted and nutty). Check biscuit expiry dates. Replace anything questionable. Eat what you remove; it's not waste.
4. Medications: Check expiry dates. Replace with fresh prescriptions. Update if medications have changed.
5. Documents: Any new IDs? Updated passport? New property papers? Swap in current copies.
6. Cash: Still there? Still correct amount? Hasn't been "borrowed" by a family member? Check.
7. Torch: Turn it on. Batteries good? Replace if dim.
8. Clothes: Still appropriate for the coming season?

Write the check date on a piece of tape stuck to the bag. When you open it next, you'll know exactly when it was last checked.

What NOT to pack

The temptation is to overpack. Resist it. Every extra item is weight, and most of what people add "just in case" never gets used.

Don't pack:

• Sentimental items beyond one. Your wedding album, family jewellery, kids' trophies: leave them. If your house survives, they'll be there when you return. If it doesn't, they were things. Your family is alive.
• Too many clothes. You're not going on holiday. One change. That's it.
• Gear you haven't tested. A fire starter you bought on Daraz and never tried. A water filter still in its packaging. If you haven't used it, you won't figure it out under stress. Test everything before it goes in the bag.
• Heavy luxury food. Canned goods, protein powder, elaborate meal kits. Every gram matters. Sattu and chana are lighter, calorie-denser, and simpler.
• Weapons. This is a go-bag for a family evacuation, not a tactical loadout. Carrying a weapon during a crisis checkpoint can get you detained or worse. Leave them out.

Tonight

1. Find a backpack. Any backpack. The one from your last office laptop, a school bag, whatever. This is your go-bag now.
2. Documents first. Photocopy your CNIC and passport. Put them in a zip-lock bag. Put the zip-lock bag in the backpack. You now have the most critical item handled.
3. Add cash. Rs. 5,000 to start, in Rs. 500 notes. Add more when you can. Target Rs. 20,000.
4. Add a water bottle. Full, sealed.
5. Put it by the front door. Tell your family: "This is our emergency bag. Don't move it."

That's a 20-minute exercise. Your bag is not complete, but it exists. It has documents, cash, and water: the three things you absolutely cannot evacuate without. Build it out over the next two weeks. Add the food, the power bank, the torch, the first aid supplies. One item per trip to the shops.

The perfect go-bag is the one that's packed and by the door. Not the one you're still planning to build.