Militarily Troubled Pakistan and Terribly Administered Tribals

Adam...

Khaar or Khar are from the same root. City dwellers are considered stupid in folk lore ... Secondly ... you then haven't considered my response to Jayp in toto...

The pre-cursor to the taliban were people fakir of Ipi and Maulana Mufti Mahmood. Ghaffar Khan was allied with them.

I know.. that makes him the pre-cursor to the Pakistan Army.

I see your point... it may be Kharay...

Dawa,

(Ram Ram Ram.......)

Bhoot ke mooh mein Raam naam.???

Regards

zeemax

it depends on your company, nothing derogatory about being a kharay. see this as banter, in the same light as the Shehri and Paindu distinction very common in other parts of pakistan.

#142 Posted by dawa-i-dil

[hindu is makkar..in simplest words....]

That's not what the world thinks. The Christiams don't like Muslims, Buddhists (Thailand) don't like Muslims, Hindus don't like Muslims, Jews don't like Muslims, Secular people (China/Russia) don't like Muslims.

Why do you like to follow a pedophile, mass murderer, looter and serial rapist?

And by the way - there are no jinns, no houris, no ghilmans - nothing. They were stories for controlling idiot bedouins. Sorry.

Have a nice day.

GDP in ppp.

HP:

Yes, delegating the right to make decisions, to a small section of the people reduces transaction costs. In such a sense 'elites' rule. If people delegate to the same elite over the long run, then there is no problem as such but it does raise suspicion. However, when the same 'elite' remains in business with or without being delegated power by the people then that is troublesome. Especially when this ruling section is totally removed from the needs and aspirations of the common man. In this sense Pakistan is much different from say today's Spain but has a strong resemblance to Franco's rule.

I am not saying that the mullahs are not a part of the ruling class in Pakistan. I do not remember Urstruly, echo or zeemax making that claim. I am saying, of-course influenced by the writings of echo, that the concerns of the common Pakistani (with substantial religious ideals) are not being heeded by the ruling class. The inability to participate in the political process is frustrating. And the frustration is being kept alive by the fundamentalists. They seem to be saying: "Look these English speaking rulers care more about Americans than you ... see how they kill, destroy mosques and violate the Islamic constitution". I bet you that most Pakistanis will nod their head even if not in full agreement. On the other hand the LIBERAL seems to be saying: "Hey look, there is no problem in Pakistan. We are just like all the other countries. Even our GDP in ppp is higher than China and India". I bet you that most Pakistanis will give the stare ... "yeah, right".

#150 Posted by GT

“I am saying, of-course influenced by the writings of echo, that the concerns of the common Pakistani (with substantial religious ideals) are not being heeded by the ruling class.”

That is where the error in assessment is. Echo does not know squat about Pakistani situation. There are small pockets of Islamist support in a few Punjabi cities otherwise most of their support is in the tribal areas and parts of NWFP and that is not the Majority of Pakistani having Islamist ideals, that is pure garbage. Majority of Pakistani would vote Benazir, Sharif and other groups of Muslim leagues and none of them is Islamist.

Putting together small numbers of suicide bombers, does not in any way mean that the bombers represent the Islamist/religious ideals. You need to distinguish between the criminals (the suicide bombers in Pakistan) and peaceful vote wielding people.

“The inability to participate in the political process is frustrating.”

Yeah it is frustrating for all but the Islamists are not looking to participate in the political process. They are trying to end the political process. Suicide Bombings and Lal Maseet don’t promote political process.

Name Change Request??

Islamists want Pakistan province called Afghania
ISLAMABAD: An Islamic alliance ruling Pakistan's North West Frontier Province bordering Afghanistan has proposed changing the region's name to "Afghania", a provincial minister said yesterday.

The NWFP government's request to the federal government in Islamabad is likely to rekindle an old debate over the name of the region dominated by ethnic Pashtuns, who live on both sides of the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan.

"Constitutionally there is no bar on us to rename the province on our own but we want to resolve this issue in an amicable manner," Malik Zafar Azam, NWFP's law minister said.

He said the provincial government had conducted a survey to find an alternative name for the region, designated NWFP since the days of the British Raj in pre-partition India, and most people favoured "Afghania".

"We have firmed up our proposal and plan to put it before the federal government's inter-provincial co-ordination committee in its next meeting." Central government officials were unavailable for comment.

Pashtun nationalists have long demanded the old colonial name be changed as it only indicates a geographical location rather than the ethnicity of its inhabitants, as in the other three Pakistan provinces - Punjab for Punjabis, Sindh for Sindhis and Baluchistan for Baluchis.

The nationalists had proposed "Pakhtunkhwa" as the new name for the province after its Pashtun, or Pakhtun population, but the central government is fearful it would revive old differences with Afghanistan over the Pashtun territory, known as Pashtoonistan, straddling both sides of the border.

Afghanistan has never recognised the 2,640km frontier, known as the Durand Line after the British colonialist who drew it. Afghans say the border robbed Afghanistan of land it traditionally held and it unfairly divides Pashtuns.

The Pashtoonistan issue strained relations between the two neighbours in the 1950s and 1960s, although it faded after Islamists gained influence in the border areas in the 1970s.

Observers say the new proposal by the Islamic Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal alliance, which rose to power by exploiting anti-American sentiments in the region in 2002 after US intervention in Afghanistan, could be a move to win sympathies of Pashtun tribes ahead of elections due later this year or in early 2008.

l US Democratic presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama said yesterday the US must be willing to strike Al Qaeda targets in Pakistan with or without the approval of the Pakistani government.

He warned President Pervez Musharraf that he must do more to shut down terrorist operations in his country and evict foreign fighters under his presidency, or Pakistan will risk a US troop invasion and losing hundreds of millions of dollars in US military aid.

#148 Posted by adamkhan,

You could be right. Though I got the impression that the NAP wallas considered Kharian a bit lower down in the social order than even the Punjabiyan and Hazarawaals in NWFP.

In any event, the renaming move is a good one, though I would have preferred the name Khyber to Afghania :)