A Desi Dilemma

Bold and insightful - `A Desi Dilemma` reminded me of `The Kite Runner`. What an amazing story-teller!

One of the best articles at Chowk.

Brilliant Adam ,
You are very promising; I can see sparkles of brilliants in you. I am from kerala, south of India, your characters are real and with little bit of cosmetic touch up, can be from any where in the sub continent and not just NWFP. Make sure you keep portraying them honestly but without reinforcing prejudices and stereotypes. I am impressed by your style of narration. Its time you start working on a full length novel .all the best.

Re: # 52

Well there are people outthere who would agree with a Mullah saying that TV is haram and in Afghanistan TVs were actually strung to poles during the time of the Taliban, reason being that those people who did it believed a certain interpretation of Islam.

But there are also more people outhere in the NWFP who think that the T.V. poses no conflict with their religious faith and they either change the channel or just keep on watching whenever a bikini appears.

The incident that you have highlighted was fictional and a satirical effort to show the effects of social pressure. It also pointed out an irony that something as harmless as a mobile was rendered haram while the plague of the N.W.F.P. the AK 47 was considered just another item of daily use. I would like to say here that I dont know of any instance where mobile is being deemed haram, it was a figment of my imagination.

There are people in every society who are TOO RIGID to accept any change. Their behaviour is funny as well as dangerous, I write about these rigidities and the absurdities that they create, because I find them laughable.

I am sure if you look around in your society you will find many stupid rigidities in the Indian Muslim Community.

Would love to hear about those.

Dear Adam

I would like to ask you one question. If tommorrow any Mullah says travelling by Aero Plane is un-islamic because the planes were invented by Wright Brothers from America. In that case Darya Khan, the pathan would have to travel by America or Saudi Arabia by horse or by foot. The same applies for automobiles

``With all eyes on Gulzar Shah, he knew exactly what to do. He gave his beloved Nokia to one of Khan Lala’s gunmen, and watched as it was smashed into pieces with the butt of a halaal AK-47. ``

Well he could switch the mobile phone off when is offering namaz or when it is not required

Iqbal Singh (India)

PS: I would be happy if any Pathan or a Pakistani fellow clears my above querry.

Re: # 49

arjun,

....... this week`s economist says that the indians are helping the terrorists in baluchistan .... is that true ?

Re: # 49

This logic goes pretty well with the Kashmiri insurgency, the differnce between the Taliban and the Kashmiri insurgency is that the Kashmiri Mujahideen are focused on India. Where as the Taliban have designs on Pakistan`s tribal areas as well. That is why Musharaf in control of the Taliban is something that doesnt make logical sense. There can be elements within the ISI and Pakistan Army who favour the Taliban but then these are the elements who want Musharaf removed as well. Thats why the regular shuffling of generals takes place at the top levels in Pakistan Army.

What you are saying here is that Musharaf is Bush`s baby, and Mullah Omar is Musharaf`s baby. So basically Bush is the grand daddy of all Taliban, it makes for one hell of a conspiracy theory, but it doesnt make much sense.

With 33% in approval ratings GWB will give anything to lay a hand on Osama to say that he is not doing so because he doesnt want to piss Musharaf off is something that is very hard to believe.

One order from Washington simply dissolved the strong relationship that the ISI and the Taliban had back in 2001. I dont think anyone can play it both ways like that.

As far as the creation of Jihadis is concerned well it wasnt only Pakistan, the saudis and the Americans played their part as well, and i guess everyone is reaping what they sowed.

This line of reasoning that you are presenting is very common among moderate muslims aka keyboard jihadis who hate Musharaf`s liberal agenda as well as Taliban`s conservative rant so they put them together and the cherry on top is W himself.

These people also claim that Osama is a CIA agent, some say mossad but mostly its CIA.

#47 by adamkhan on July 4, 2006 3:33am PT



Musharafs great plan for Pakistan is to cash in on its potential geographic rent,


There are elements within the Pakistani military and the ISI that still support the taliban. Musharraf himself wants to use the taliban to control Afghanistan when the US forces leave. He wants to have his cake and eat it too..The result of this brilliant policy: 700+ Pakistani soldiers dead at the hands of the jihadis they created..

Wanting to cash in on self-declared geographical potential is a long way from actually being able to do that. the whole pipeline thingy is a Pakistani wet dream..a 50+ year wet dream that`s no nearer realization today than it was in the last century..


As far as the statment from the commander goes, well the Commander in chief is constantly patting Mush on the back


Great for mushy...Except that part about the repeated violations of Pakistani airspace and the incident with the hellfire..

the pat on the back is actually a nudge..a nudge to get Pakistani forces to act against their own creation..witness the 10K extra soldiers sent to the border the day Condi Rice came calling..

I almost missed on this one, and would have certainly regretted if I had. Another brilliant piece Adam! Your technique of story-telling is immaculate, and so are the topics that you write on, exposing the dual face of our society and its torch-bearers.
Loved that `Ask me how/why` thing, it is so very innate to majority of us desis. And just like many others here,I`ll eagerly look forward to reading more from you.

So the Pakistani government is sheltering the Taliban so that they can challenge its writ in Waziristan, Khyber Agency and Mohmand Agency? doesnt make sense.

Musharafs great plan for Pakistan is to cash in on its potential geographic rent, namely the pipelines from Iran and central asia as well as the trade corridor from Gawadar to China. Thats it. The Taliban are active in areas that are crucial to the success of his plan. Now why would you think that Musharaf would be hell bent on ruining that?

As far as the statment from the commander goes, well the Commander in chief is constantly patting Mush on the back, and even Karzai detracted from his earlier statment by saying that Zarqawi might be in Afghanistan.

#45 by adamkhan on July 3, 2006 6:08pm PT


Karzai has to point his finger at Pakistan every now and then just to keep the N.A. happy. How else can one explain the recent exchange of heated statments from both sides.i.e. Afghanistan and Pakistan?


Umm..i don`t know..a teeny tiny(albeit inconvenient) possibility that the taliban are actually being sheltered in Pakistan?

Taliban using Pakistani territory: US commander

WASHINGTON: Taliban forces fighting US troops in Afghanistan have grown stronger and more sophisticated, and are directing operations from neighbouring Pakistan, a senior US commander said on Wednesday.

The war between the Northern Alliance and the Taliban was in ethnic terms a war between the Persian Speaking Afghans and the Pushtoons. The Northern Alliance gained a formidable ally in the form of the US and was able to topple the Taliban.

With Mullah omar and co on the run, its General/Marshal Fahim, General Dostam etc who yield the biggest sticks when it comes to Afghan sticks. Thus the perception within the Pukhtoons here that they have lost their controlling influence in the great motherland. So the Taliban are seen as not only fighting for Islam but also for Pukhtoon pride.

The perception maybe wrong or it may be right but it sure is benefiting the mullah more than anyone else. Dont know why the establishment would want that? Because the reports coming out of Waziristan are very troubling.

What was funny that during the American invasion many nationalists here were talking of a Punjabi-Farsiban alliance to wipe the Pushtoons of the face of the earth. The convoys of young pukhtoon pakis who rushed forward to help the Taliban were not all bearded madrassah students, many were doing it because the Pukhtoons over there were in trouble.

Karzai has to point his finger at Pakistan every now and then just to keep the N.A. happy. How else can one explain the recent exchange of heated statments from both sides.i.e. Afghanistan and Pakistan?

adamkhan #39

`` The impotency of ANP, the talk about Kalabagh and the formidable position of the northern alliance in Kabul is helping them reach out to the disgruntled Pukhtoon nationalist. ``

Please explain what you mean by the formidable position of the Northern Alliance in Kabul. It is a myth propagated by the establishment in Pakistan.

I thought the story started out with overwrought stereotypes, but you redeemed yourself with very perceptive back & forth conversations. Wonderful storytelling indeed! The ending was a bit contrived.

if the place indeed is full of guns, and there is hardly any hunting available, any government will have much difficulty ..

I hope so too Zakk, they are afterall the lesser of two evils..

Adam: I suspect the ANP will do very well in the next elections..it`s attracting a whole swathe of vote catchers in the run up to the election. Its supporters are charged and disgruntled workers are coming back into the fold.

Nazarhayatkhan: Yes, by Ghilman I meant that. You are right I should have explained it. Thank you.

hammadqureshi: Thanks for stating that example, pedophilia is a widespread disease that is plaguing our country. The irony is that the hush hush attitude that is supposed to stop it from spreading is infact one of the main reasons behind its propagation.

indikaT75 and rf786: The MMA is playing two cards at the same time, they speak not only of Islam but also of Pukhtoon nationalism.

The impotency of ANP, the talk about Kalabagh and the formidable position of the northern alliance in Kabul is helping them reach out to the disgruntled Pukhtoon nationalist.

Where as the resurgence of the Taliban and American failures in Iraq are making them stronger among their fundi base. This puts them in a very strong position.

The only `hope` is that if there is a split between the JI and the JUI, which some pundits say is very possible. Even if that happens, they are going to come as a very strong opposition.

So lets hope for the best i guess.

Once upon a time, in a country far far away, a caucasian male made the following sweeping assertion.

“Most Pakis are homos.”

Most Pakis were deeply offended.

Has he met most Pakis? They asked.
What is his opinion based upon? Racist jokes that look down upon the poor Paki??
If most Pakis are homos then how come there are 15 crores of them?

Gasp! Is this Gora sahib saying that homosexuality runs in Paki blood?
Why, this Gora Sahib must be sued or made to at least apologize to the 15 crore hearts that he has broken.

That racist RACIST Gora who does he think he is?

Well written article Adam!

NWFP is a part of Pakistan where a lot goes on, but I agree with Adam the rest of the country is pretty much the same. In Layyah for instance, powerful men parade their young male lovers in nice costumes to invoke jealousy of their peers and competitors. The picture is pretty much the same everywhere. This is not the first time I have heard of a Maulvi acting in such a bizarre way, the last time it was in Yazdemaan, a town close to Multan.

Well, I wish situation may get better. We need to EDUCATE! EDUCATE! and EDUCATE! especially our women. Process will take many years ofcourse. But the changes have come to appear lately atleast in Urban centers as cleverly pointed out by Adam. I agree with Adam, we cannot point fingers at the west when our own people are so disgustingly ...

Nicely written, I am a bit disappointed by some of the stereotypical pseudo liberal interactors comments. The generalisation of pathans as paedophiles or gay I find quite offensive.

Khan saab that was an interesting story. Bada mazaa aaya. The happenings in NWFP cannot be ignored as something happening in a different world. But come to think of it, the way things happen there, it sure appears to be a different world altogether. THINGS have to change. But will it with the MMA types calling the (AK-47!) shots ?!

~ Salil ~

Adam Khan....an excellent read. very funny and well written.

this story may be soon repeated in some parts of india, especially punjab and haryana where female feoticide has reached such alarming levels that men are finding it very difficult to get girls for marriage.

Thanks to the obsession for male heirs in that part of the country, we may soon find male brothels coming up all over the place their.

Rgds,

devkant.

LOL!...Adam Khan. I love the way u write ur stories,...so captivating! The ending was a bit predictable though!!! Everyone knows how these molvi`s and priests are generally pedophiles and pathans are homos.

Re: # 20

{on a happier note, inspite of protestations to the contrary, they tell me that the girls in peshawar are a lot `easier` than their sisters in lahore}

case of product substitution maybe or lack of demand......

Ref paindupastry #18

[Re: # 15
whats the source on the burton story.. ]

The sources are various books on Richard Francis Burton`s life. Here is a little corroboration from BBC: (http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/burton_sir_richard_francis.shtml)

``Expelled from Oxford in 1842, he became an officer in the Bombay Native Infantry. Working in intelligence, he was asked to investigate homosexual brothels in Karachi; his explicit study resulted in their closure and also killed his army career.``

How true & picture perfect!

New information `Persian speaking Kabuli` in Peshawar. Punjabi `Dal Khores`.

It is common practice that Pathan women, when they cross the Attock bridge at Indus, they throw away their chadars.

I don`t think many people here understand GHILMAN. If I am not wrong, GHILMAN are the boys available in the heaven along with Hoors? Did you mean this?

enjoyed it.

nhk

Adam Khan Sahib,
Sex between a young boy and an adult is not homosexuality. Its called Pedarasty.
Its criminal, perverted and despicable.

I know, I was the victim of it in the Land of the Pure. We Pakistanis are anything but pure....The perversions of every magnitude take place there, albeit behind closed doors but with great impunity.

Good article.... too painful to read....Pakistan should be renamed Ignorantistan.....

great read...the irony.. he came back to save his daughter but lost his son.

Very well written.
People who are not aware of the culture of tribal areas, may find it strange how close this story is to the reality.
This is a culture which draws its roots from customs and religion and wherever their is a conflict, the religious dictates are twisted and bent to conform to the traditions. Horrific segregation and lack of any access to the opposite sex has resulted in tacit acceptance of homosexuality. The Ghairatmand Khans take lot of pride in keeping a beautiful young boy in tow, understood to be a male concubine.

very funny and well written.

Re: # 24
from when i was a child....kids who had come from abroad or tried to speak with an accent...we would call them that....pastry being a generally western concept (though it isnt really) but the two words go along well togethor

good story but kind of predictable and uninteresting the way it`s written.


paindupastry bhai: would you care to tell, how did you come up with this nick? .. it sounds deep !.....

simmilar to the Osama movie.....where the mullah and old dog rescues the girl to `marry` her...

A very good narration......good story.

An Afghan woman living here, used to call all Jews very bad and evil.....when asked WHY she said because that is what is told to her and she believes her elders without a doubt....

nice reading.

adam khan,

..... thanks for a good read ... very nice ! ....

..........it is a shame that the pathans, specially in the rural and tribal areas, have not changed much in the last thousand years - and from what i can see they have managed to get even worse in the last twenty .......... two years ago my uncle could not attend my father`s funeral because his nephews had been in a shooting match with their `tarboors` and managed to kill two people - the feud has been going on for many generations ........... but here is the kicker - the uncle is a retired general and one of the nephews is a police officer ! .......... the pathans are simply incorrigible ........

..... on a happier note, inspite of protestations to the contrary, they tell me that the girls in peshawar are a lot `easier` than their sisters in lahore .......

I loved this piece. especially the details and the way Darya Khan`s brother rationalised everything. This was definitly an eye-opener in how people get brain-washed into becoming so-called extremists.

Great! At least the moulvis are as libral as lesbians.

Good narration, nonethelesss.

Re: # 15
whats the source on the burton story..

as for finding boy love....its on every street of most developing countries...what do you think happens in the slums of most major cities of the developing world

Re: # 12

hmm...i re read my observation and you are right. i did sound as if the subjects in your essay are some distant countrymen of ours. such mindsets and sick ideologies are a part of most pakistani`s anywhere in the world.

Red paindupastry #7

[reality check for us pakistani`s
i personally dont care what these people in the tribal ideas do or want, just as long as they keep to themselves....]

Richard Burton (no, not the 20th century actor but the 19th century explorer/adventurer) found Karachi in 1850 (no, that is NOT a typo, I mean 1850) to have a brothel with 4,000 (again not a typo, the number is four thousand) boys. At that time, Karachi was a dusty little town.

I wonder about today`s Karachi.

Ama Adam Khan yaar,

(Do Pakistanis have any last lames other than Khan?)

This is a bit long but a brilliantly funny story, well written!

It may not be atom bum (it only releases laughing gas), but it certainly makes a lot of current FP stuff appear like THEKHAR BACHIYA!

Bay Shuck!!

Subhan Allah, Subhan Allah!!

Indeed, what is a man without his “gun”?!!! And who does not wish to go to “janat”? (Except perhaps Manto who thinks he is already there.)

(Note: I also personally think the story would have perhaps been better if you would have ended it with the discussions at the gathering. The rest of it is okay too, but does not add much to the effect already produced!)

majumdar and wasif2:

No they are not ``par for the course``, if this story was real the molvi would have most probably died a painful death in the Hujra of Khan Lala. Homosexually isn’t THAT prevalent in the N.W.F.P. as some of you expect it to be. The thing is that one has to take jokes as jokes and nothing more.

Thank you guys, thanks for all the praise. But what surprised me the most is the reaction of some of the readers, first of all I wrote this story as a Pakistani and I am in no way ashamed of the fact that I am one. But the reaction that came for paindupastry sounded as if the N.W.F.P. is part of Afghanistan. It is not! I write about Peshawar and Pathans because I am a part of this society, and I can create stronger characters if I concentrate within its sphere.

But that doesn’t mean that the N.W.F.P. is the source of all the sexual perversions in Pakistan, the stories coming from across the Attock don’t paint a rosy picture either for instance, “Mukhtaran mai’s” assailants were not pathan. “Javaid Iqbal” Pakistan’s first known serial killer of children was also not a pathan, the brothels of Lahore are overflowing with abducted girls being forced into sexual slavery, there had been numerous stories on GEO tv about serial rapists of little girls who are thriving down south, the list goes on.

As a nation we are plagued by “pedophilia” and “rape” and we have to admit to that. To make matters worse the Hudood ordinance gives ample hope and protection to any would-be rapist, such is the shame full state of affairs in this Mumlikat a Khuda-daad.

I do not have any western biases all I am trying to say in this piece is that before we shout “shame” and point a finger at the hippie nudists of the west and call them perverts, we should admit to our own disturbing sexual perversions.

Adam Khan! Keep writing these...wonderful insight you got!

Yaar Adam, this is brilliant and by far one of the best stories on Chowk. Keep it going!!

Adam Khan,

Fantastic. But why should the moulvi`s activities make it to a newspaper. I thought young boys are par for the course in NWFP.

Regards

Adam Khan,

Brilliant! absolutely brilliant.

Regards
Sanatani

The curse of the Mahabharat

reality check for us pakistani`s
i personally dont care what these people in the tribal ideas do or want, just as long as they keep to themselves....and i pray to good to give thier women strength and some sense to thier men

Good One..but with pro-west bias...

This was an interesting story to read. But the pathan writer cleverly avoided any mention of ``a little more than usual`` prevelance of same sex relations amongst the pathans. The last few sentences dont count.

great story telling with biting subtle satire......

Nice story-telling Peshawar-wallah!!

P.S. why does Lala Khan and his yes-men remind me of so many interactors at chowk ????

Khan Sahib,
Thoroughly enjoyed your article, many thanks...is there hope for change?

this was good..like your previous ones :)
but how was Darya Khan allowed to go to the US in the first place?!