Islam as a political weapon in Pakistan

never heard this . i know that some indian army guys married Italian women and brought them to india or pakistan,one example is that of Brig Jan or John Nadir Khan of Engineers whose father was a VCO and from Abbotabad.Nadir was Chairman of CDA and head of Alpine Foundation

#210 pavocavalry: it is meaningless to say that the talibans are "good fighters". are there any people on earth who are not "good fighters" when it comes to fighting what they (rightly or wrongly - the latter being the case with the taliban) think they are fighting for a cause?

this is an interesting phenomenon.one captain or lieut ansari of rajput rifles refused to join the INA and was beheaded at HK or SG.He was awarded the George Cross.Another Captain Durrani was also awarded George Cross for defiance against jap interrogators and not joining INA.I think those who joined the INA had some guts . I am for those who rock the boat.Those who throw a spanner in the machine.

Re: # 242 I had a good Brit friend in Kabul and we boozed together .These were his words " They are good fighters,absolutely fearless" .The same was stated by a Brit army guy in Helmand on the BBC.I respect anyone that opposes any superpower whether that man is Muslim or an Athiest.

#243 Throwing a spanner in the works is a lot easier than using the spanner to do something constructive. Rocking the boat is a lot easier than rowing.

Re: # 245 i think u r for the status quo.anyhow life goes on.

#244 the fact that it was a brit who said this does not change the facts.

#246 no sir. i am for progress. it is the taliban who are for the status quo.

the status quo for the taliban being the stone age society they grew up in.

Re: # 247 facts are not what u think.what you state may not necessarily be a fact . what you state is an opinion and what i state is also an opinion my dear.

anyhow Mr Ahmad I am not really interested in what they want.The important thing is that they are resisting the invaders.

#250 Amin sahib. The tamil tigers are also good fighters like the taliban. so were the mukti bahini. the viet cong. the kenyan mau mau. the chinese (remember the long march?).

My point is that you give too much significance to someone calling the taliban "good fighters". It is in human nature (as it is in the nature of wildcats and sparrows and all living creatures) to be "good fighters" when they feel cornered.

The question that is significant is this: What is it that the taliban are fighting for? And clearly they are fighting for nothing more than their "right" to keep their society backward while flattering themselves with their supposed "martial" qualities - while the rest of humanity races forward in education and in building democratic societies.

#251 if you are interested in the welfare of the afghan and pathan people, you should be interested in what the taliban want. Simply praising their martial qualities (a meaningless issue, as i have tried to explain in #250 e.g.) is not enough.

Calling the NATO forces "invaders" is neither factual (as you should know, since we all know the events that led up to this "invasion") nor helpful to anyone, certainly not the afghan people who are only now recovering from the ill effects of Zia's brand of "islam" foisted on them by the taliban.

in #253 i meant #252, not #250. sorry.

Re: # 244

Pavo sahib:

"...I respect anyone that opposes any superpower whether that man is Muslim or an Athiest...."

Islam too, at one time was a superpower, do you support those who oppose it too?

Superpower is a state achieved by a society. It is based on its competitive advantages successfully derived through accumulation of assets which translate more on perceived future value, and less on current value. Ability to realize current gains from future value creates super power state.

In the past, as in the case of Islam, this asset was ideology and army increasing army of followers. They kept building on this advantage. At that time no one had this advantage. This principle is applicable in all areas, and therefore Superpower in IT, Superpower in Oil to Economic Superpower etc.

Assets that transform a society into a Superpower have constantly changed over the history of human civilization.

I do not believe suicide bombing is an asset that can make anyone a superpower or destroy a superpower. Romanticizing it in terms of David and Goliath foolishly fuels this dastardly act. Such acts are not even agents of change, as they are reactionary at best.

as u must have noticed i have admired the marhatta guerrilla warriors and th sikhs for destroying the mughals.they were heroes because they fought against the larger and stronger forces.

i am not for the atlantic alliance led by USA.

rest i am not really interested in your assertion that suicide bombing is good or bad.its a method , a tactic.