Views of a Pakhtoon
Author: Anonymous Pakhtoon
I have been reading the comments by a lot people about what is commonly called the Taliban phenomenon on PKPolitics.
The persons who make these comments remind me of a village compounder talking about doing brain surgery to remove a brain tumor and pretending to be a brain surgeon. Perhaps to be quite honest about it, even though most of the commentators have very good intentions for the welfare of Pakistan and I hope of Afghanistan, I doubt if they spend the time to study and understand the alien culture that they are commenting on.
Being from the area NWFP and having been inclined to study any subject in depth before making any comments, it has been quite difficult to read some of the comments made by those that frequent the web site PKPolitics.com. Since there was a lot of talk about the bad law and order situation without anyone having had first hand experience either in the locality NWFP or more important having been directly or indirectly involved on a personal level in an incident which resulted from the deteriorating law and order situation.
Under normal circumstances I am reluctant to talk about myself or about my family but the articles and comments by many viewers simply forced me to try to bring one man’s experience (on the ground) into this discussion. I disclosed the incident that has affected my family and tried to discuss at length the dynamics of the problems faced by the people of the NWFP.
For those who do not know me and most of you do not, I am 60 years old and in addition to my profession I am student of history, of political movements in history and of military history in addition to history of revolutions. In the past 35 years or so let me say this that I have had the opportunity to be involved with the political players of the highest level both in Pakistan and Afghanistan primarily because of family contacts. This started right after the Zia took over, during the Zia regime’s tenure and the Russian invasion of Afghanistan. Also during the Benazir Bhutto’s two stints as PM and during the last Nawaz Shareef tenure as PM and during the first 4 years of the Musharraf regime. I say this because I wish for everyone to know that I am not talking simply just because I have an opinion but am quite familiar with the goings on for quite sometime in the town called Islamabad.
I have been given an opportunity by PKPolitics to share my thoughts based on my experiences and I am very grateful to them for letting me have a forum to share my thoughts. So here it is and if at times it seems long winded, please excuse me.
The Kidnapping Event:
One evening my brother was returning from work (Peshawar) late in his car and it was stopped by another car, which blocked the road. There were 3 people, one of whom was a Police sergeant. They threw him into their car after pistol-whipping him on his head. One of them sat on him. They drove around for a while and then he was taken to a very fashionable neighborhood of Mardan. He was kept chained to the floor of a room with handcuffs and shackles. He was beaten often. He was kept in incarcerated for 11 days and was released after the payment of ransom. He was given water only twice a day and fed only once a day. He slept without a blanket in the winter of Peshawar area. The family was shattered and no one could sleep. Everyone was angry, upset and frustrated and helpless. It took 3 days before the kidnappers contacted the family and asked for the ransom.
In about 4 days after the kidnapping the Police and the Intelligence people had located the place where the victim was being kept and they wanted to go and grab him SWAT style. The family opposed that as the security of the victim was their first priority and the continued negotiations finally bore fruit and my brother was released. Immediately after that the Police moved in and was able to arrest 5 of the 7 kidnappers including the Police sergeant. Brother had lost about 40 lbs, having been reduced to a mere skeleton. Just to see him in that condition brought the emotions of intense hatred and the Pushtoon’s desire for revenge. Nutrition restoration was the first order of business and then how do you go about making sure that the newly released victim can sleep and not continue to have nightmares. Well, you can’t and the victim has to go through the process himself and all you can do is provide an atmosphere of love and affection and let the biology takes it’s course at it’s own pace. Just take the simple act of going to the bazaar to buy vegetables. You do not let brother drive. While on the road anytime a car stops in front or turns, he would become agitated. His son would not understand that and that bothered him a great deal. Are you hungry, his wife would ask and his reaction would be agitation since his life for 12 days of the kidnapping was being run by someone else and this simple question would create a feeling of being pushed.
Simple an event as opening the door makes you nervous as to who is there since that is what you worried about when you were in captivity. Being in captivity for 12 days has worst of both situations. You have not been long enough in captivity to have had time to adjust to your surroundings and when you are freed now you have to adjust to your “NEW” surroundings. The Pushtoon tradition of ” TA POS” created it’s own difficulties. Lots of relatives and friends came to visit and for everyone brother had to recite the events umpteen times and answer their questions ad infinitum. I can go on and on but I will stop here with a final comment. Everyone has his or her breaking point but before you reach that what happens to you leaves a mark on you and that mark is forever. In brother’s case, he could not handle it and has left for another country for sometime to restore his nerves to what they were before this event.
The Kidnapping Business:
Now a kidnapping is a very complex event as it affects many different type of people. The willing participants are the kidnappers and the victim and his families are unwilling participants. The Police come in only after the event takes place. This happened in Peshawar which as you might know is a army headquarter and a Frontier Force headquarter. A kidnapping creates substantial pressures on everyone and it does not end when the victim returns home to be with his dear ones. But let us examine what are the dynamics of the rampant kidnapping that are going on in our area. We learned that kidnapping is a far more sophisticated business than most people believe it to be. The kidnappers told my brother that they had been watching his movements for 4 months. There is a small town in Malakand Agency near Swat called Sakha KOTE. This town is the WALL STREET of Kidnapping business where the victims are traded like stocks and shares between various parties and this in fact is used by the original kidnappers both as leverage against the family and also to reduce the risk of being caught and held accountable once that happens.
For example an individual is kidnapped and then he is transferred to another group who takes him somewhere else and so on. The newest party wants more money and is more threatening to the family members.
If some of you might remember the ambassador of Pakistan to Afghanistan was kidnapped in the Khyber agency. When he was finally freed, he was from Waziristan. Well, the original kidnappers ” SOLD” him to certain parties, which need to have him so that they could obtain the release of their people in return.
So there is an active trade going on where the criminals are only one part and other forces are the other part. Now when did this start- well in 2001 September after the 9/11 attacks. Kidnapping for ransom was a rare occurrence before that since if you kidnapped someone’s family member, that will start a blood feud and the tribe of the victim will come after the kidnappers with everything they have to take revenge. No one wanted that until and unless they were willing to take that risk and most people were not willing to take that risk.
But the Americans, the British and the intelligence agencies of Pakistan used this same technique (and the same people) to try to get hold of a lot of people to satisfy the need for the Americans to have ” Terrorists” arrested. Substantial amounts of money were paid out and thus it became a way of making money.
The Musharraf regime itself indulged in this activity as they have themselves confessed many times. Well once the matter became well known and it did become well known then others who having had no success finding jobs, became active kidnappers as they wanted to make money by getting their people and so the business of kidnapping prospered and right now it is booming.
But kidnapping and killing is also booming in Karachi and has been there for sometime and crime is becoming rampant in the bigger cities of Pakistan like Lahore and I have missed all the hue and cry about having the military carry out an “operation” there. But I shall leave this part of my story and try to look into why we have the problems that we have today in the NWFP.
Problems in FATA and NWFP:
The people of FATA and NWFP are like anybody else peace loving and law abiding. They are decent and honest people. Their word means a lot that is how business is conducted in all spheres of life. The whole world knows that.
Just go to any place in India or the Middle East and everyone trusts a” PATHAN”.
But unlike people of other parts of the country they do not take very kindly to injustice and/ abuse. It is their nature or better it is in their genes. The history of the past 2000 plus years shows that beyond any question. There is a lot of nonsense that is thrown around in regards to the problems we have today in FATA and the Pushtoon belt of Afghanistan.
For those that do not know, the Pushtoons are one people who ruled the Indian sub continent for a few years before the Mughals came. The country today known as Afghanistan was created by the Pushtoons. The word Afghan means a Pushtoon. When Ahmad Shah Durrani made Afghanistan, he brought a lot of non-pushtoons under the rule including Tajiks, Uzbeks, etc etc. Remember, Peshawer was the WINTER CAPITAL of the Afghan Kings and seat of their government. Once the British defeated the Sikhs, they came all the way up to and beyond the Indus River into the Pushtoon’s heartland, which today you call Frontier. A de-facto boundary was created called the Durand Line which divided the tribes and the families of the Pushtoons and this one fact is critical to the understanding of what is going on to-day.
A well read Pushtoon knows and understands this fact while a Punjabi or a Sindhi or a person from Karachi does not and I might say cannot. The Baloch alone understand this as they have been divided also and have a tribal social structure and similar code of honour etc.
So the people who live in the NWFP and those that live in Eastern and Southeastern Afghanistan are the same- they eat the same food, they speak the same language, their social mannerisms are the same and so on.
After the defeat of the Soviet army, considerable conflict developed between the various factions with no power for the central govt. Law and order problems developed everywhere and war lordism became the norm. Most of the War Lords were corrupt people and the common villager became fed up with the situation, which was getting worse every day. But the Pushtoon people could get no relief from the Tajik dominated Govt in Kabul. So in a desperate situation they chose the only help that was available to them - they fell back on their own time-tested system of Pushtoonvali and the Islamic Sharia. The place that this happened was in Kandhar and a specific event is what brought the avalanche into play.
Origin of Taliban Movement:
A young boy was kidnapped by a warlord and sexually abused and kept in incarceration. The father of the child, a villager went to his Mullah at the mosque who happened to be Mullah Umer and asked for help. Mullah Umer got together some of his madrassah students and since every Pushtoon is armed, they went and got the War Lord and his henchmen and after killing them hanged them on the poles on the road for a time so that everyone would know what treatment would be meted out to anyone who went against the laws of Islam. Please understand that the situation would not have arisen had there been relief available to the victims. There was none and the matter was dealt with the code of Pushtoonwali and Islamic Sharia .
Now a lot of people in Pakistan, The West and in Afghanistan say that the Taliban was a movement created by the ISI.
For those who know the Pushtoon character will agree with me when I say the following - NO ONE and I mean NO ONE can make or create a movement like the Taliban. If that was possible then the Americans have a lot more money and why haven’t they been able to create anything like that. The ISI creation theory is utter rubbish and has no basis in fact. It is of course great fiction. The sources, which subscribe to this hypothesis, belong to the school of thought that you discredit and question the legitimacy of your adversary. Since the Tajiks and Hazaras and Uzbeks could not fight successfully against the Taliban movement, and they found them to be a formidable adversary, well they indulged in the typical racist propaganda in a very organised and effective fashion (sort of like the Kuwaitis who did the same to get the Americans to invade Iraq in 1990 s ) that the Pushtoons by themselves are not that capable and the reason they are succeeding is because of the support from the ISI and Pakistan. Yes, Pakistan did support them but it was the marriage of convenience and the fact that a large number of Pushtoon also live in Pakistan.
Absence of Justice System:
What have the Taliban provided to the people of FATA and adjacent portions of Afghanistan. They have provided a system of justice, no matter how cruel, they have PROVIDED a SYSTEM where no system remained after the Soviet withdrawal. They have provided cheap and swift justice. They have tried to, I said tried to get rid of the moral evils that have invaded their society. Why do they prevent the Barber from shaving beards. Because the Prophet (PBUH) decreed that.
Why do they burn the CD’s shops. Because the CDs shops sell pornographic videos and CDs. In addition to the other stuff and become centers of heroin distribution.
Why do they kill the people who they label as spies for the West, you ask. Well after what the Western forces have done to them and are continuing to do to them everyday, what would you do? You are already asking for Musharraf to be hanged so before commenting on the Taliban, see what you see in the mirror.
They help resolve disputes according to Islamic Law. They do not allow the women to go around semi-naked as they do in Lahore and Islamabad. Well, it is THEIR homeland.
They oppose Musharraf because he sold out and has tried to put in place whatever would please the Western Forces. The Taliban were never a cultured and sophisticated movement because most of the Talibs come from the poor background and this is not a great shock to anyone. BUT they DID restore law and order in Afghanistan and they did substantially reduce the cultivation of Opium.
They got a lot of the money from the Saudis who obviously wanted to promote their own Wahabi version of Islam just like they have been doing In Pakistan. And they got some money from Pakistan and believe it from others too. To those with very short selective memories, the Taliban leaders were invited to the USA where discussions about the oil and gas pipeline from Turkmenistan through Afghanistan and Pakistan to India were discussed in addition to other topics.
Fast forward to September 11th 2001. The Americans want Bin Ladin and demand that Mullah Umer give him to them. The messenger was Lt. Gen. Mehmood of the ISI of Pakistan Army at the behest of General Musharraf and his advisors.
Facing a threat of utter destruction from the sole super power, Mullah Umer refused because a Pushtoon NEVER goes back on his word when he has given asylum to anyone. For those who have been yapping vitriol against the Taliban, I would like to quote a famous American Civil Rights Advocate named Martin Luther King Jr. who said it very well indeed:
“Cowardice asks the question, ‘Is it safe?’
Expediency asks the question, ‘Is it politic?’
Vanity asks the question, ‘Is it popular?’
But, conscience asks the question, ‘Is it right?’
And there comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular, but one must take it because one’s conscience tells one that it is right.”
And the Pushtoons believe that what Mullah Umer did was the right thing.
Chief Kidnapper of Pakhtoons: General Musharraf
And what did the leader of the secularists do in Pakistan; he of the slogan of “enlightened moderation” played it safe by selling his country and by renting his army for peanuts. He provided Air Force and military bases for the West so that they could attack the Pushtoons of Afghanistan with ease and at any time of their choosing. He supplied petrol and diesel and food to the killers of the Pushtoons. The political elite of Pakistan happily went along and made money while providing the help. He grabbed a lot innocent people and sold them to the Americans as terrorists. He even sold the ambassador of Afghanistan to the Americans even though under any and all international law Pakistan was supposed to guard the ambassador against such treatment, which consisted of beatings and torture before being sent to Guantanamo Bay Concentration Camp.
This where the problem lies. Gen. Musharraf with his nuclear weapons and a 700,000 strong army did not even question as to what was good or bad for Pakistan and after an 8 minute phone call caved in and accepted the USA as his overlord. Having access to the highest levels of the Govt. at that time I am ashamed to tell you that he had the support of all of the bureaucracy and some of the army. There were people in the armed forces that resisted but they were pushed aside. Gen. Musharraf DID NOT ask the Pushtoons what is best because he had become an American Agent and their viceroy. Over 300,000 Pushtoon civilians have died since the American invasion. They kill anyone they want and the label Taliban is stuck onto them. No questions. No Inquiry. The Musharraf Government became the chief kidnapper of Afghan Pushtoons and their own people and handed them over to the Western forces.
I did not see or hear of any protest marches in Islamabad or Karachi or Lahore or Multan about those innocent Pushtoon people. At that time there was no Hamid MIr questioning as to why this was being carried out. The students of the Universities did not utter a pipsqueak. It seemed that the entire country had been transformed into a gathering of sheep and mice.
The political opportunists like Fazlur Rehman played on the Pushtoon’s feelings and came to power as a result of that but once in power they played by the Zardari rules of current situation.
Where were the so-called People’s representatives?
Did Benazir Bhutto utter one word about the killings?
We do not know if Nawaz Sharif did as he was in Saudi Arabia from where we did not get any info at that time.
The Only person who has been consistent about this has been Imran Khan but then he is Pushtoon even though he does not speak Pushto.
Using the above as background and taking into account the nature of the Pushtoon people when it comes to INJUSTICE and Revenge let us examine the situation today as we speak.
- We have no law and order NOT because the Taliban are ruling the country because they are not.
- We have no Law and Order because the rulers have no legitimacy.
- Musharraf has no legitimacy because of his record of 8 plus years.
- The Police is and has always been corrupt and the justice system has broken down totally.
Imagine if possible if you live in Pishta Khara, a village outside Peshawar. Just like in Karachi, the criminal are loose and they kidnap your daughter. The Police do not register an FIR. What do you do? You cannot go after the kidnappers, as they are too strong. Well you go to the local religious person in the mosque and he will refer you to religious people who will help and they will help you get your daughter back plus help you take revenge. Now when you have NO LAW and ORDER and the top man of the country flaunts the law in the face of everyone, well you got get something done and that is why Mangal Bagh is the most popular person in Bara and Khyber Agency. All of those who pretend to be holier than thou and pontificate about human rights and due process of law, please be advised that a little honesty and sincerity is in order. Look, you Westoxicated people, the Pushtoon society does not have the luxury of your western due process of law and equal justice, we have been abandoned and we have come up with our own system to solve our issues (maybe difficult for others to understand) and until such a time when justice prevails for everyone, stop telling us what to do what not to do.
Neglected Pakhtoons:
Now about the Pushtoons who strenuously object to the Taliban phenomenon and there are quite a few. They wish to protect their way of life, as they know it. They are well to do, well educated; many of them are landowners and industrialists. Their thinking is liberal and they like the western way of life. They have forgotten that the world around them has changed. The poor and the downtrodden have discovered the philosophy, which will liberate them. And that philosophy is old Pushtoonwali and Islamic Sharia.
It is true that there are people in the Frontier who would like to have Islamic Sharia as the law of their land. It used to be the case before Pakistan as the British allowed the people in the area (FATA) to run their lives according to their own rules.
Swat, the Switzerland of Pakistan was a peaceful place where anyone could travel at night or day without any concern for his or her safety. That was when the Pushtoons (Wali Sahib) ruled the state according to Islamic Sharia and Pushtoon Wali.
Well, the same people who are the worst critics of Taliban today, had their version of rule of the people brought under the fascist regime of ZAB. The Wali of Swat was removed and Swat became just like any place in Pakistan with the replacement of a working justice system with a corrupt system that everyone is familiar with. The roads are bad and broken down, and guess what, there is no Law and Order. The local Pushtoon population wants to go back to their old system where they could resolve their problems in weeks if not days. The Musharraf regime and now the Pseudo Musharraf regime of NRO does not want that. They have tried through the legal means but that has not been allowed to work. The youths, who are always impatient, have decided to force the issue by trying to take over the job, which the police and other Govt. Agencies are not doing.
On this web site a great many people have complained about the inhuman treatment dished out to some people recently in Swat and Waziristan etc. It is the same characters who day in day out want to HANG Musharraf -( I suppose they want to do a HUMANE Hanging)- Do these very people know what a Mob does and what a Mob psychology is and how fast it develops. Could anyone been able to stop the burning of the Dacoits in Karachi?
Allow me to ask where were these people when the Western forces were killing and maiming the Afghan Pushtoons in Afghanistan, and the Pakistani Pushtoons in Waziristan and Bajaur. Where were their humane voices when the Lal Masjid was attacked?
Ok- let me get this right. It is humane to kill 80 students (Talibs in Damadola) with Hellfire Missiles or 500-pound bombs but when the throat of a spy is slit, it is inhumane.
The purpose of presenting this long list of complaints is to show the magnitude and intensity of the feeling amongst the Pushtoons against those who wish to continue the status quo ante. Pushtoons do not wish to have the moral corruption, which is the new big business. They do not want their sons and daughters to be third-rate clones of the West like those in the rest of the country. A separate article could be written on this topic.
So some but not all Pushtoons have decided that they are not going to take it anymore. They wish to enforce the Islamic Laws and want to be governed by these laws. They are the poor and mostly rural whose family members have suffered from enlightened moderation. The others who are well to do but feel an affinity with the suffering of their brethren on both sides of the border which to them is artificial and man made The others like me understand their fury and are trying to know how to help them deal with this problematic issue.
Anyone who labels this desire of a large group of people for political cultural emancipation as old and pre-historic is living in La La land. No one can wish away this nation of the Pushtoons. They are here and they want what belongs to them. Learn from history. Ask the Russians and now ask the Americans. Better still ask those who know them .The only way to resolve this issue is to let those people deal with them who understand them, their culture and way of thinking. Simply, that means other Pushtoons.
The kidnapping in our family, at least in my case, has brought home the need for an economic and social justice as the primary requisite to have law and order and peace. When the government fails in a moral and ethical sense as it has in NWFP for sure, (Thanks to Musharraf regime) the people WILL take law into their own hands. Making political slogans either by politicians or those who comment on this web site might make you feel important and better but it will do nothing to alleviate the illness. Everyone opposing Taliban and Pakhtoons do not have a solution for solving this problem. His or her solution is military operation.
I ask all of them, are you more powerful than the Soviet Army which stayed for 10 years and failed and are you as powerful as the Americans with their daisy cutters and Predators firing the hell fire missiles. And how long are you willing to continue your operation: 100 years, 200 years or 300 years. You cannot kill all the Pushtoons and even if you do, there will be a woman left who will give birth to a child and will teach him what you did to his ancestors and he will teach his kids and so on and then they will come after you.
Those who propose military action as a solution keep in mind the recent history and I will only mention two names.
1- Indira Gandhi and her military action against the Sikhs in Amritsar .
2- Gen Dyer and his operation in Jalianwala Bagh. Remember, those were Sikhs!
To resist injustice is a human virtue. This sense is much more intense amongst the Pushtoons than amongst other people. So the only solution, if there is a solution, is a dialogue and discussion with the Pushtoon wali and Islamic Sharia as basis of discussion.
Thank you for your patience and perseverance for taking the time to read expression of feelings of one Pushtoon.
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Please send your articles to “admin at pkpolitics dot com” for publishing. PKPolitics may not agree with the views of the Author.
July 4th, 2008 at 2:45 pm
@pakhtoon
i have read selective paras of your article…… it seems it definately deserves the full read, which i will tonight
i strongly agree that number of visitors have been making unjust comments on this issue without understanding the very complex history and background of the area which is unjust.
July 4th, 2008 at 3:03 pm
@pakhtoon brother
I don’t have words for your brother and many other. If I put myself to be at your brother’s place and then think of my family it was realy horrible. I pray for you and your family and many others who are victimized by our own people.
May Allah put ourselves in right direction and bless our nation with a real leader, aameen.
July 4th, 2008 at 3:10 pm
its good to see other dimensions but seems in vain to impress people whom author is referring to: overall good work
some other good links to complement this
Can the Taliban be defeated?
http://thenews.jang.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=122180
Theatrical” Pakistan Offensive
http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellite?c=Article_C&cid=1213871440852&pagename=Zone-English-News/NWELayout
Masquerading As Taliban
http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellite?c=Article_C&cid=1213871376622&pagename=Zone-English-News/NWELayout
July 4th, 2008 at 3:37 pm
Many thanks for your such a poweful article. Couldn’t agree more. Every student of history know the out come of every invasion on Pashtoon Lands, like 2 2. With the grace of Allah only Pashtoons will win. Every invader is bound to be perish by the hands of the brave tribes of Pashtoons.
“I have taken up the sword to defend the pride of the Afghan, I am Khushal Khattak, the honorable man of the age.”
July 4th, 2008 at 3:38 pm
Best of luck Brother… I have been trying my best to present some history, logic and some other means… but it seems that some people are so stripped of dignity that they back something for which they dont even have proof for…. Being a Pathan… i consider myself a Muslim first, then a Pakistani and then a Pathan… Because by keeping my primary identity as a muslim, I can neglect the geographical boundaries and feel for any muslim going through turmoil whether he be any where in the world… Sadly our brothers are getting killed in our own country and there are jerks on this forum who blindly call everyone being killed as Taliban…. I have lived in Pakistan for 25 years… I have spent most of my life in NWFP and i know the situation there…. I totally agree with you because i have seen things happening there myself….
@Ahmad Bhai
I agree that its in vain to impress some poeple on this forum who i think are even more narrow minded than taliban… At least taliban came from backgrounds of severe destitute and were manipulated hence their hardcore thinking about Islam… But what about our so called educated people who are blindly presenting their point of views against the taliban… you know they are not right.. i knot it and GOD know it… Whats the use of education when they cant even bother to see both sides of the story as a neutral observer and then base their judgement on facts.?
July 4th, 2008 at 4:06 pm
sorry…but just because there are other monsters to blame also… doesn’t make taliban any less of a monster. (and i do know a bit about the land and the people).
both gul bokhari and the ‘pakhtoon’ gentleman are of the same ilk …as far as i am concerned.
anyone who doesn’t agree with them…are either apologist morons or bumbling compounders.
so be it…. but the situation is far more complexed and complicated…and rightousness is niether faujistan’s nor taliban’s to claim.
(if they are not the two sides of the same coin to begin with)
July 4th, 2008 at 4:32 pm
Good article! I agree with most parts of this ariticle.
Author blamed other Pakistanis for not raising voice when US were killing Pashtoons, I agree with that. But isn’t this the main problem of Pakistanis, we don’t raise our voice and sit at home whenever there is a need to do that. There is awareness problem and until people don’t get educated these generals, landlords, khans, choudries, corrupt politicians etc would be selling Pakistanis. As far as I remember even from Pashtoon majority areas there weren’t any huge demonstrations against Mush/US policies.
July 4th, 2008 at 4:34 pm
Interesting article. I agree with the general sentiment and the “ehsaas-e mehroomi” (cliched that term as it is) expressed.
Before a second reading, I would like to express reservations re: the creation of the Taliban and the ISI role. However, regardless of how it was started, the ‘movement’ has taken on a life of it’s own, has fractured, splintered, regrouped and re-asserted itself.
I think the key point is the failure of the Pakistani State and the deterioration of the Swat Valley system after the Wali-e-Swat is a textbook example of the ineptness and incompetence of our ruling class. Some here like to call them “The Establishment” but I vehemently oppose such lexicon and insist they be called either “Foreign Proxies” or simply “The Pakistani Kleptocracy”…
The roads deteriorate becuase the one rupee that could go to the roads, goes to build some a$$hole’s house and properties. Pakistani’s treat their motherland like Vultures treat a dead rotting corpse.
I also agree that they have provided “some system” as opposed to lawlessness, examplified mainly by the Top man himself, one Pervez Musharraf urf Moshe Kutyaan. This is the poor taking up arms, and the vehicle is Islam (or whatever they call Islam).
Now, I don’t want to offer an apology for Taliban, but if it wasn’t Taliban it would be something else. But given that the social strata have been stripped to the bare metal substrate of the social life (ie; the Islamic underpinnings of daily life), it is no wonder that that is being used in an attempt (an attempt so far) to reconstruct a viable social fabric in that area.
This is bound to spread in other areas, under different guises, and I think all these social movements are being used to fracture and eventually dissolve the state of Pakistan. On the one hand our compliant ruling class is made more in-effective and beggarly, and on the other hand all these centrifugal forces are given aid …
The results are heinous, and they stare us in the face. But nevermind, there will be 20 people before the day is out reminding me that India and china will never allow this kind of mayhem on their borders.
Does anyone recall how far “Sharm-al-Sheikh” is from Gaza and the West Bank? Or the teeming, ready to explode slums of Cairo?
July 4th, 2008 at 5:09 pm
Brother :
We all know the truth; and the truth is ISI and Paki Establishment is taking advantage of Pathan Culture. They used them in Kashmir and Afghanistan, and now to prolong their rule they use Taliban for their own purpose. Taliban and Talibanization is a Cancer inflected by ISI and Paki Corrupt Establishment. The whole world know but WHO CARESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS.
The prime example of ISI and Establishment drama is SWAT……
I fails to understand why Taliban? why MQM?????????
July 4th, 2008 at 5:14 pm
TK
Excellent I 100 % agree with you. but Establishment and ISI are Paki institutions sucking our blood and working for Foreign Masters. One thing I have no regard for Pakistani Army. They have no deeds in the history of Pakistan, only jump and take control of PTV and President house. 50,000 Army Jawans are classified as Butt men working in the kitchens and gardens of Army Generals, Polishing their shoes……………… The cluture must be destroyed otherwise Pakistan will soon become Somalia which was one time the Horn of Africa…..
July 4th, 2008 at 5:34 pm
Dr. Qadeer Khan has now admitted that Musharraff Kutta, under the supervision of Paki Army, shipped materials to North Korea. This is the prime example that that Mush kuta made Dr Qadeer Khan a scapegoat in smuggling case. This is how our Paki Army and ISI plays Dramas for their RULE
Taliban, MQM , BLA are all gifts to the people of Pakistan. I wish Pakistan never got independence in 1947, because the successive establishments have proved that they are worse than British Rule or even Ranjeet Singh…
Bravo Paki Army.
July 4th, 2008 at 5:51 pm
Excellent Article!Totally agree with @
Enqr Ali
July 4th, 2008 at 5:52 pm
1. Writing long rants should be against the law.
2. There is zero connection between the story of the brother’s kidnapping and the Taliban discussion. EVERYONE knows there are all manner of criminals and criminal networks operating in various parts of the country.
3. ‘Anonymous Pakhtoon’ is justifying the Taliban.
4. ‘Anonymous Pakhtoon’ is mixing the Taliban with the Pukhtoons.
5. ‘Anonymous Pakhtoon’ does not have the sense to see that those who condemn the Taliban, are not condoning terror/unjust activities by others. The one does NOT equal the other. But he is unable to differentiate. This appears to be because of his partiality towards the Taliban and their desire to impose Shariat on everyone.
6. Claims of hailing from a certain ethnic background, being a student of history, and having access to high government circles do not qualify as reasonable basis for analysis and defence of the Taliban.
7. This should have been titled ‘Views of a Taliban sympathiser’.
July 4th, 2008 at 5:59 pm
While I agree with most of the article, I disagree with some of the parts like where it said that the Taliban don’t want women semi-naked and the men beardless. While I too don’t want that to happen, nevertheless it is not my or anyone else’s place to force them to conform to what I want. The most I can do is tell them that it’s not correct. The rest is between them and Allah. What we should be concentrating on is educating people about what Islam really is and trying to get the fire of Imaan burning in them. The rest will come by itself. Besides, what is Islam if not accepted by heart? Concentrating on the superficial aspects will not do anyone any good. That is what the Taliban and our other Muslim brothers don’t really get.
July 4th, 2008 at 6:35 pm
I have few questions for the author:
1. Is it right for talibans to impose their own laws challenging the writ of government?
2. Is it ok for them to malign the image of Islam which is the religion of peace and a true democracy and bring their own law which they call Islam and Shariah.
3. Is it alright for some people to make their own laws ignoring the legal system and constitution of Pakistan?
4. How would you justify bombing of schools and stopping education of girls which is their basic right?
5. Who gave them right to impose their will on pashtoons?
6. Is it allowed in Islam to kill non muslims or even muslims who don’t follow talibanisation?
7. Have they done anything significant for their community i.e Education, health, science and technology, democracy ?
8. Pakistani law doesn’t stop anyone to buy cds, go to barbar shops etc. Do they have any respect for state laws?
9. Who has given them right to bring bad name to Islam and muslims internationally?
July 4th, 2008 at 6:44 pm
Accuracy of Predictions heavily depends upon the number of inputs & accuracy of inputs.
And majority of us is lacking both in numer & accuracy of inputs. So don’t get offended by anyones analysis over here, especially on this topic. These analysis are a reflection of our feeling only.
July 4th, 2008 at 7:02 pm
@Asif,
You are actually a Musharraf supporter in PTI supporter’s clothing. I have been reading lots of your comments and they all blame the largest democratic parties and the nation who support them.
The writer’s views are aligned with Imran’s views and even then you don’t support them,
July 4th, 2008 at 7:05 pm
This article is to stimulate discussion and thinking about a situation which is essentially political and the simple question is-
How best to resolve the problem which is quite complex . This article suggestt that military force is not the solution and instead dialogue and sicussion is the only way. I must commend the author for having taken the time and effort to share with us his unqiue and personal perpspective which he did not have to do. Rather than taking pot shots- we should examine the merits of the case presented . I can see already- name calling has started - which is not quite proper and decent . Intellectual honesty and critical thinking is in order and if we do that perhaps all of us can provide better input to illuminate this very difficult and complex subject
July 4th, 2008 at 8:03 pm
The situation for the common people in the FATA/PATA and various agencies is desperate. Our army has FAILED FAILED FAILED!!! Our ruling class has FAILED FAILED FAILED!!!
After the failure of “the people’s mandate on Feb 18″, I am coming to the conclusion that the only way forward is bloody revolution which wipes out our so called ruling class with extreme prejudice.
Pakistan Army and ISI’s goddamn chicken are coming home to roost, India is proving to be better at their own game and now they are repeating what these idiots did in Kashmir.
I have only one wish. When Pakistan goes to hell in a handbasket, these jurnails and secretaries and the members of kleptocracy are chased, captured and shot like stray dogs on the sewage flooded streets of any given Pakistani city.
We have been raped by our ruling class. Now it is time for us to take revenge from them and their families, for whom they FVQQED their own nation.
July 4th, 2008 at 8:09 pm
Our army is a white elephant piece of sh!t exploitation machine.. and though I support strong defence for Pakistan, this standing army has brought us nothing but humiliation and defeat.
My prescription is. Depose and fire everyone upto the rank of Brigadier. Put them in jail. Take their properties away and promote the jawans forward. Disband this goddamned army and constitute a revolutionary people’s army.
The president house should be demolished by controlled demolition. Either that or it should be converted to “The National Library”….
We have to do something or we will be frucked once again by this iruling ikilaas! They are not punjabi, they are not pakhtoon, they are not sindhi, they are not balochi. But they rule us. Isn’t THAT nice?
And like rats, they jump the sinking ship and crawl onto the next one after they have destroyed a whole people. But this time we should make lists. This time, we should not let them get away. This time they MUST PAY!
July 4th, 2008 at 8:15 pm
First my sympathy with the author for the ordeal his brother has to go through. Please accept it as a sincere wish from a fellow Pakistani and Pakhtun.
The spark to formation of Talibans under Mullah Umar may have been provided by the particular inncident. However, the level to which this outfit grew has lot to do with ISI, Saudi money and US aid. All fools wanted ’strategic control’ of Central Asia or whatever geo-power politics they had in mind. But that is not an issue or can give justification of what these outfits stands for, are doing and want to do in future.
Now, when we say Talibanization of Pakistan we donot mean Mullah Ummar taking over Pakistan, but the Mullah/Molvi mentality outfits using ‘brute force’ to implement a way of life on ordinary Pakistanis with the GUN ON THE HEAD approach. Now whether they are doing right or wrong? I would have no problem if they can get enough votes in elections and show that majority of people of Pakistan want this kind of framework to be implemented. But that is not the case.
I will also suggest the author NOT to mix the ethnic problems with this particular problem. However, their is no denying the fact that Musharraf has done the most damage to this country then any other dictator may be as much as Gen. Zia. When you take out rule of law and justice, you breed extremism. Mush by breaking Pak Constitution again and again, and raping the Supreme Court has actually breeded the extremism. So he is certainly one of the responsible for the current state of affairs but we can’t put all the blame on his door.
Back to this article, lets try to see the big picture. The kidnapping issue is the symptom of what is happening. However, it would be completely wrong to say that it all started under Mush. In 80s if your car was stolen in Karachi you would get a phone call to inquire how much we can pay to people in Dara to get our car back. Same is true for kidnapping for ransom. It was happening before also but I admit that it was not as much and as nasty as it has been in the last one year.
In closing I understand the govt opperation in tribal areas may be misunderstood as operation against Pakhtuns but I see it as an attempt to erradicate extreemism and reestablish writ of law. I support it, as a Pakthun and as a Pakistani and hope that govt do not leave it in the middle. It is time that the wild west of Pakistan is brought under rule of law for the safety of whole Pakistan.
July 4th, 2008 at 8:22 pm
And to put some of my credentails
I am a proud Pakistani and proud Pakhtun/Pashtun/Pathan/Pakton
Born and raised in Peshawar
Selected in CSS in but did not like to be part of establishment
Experience living in Islamabad/Rawalpindi, Lahore and Karachi
Experience living outside Pakistan
Also a student of History.
July 4th, 2008 at 8:27 pm
Few questions for Tliban haters
1. Does Pak laws apply to Tribal areas acc to const. of Pak.?
2. Have Taliban ever asked for shariat for the rest of Pak?
3. Acc to Pak Const. u can object any thing which is repugnant to Islamic principles and not the Islamic principles.
4. If u r an atheist then be happy with ur belief dont impose on a nation which is created in the name of Islam.
5. r Taliban the traitors of Pak or the Baloch separatists funded by US & India who openly says divide Pak.
6. forget the religion aspect, & analyze who is working to disintegrate Pak have Taliban ever said they want to disintegrate Pak? but there r those who r saying repeatedly…blame them!
July 4th, 2008 at 8:47 pm
@Anonymous Pakhtoon
Thank you for presenting your perception of events and their background. The keyword word is your ‘perception’, which means, while it may seem to be the truth and reality to you, doesn’t mean it’s the ultimate truth. Similarly, my counterarguments wouldn’t be flawless or the (proverbial) word of Bible.
Since you have covered a lot of ground, I hope you will bare with me, as I will attempt to present my rebuttal in several parts.
So here we go with the part 1.
Please allow me to start with following; regardless of what your intentions were, your commentary came across as a defense for Taliban in specific, and Pakhtoon in general. While there is absolutely nothing wrong with defending your political and cultural ethos, nevertheless, I found certain condescending remarks you passed to be uncalled for and distasteful.
End of Part 1. More to follow…
July 4th, 2008 at 8:48 pm
@Shahabj
Writ of the government… Which government??? the one who licks the feet of americans and cant even protest when they bomb innocent people in our country… Doesnt the blood of those innocent poeple and their families mean anything to you?? (unless your of the mentality that the pushtoons are idiots and they are not human beings)… why dont you say something about the sovereighnity of our government… It is a well known fact that the talibans were the ones who brought peace in afghanistan when there was so much killing going on because each warlord wanted to take advantage of the war struck, fragmented country…
Give me proof that the taliban burned the girls school…
Where is law and order in our country first of all…. people like zardari are enjoying and others like him through an agreement like NRO which is a disgrace… Look at the economic disparity… Where is Islam implemented in our system..?
Let me give you an example about the CDs and DVDs that you buy in the market… how many CDs and software DVDs that you buy in the market are original ? … they are all pirated along with the movies… let aside the discussion that watching movies is a sin or not.. Just give me one reason to justify that buying pirated CDs and softwares is not theft or promoting theft…. Those people who develop the software are getting deprived of the money they should be getting… the same applies to movies and music CDs… if you give me the same lame argument as most of the people do “…original stuff is too expensive”.. then let me tell you… if that is the reason than people shall say .. we cant afford a car, lets snatch it from some one… By buying pirated stuff you are taking away the HAQ of some one…So if the state laws promote piracy and theft so are we as muslims are going to do the same… ?
I can go on and refute each and every argument of yours but the problem just like i mentioned before is that even though some people get a degree, they are not educted because they dont analyze things based on proof rather give verdicts out of their emotions…
July 4th, 2008 at 8:59 pm
Aslam o Alykum,
I read your article. It educated me a lot but remember one thing, Being a Pathan, Balochi, Punjabi, Sindhi, Kahmiri is not going to help Pakistan become a strong country. We all our Pakistanis, so For God sake instead of blaming others lets start uniting and taking Pakistan towards the future as an Islamic Republic that is a model state for the whole world.
Instead of blaming the leadership which obviously lacks leadership qualities, Why aren’t we creating leadership,
Why aren’t people protesting because Our so Called leaders are not fullfilling their promises? How long is it going to take till we are able to stand up for ourselves? How long is it going to take for our so called leaders to be accountable for their acts? How long are Zardaries and Gillani’s of Pakistan are going to bypass the real issues, like Balochistan, Kashmir, law and order?
I hope not too long. I hope the youth of this country take a decision to standup against injustice and goes past the Sindhi, Balochi, Punjabi, Pathan, Kashmiri and any other label we go by.
There is no lack of talent in Pakistan but only a lack of ambition.
July 4th, 2008 at 9:42 pm
@ ProudPaki
I agree with you 100% on what you said… There is lack of ambition in us and we have to unite as being Muslims than calling ourselves as punjabi, sindhi, balochi or pashtoons…
I have been proposing again and again that the educated youth should come forward and form a new party which can fill the gap of charismatic leadership and commit themselves in delivering to the people of Pakistan ….
July 4th, 2008 at 9:57 pm
I am coming to the conclusion that the only way forward is bloody revolution..
this requires determination, focus, and ability which probably “taliban’ have better than any other faction of the society.
so if it happens then its like Iranian revolution, if not then its like Iraq - my old ‘theory’! choice is with us, we have to choose before its chosen.
unfortunately, educated professionals like lawyers or similar people can’t bring revolution and masses will always welcome change - be it taliban - this is the lesson learn by this soil since Bin Qasim -change and welcome changing power, though he turned out to be an ‘acceptable’ muslim.
July 4th, 2008 at 9:57 pm
SGuy: for your answers only
http://nawaiwaqt.com.pk/urdu/daily/july-2008/05/columns1.php
July 4th, 2008 at 9:59 pm
@Anonymous Pakhtoon
Just beautiful dont have no other words to describe this article…very iformative for the people who dont know nothing but have their hearts and eyes open or even people who know something and want to know more but I have seen one thing on this site there are some people who write day and night on this site “Bomb Taliban, kill these barbarians….” and stuff, these guys have nothing else to do but keep writting on this site its like thats the only job they have. I mean how could you just keep repeating garbage all the time and u dont get paid for it??? I am 1000% sure nobody would pay them to write the garbage coz they dont have even valid arguments….thats the biggest question I have :D…All I can think of is that they have urges to talk nonsense and they just cant keep it shut…All these guys say “Writ of govt.” I say which govt.when the whole country is being held hostage for decades and dont have even a constitional president whch law when u break the constitution to please the America. you want me to obey these laws and ask you for help when my kids are being bombed by you and your alies well some people dont take it kindly like my pushtoon brothers and they have all the right to do so. and then they say taliban burning the schools so bomb them and I am like they are not burning the schools to begin with so shut it and if you wish that someones else family and houses should be bombed and killed, I wish same for the your family or may be not its not their fault its urs for talking garbage. In the end I would say “Anonymous Pakhtoon” bigup yourslf for this beautiful article and keep writing and one thing I wish your nick was “Anonymous Muslim” not “Anonymous Pakhtoon” coz I think we are muslims first then anything else.
July 4th, 2008 at 10:04 pm
AMENA and people like you:
tell us who was criminal and barbarian in case of Dr., Shazia ?
where were you when young girls were beaten in Jinnah Supper Islamabad by those ‘who fear that taliban will change their life style’
give a youtube search for ‘Pakistan school Lesbi@n’, Internet Cafe’ and Dance parties’ and enjoy
July 4th, 2008 at 10:07 pm
@rasheed
Thank you for reading my comments.
Take the heat as you along with your partyline(N) are in hot seat.
1) You can call me with whatever name of your liking (depends on your grooming)
2) Noon league parted its ways with APDM coz they don’t wanna leave the open field for a political party PPP And now they are leaving an open field for dictator Mush by not discussing the major issues in parliament.
Now it would be clear to you that whose cheating the people, the people voted them to sit in parliament & discuss all the issues over there, but they are busy in doing press conferences in their villas & blaming their coalition partner., fooling the people again.
July 4th, 2008 at 10:10 pm
and I forget to mention that in my institute in islamabad, drink,Se x , cond**s and in another institute a pregnant case was also reported
where i lived- one of the most elite sector in islamabad- houses were frequently rented by beautiful girls from russian states and we ‘muhalley dar’ were not able to control this by any means. just dream of taliban at times
July 4th, 2008 at 10:14 pm
@ Anonymous Pakhtoon - I’m very sorry for your suffering.
Here are my problems with your article:
- The overall condescending tone towards Pakistan and the Pakistani culture.
-The Taliban burn down music stores because they don’t like music, just like they destroy Buddhist artifacts because they don’t like that religon. Don’t try and justify it.
-In SWAT they replaced the Pakistani flag with the Taliban flag. No Pakistani can allow that for a moment.
-You sound proud of Mullah Omar’s decision to protect OBL. He’s a terrorist. Protecting him was repulsive and disgusting.
-All of Pakistan believes that what Musharraf has done to the Pakhtoons and Balochi’s has been horrible.
-Most of Pakistan was against the lal masjid operation as it was carried out.
-Nobody wants to kill even one Pakhtoon, we have enormous respect for your culture.
July 4th, 2008 at 10:18 pm
utter nonsense!!! i if i say anymore…i would be put in moderation. nonsense!!
July 4th, 2008 at 10:30 pm
@nooranikebabhouse
salute you for having the patience to try to be rational….
July 4th, 2008 at 10:35 pm
kafka8: do you salute like Mush- just curious
July 4th, 2008 at 10:36 pm
ahmed bhai…why dont you do your sajdas..and stop worrying about hot russian babes?? apni akhirat ki khair karain..let me worry about mine..
July 4th, 2008 at 10:37 pm
@tk
cant believe you found this article interesting…..!!
July 4th, 2008 at 10:41 pm
@kafka8: yeah I’m losing it… I only skimmed it, but it is interesting at many levels… you know I’ve already declared Taliban to be a postmodern proto-revolutionary force.
I don’t agree with all the taliban apologizing … but it does point to the fact that there is a break down in the pakistani state on the fringes and those fissures are extending throughout the body politic.
anyhoo, I’m saying the Taliban should take over Islamabad and pretty much put the whole city to the sword (or bullet) … fuq this sh!t … Pakistan deserves an upheavel like this.
July 4th, 2008 at 10:44 pm
in the voice of abida perveen:
aray logon tumhara kya!?
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=WK-igPwUwmc
July 4th, 2008 at 10:45 pm
And I say this only because no-one else has the cojones to go through with what pakistan needs right now. Everyone is scared there would be blood.
Well, there is blood in Iraq, and it is the worst kind of way to go.
July 4th, 2008 at 10:52 pm
@tk
that’s no exscuse bro…i hold your opinion in high regard…and expect more from you.
July 4th, 2008 at 10:55 pm
@
TK
i am sorry despite all of the problems faced by pakistan, i would one million times prefer to live in present condition than living under Taliban`s barabaric rule… w have seen enough in afghanistan and for God sake please do not wish same destruction in Pakistan..i think you should be very satisfied with the fact that after bangladesh ..Pakistan has lost Swat –so please do not wish that Pakistan lost more parts to fabatic mullas , extremists, terrorists and most brutal group of people who have killed thousands in afganistan (more than what destruction USA did) from 1994 to 2008 and has killed thousands in Pakistan…….a minority of religious fanatics has no right to impose their way of life on all….but one thing is very obvious that surrender of Pakistan in Swat will be a encouraging point for extremists present in other areas of pakistan.. you will see in coming years many of their followers will use violence and killings in other cities to occupy them and this will lead to destruction pf pakistan..
July 4th, 2008 at 11:01 pm
@anonymas pukhtoon
You are totally immotional and ignorant about the fact about Taliban. I think you innerly support them blindly and they have nothing to do with islam.
I have been told this kind of story when i was with a special kind of school of thought but later on after research i came to know that this creation of Taliban was a blunder of Pakistan and everyone knows this fact. ‘
I wonder how ADMN has allowed to publish your article that has very very poor and baseless emotional feelings about Taliban.
how pathetic for you that you believe MULLA OMER story, and not ISI and CIA story of creation of TALIBAN.
Read before write any article.
July 4th, 2008 at 11:10 pm
@Anonymous Pakhtoon Part - 2
Following in my rebuttal point by point.
“So there is an active trade going on where the criminals are only one part and other forces are the other part. Now when did this start- well in 2001 September after the 9/11 attacks. Kidnapping for ransom was a rare occurence before that since if you kidnapped someone’s family member, that will start a blood feud and the tribe of the victim will come after the kidnappers with everything they have to take revenge. No one wanted that untill and unless they were willing to take that risk and most people were not willing to take that risk.”
Not quite true. I still remember days from my childhood (early 1970s) when fearing kidnappers people used to travel between Peshawar and Warsak only between Fajar and Mughrib times. However, it was considered to be the norm and nobody launched a military operation to arrest the criminals. It was also a good exercise in time management and planning, I guess that’s probably why people tolerated such practices and just learned to live with the necessary evil.
“But the Americans, the British and the intelligence agencies of Pakistan used this same technique (and the same people) to try to get hold of a lot of people to satisfy the need for the Americans to have ” Terrorists” arrested.”
I would reword it as, the Americans, the British and the intelligence agencies of Pakistan used this common practice to their advantage.
“But kidnapping and killing is also booming in Karachi and has been there for sometime and crime is becoming rampant in the bigger cities of Pakistan like Lahore and I have missed all the hue and cry about having the military carry out an “operation” there.”
With all due respect, you must have been looking in wrong places. Just ask any MQM fan and you will hear such bloody tales of how they lost 15,000 workers in the military operations. Personally, I have written bunch of articles severally criticizing the Bhai Mafia. In fact, I must have touched a raw nerve of theirs because I received numerous life threats and so on.
Part 3, to be continued…
July 4th, 2008 at 11:12 pm
Dear anonymous Brother, You have spoken from my heart. Thanks
for the time and the energy you have taken to write this.
I am not a Paktoon but I brought my childhood unter Paktoons.
I divide them in there categories. I will try
to make a guess of there no in %.
- Religious and peaceful ~ 60 % (20 - 30 % of them are invoved im Tabligh)
- Nationalist and violent ~ 30 %
- Westernized and selfish ~ 10 %
I guess > 50 % dont vote. In 2002 Election MMA wone that Election
because they moblized Tablighis to vote showing a false letter from
Haji Abdul Wahab in which he requests the people NWFP to go for the
vote. That was a dirty Trick to get the majority. MMA sweeped that
election and every body was surpriced why.
After winning the Election they did the opposit what they had to do.
i.e. They took no voice against (Perhaps passive supported) the GoP
to allow foreign Forces to use the soil of Pakistan to attack the Paktoons
in Afgahnistan.
The result of there disappointing we have seen in Election of 2008.
July 4th, 2008 at 11:13 pm
Being a Punjaabi let me start off by saying that i have tremendous respects for the pakhtoons they have always fought invaders and never have been slaves to anyone. Even alexander the great could not capture these areas. It is because of the Ghairat of the people the vigour with which they defend their freedom and their lands. But we need to channel this Energy towards a right direction. We should not be fighting with each other but focusing on the enemy which is the U.S.A. I say we don’t freaking take dictation anymore. A nation lives with pride but unfortunately we are worst off then slaves at the level of animals right now. Let them come we will fight them but we will not let them rule us either physically or mentally. Let us break the shackles. At the end i would like to quote a few shairs from the great iqbal
zindaga?ni? hai s?adaf qat?ra-i naisa?n? hai k?hvudi?
wuh s?adaf kya? ki jo qat?re ko guhr kar na sake
ho agar k?hvud-nigar o k?hvud-gar o k?hvud-gi?r k?hvudi?
yih bhi? mumkin hai ki tu? maut se bhi? mar na sake
Life is an oyster, selffulness is a raindrop in April–
what is that oyster that can’t turn the drop into a jewel?
If selffulness is self-seeing, self-making, self-possessing,
it may be that you won’t die, even by dying.
man ki? dunya? soz o masti? jaz?b o shauq
tan ki? dunya? su?d o sauda? makr o fann
man ki? daulat ha?th a?ti? hai to phir ja?ti? nahi?n?
tan ki? daulat cha??on? hai a?ta? hai dhan ja?ta? hai dhan
man ki? dunya? men? na pa?ya? main? ne afrangi? ka? ra?j
man ki? dunya? men? na dekhe main? ne shaik?h o barhaman
pa?ni? pa?ni? kar gayi? mujh ko qalandar ki? yih ba?t
tu? jhuka? g?hair ke a?ge na man tera? na tan
“The heart’s world: burning, intoxication, feeling, desire.
“The body’s word: profit, transaction, deceit and craft.
“When you gain the heart’s wealth, you won’t lose it.
“The body’s wealth is a shadow: money comes and money goes.
“In the heart’s world, I didn’t find the Foreigner’s rule,
“in the heart’s world, I didn’t see the Brahmin or the Shaikh” –
These words of the qalandar made me sweat with shame:
“Bow down before the enemy and your heart’s not yours, nor is your body.”
ut?ha? na shi?sha-gara?n-i farang ke ih?sa?n?
safa?l-i pa?k se mi?na? o ja?m paida? kar
Don’t oblige yourself to Western glass-makers.
Create your cups and goblets from a pure lowliness.
mera? t?ari?q ami?ri? nahi?n? faqi?ri? hai
k?hvudi? na bec g?hari?bi? men? na?m paida? kar
My way is poverty, not wealth.
Don’t sell your selffulness — make a name in poverty.
ghulami main na kaam aati hain shamsheerain na tadbeerain,
jo ho zoke yaqeen paida to kat jati hain zanjeerain,
koi andaza kar sakta hai us kay zore bazo ka!
nagahe marde momin say badal jaati hain taqdeerain….
duniya ko hai phir markay-e-rooho badan pesh
tehzib nai phir apne darindoon ko ubhara
Allah ko hai pamerdeye momin pai bharosa
iblees ko europe ki machinoon ka sahara
Baad-e-mukhalif sey na ghabra aye uqab
Yeh to chalti hai teray uraan kay liye. (Iqbal)
Don’t be afraid of flying against the wind, oh Falcon
This wind only blows to help you fly higher
I can go on and on with his poetry which is the vision for Pakistan. And also i would also like the pakhtoons to stop the punjab bashing. Iqbal was a punjaabi and everybody knows abt his thoughts. For all punjaabis the nations respect reigns supreme.
July 4th, 2008 at 11:18 pm
more nonsense….
(thankgod for the odd nooranikebabhouse and tomcat…)
July 4th, 2008 at 11:40 pm
@kafka8
Sorry brother but try to accept other people’s point of view… you might regard yourself as one of the top intellectuals on this forum but that doesnt mean that you belittle others opinions by calling them utter non-sense.. if you think its non-sense then prove it … I think thats the biggest problem of most of us is that we pass judgements without proof.. If you think otherwise then speak up and refute the arguments in a proper way…
July 4th, 2008 at 11:47 pm
@TomCat111
I must say… its very encouraging to know that you have raised voice agaisnt the bhai mafia… even media which is enjoying much freedom than before these days still think twice before saying anything agaisnt the bhai mafia… I remember a couple of months earlier, i was listening to the news on ARYoneworld and they called saleem shahzad and asked about his opinion about Qazi Hussain Ahmad since he called them a fascist organization…. saleem shahzad openly abused him on tv calling him an animal and that his DNA should be checked if he is a human being.. i am not a fan of Jumaat e Islami but i think you can get an idea about their low life mentality from the way they speak….
July 5th, 2008 at 12:06 am
@metalhead-
As a person from NWFP- I would like say that most of the Punjab people live by similar code of honour. But most-( not all)- of such people live in villages. I think the commercial classes are probably responsible for what is happening in Lahore and the big cities as regards moral issues.
Iqbal, Faiz Ahmad Faiz, Nadeem Qasmi, Sufi Tabbasum, Bulleh Shah, Ghulam Farid and so on. Punjab is big in size,population and heart and of course poets. You should be very proud of your heritage and you do not have take second seat to anyone. I think in times of emotional trauma-people can get carried away and you should look at comments in that sense.
July 5th, 2008 at 12:18 am
@Anonymous Pakhtoon Part - 3
“A well read Pushtoon knows and understands this fact while a Punjabi or a Sindhi or a person from Karachi does not and I might say cannot. The Baloch alone understand this as they have been divided also and have a tribal social structure and similar code of honour etc.”
I tend to disagree with your broad and sweeping statement. Oh, how I wish a well read ‘Pushtoon’ like you would have read little more then just the Pakhtoon history. Because unlike you, majority of Pathans realize that millions of Muslims were massacred during the partition of India. Do you realize, even as we speak, Punjab remains divided into East and Western Punjab? Still most of Punjabis have relatives on both sides border without the facility of porous border, like the one between FATA and Afghanistan. Have you ever wondered how Punjabis had been living thoroughly divided and separated for last 60 years? How many Punjabis have you come across whining and complaining about their ordeal? Similarly, how many Muhajir (Pakistanis now mostly living in Karachi) who sacrificed their dreams, properties, families, and culture for Pakistan whining and complaining? You are right, its only people like you, who separate and divide Pakistanis on ethnic/racial lines, think only Baloch and Pathans are suffering.
“Now a lot of people in Pakistan, The West and in Afghanistan say that the Talibaan was a movement created by the ISI.
For those who know the Pushtoon character will agree with me when I say the following - NO ONE and I mean NO ONE can make or create a movement like the Talibaan.”
Regardless whether Taliban movement was a spontaneous or an engineered one, how does it change the fact that acts of Mullah Umer couldn’t have mushroomed into a movement without massive influx of money and other support from the ISI and Saudis. Beside what Mullah Umer did by lynching wasn’t an exception. Such incidents had been happening in that part of the world for as long as one can look back into the history; but how many movements can you recount that were spawned by such actions. At the risk of inviting your and other apologists of Taliban’s wrath, may I remind (without going into details), during the hay days of Taliban movement, it was commonly said, Taliban movement was the brainchild of CIA, funded by the Saudis and nurtured by the ISI.
Part 4, to be continued…
July 5th, 2008 at 12:23 am
Very bold article… I like the qoute of Martin Luther King Jr. Alhamdulillah ..
July 5th, 2008 at 12:58 am
The author has mixed up personal things with political events and has tried to convince people as if he knows everythinfg and the rest does not. He ie the implicit symathizer of Taliban and never admits the creation of Taliban by the ISI and company. This is like as we say in Pushto “Stealing an elephent and pretending to show to other he has not stolen the elephent”
I do not understand where he lives. This is not seventies/eighties/ninties. It has nothing to do with the fact when he says I have such and such position in govt of pak since Zia. You might have one but facts are available if you are living in the other corner of the world.
What about the so-called Arab guys whose country men are living in peace and only Afghanistan and Pukhtoonkhwa have become hell.
Another question I have from the auther, how could you define Pukhtoonwali. For God’s sake do not mix Pukhtoonwali with imorted wahabism of Taliban.
July 5th, 2008 at 1:31 am
Applaud TomCat111 and Yao Pukhtoon.
@ Admin, I would request to be taken off the MODERATION LIST, will you?
This place is so much heating up that I have decided not to post any more unless I have something NEW to add.
The darlings of Taliban are advised to move to Tirah Valley Tribal Areas, and enjoy the blessings of their system. Most probably these hypocrates are enjoying life in the west but would have too much comfort to write long comments in support of terrorists like Talibans.
July 5th, 2008 at 1:35 am
The author of this article has mixed the facts. Pathan is a state of mind and their code apply to every Pakistani. I lived in Punjab for a long time, and 90 % of Punjabi villagers ex cerise the same Honor.
That said, being a Pathan myself and hailing for FATA, Khyber Agency, I have no respect for Taliban. They are criminals, barbers of 11th century and has no regard for women or childern. As a matter of fact if some on poision and slaughter and wipe them out of Pakistan, I will pray ten times a day. Any person who has a heart and who is muslim and then a Pakistani will NEVER EVER support these BASTERS. This CANCER is implanted by ISI and Pakistani Corrupt Establishment for its own viscious purpose. Simply to Rule and enjoy the perks of upper class life systle.
Shame on ISI and Paki Army Generals, Talibnan are creatures, created by ISI and anyone ever expressing justification for Taliban whatsoever has no sense and knowledge of Taliban.
July 5th, 2008 at 2:18 am
Our leaders are shallow. They can only divide and Rule. We need to be leaders. We need to get rid of people working to only fill their own pockets. Let’s have a youth Think Tank that should think of ways to:
Create jobs for our youth
Figure out ways to deal with the water Crisis
ways to deal with the power crisis
ways to have Atta for our people( we are an agricultural state this should be an issue in our country)
This shouldn’t rocket science. Our people are smart enough. Let’s think and solve our country’s problem.
July 5th, 2008 at 2:18 am
Salam,
I am a very frequent visitor of this site and love to read articles and the comments thereoff. I feel that this forum has provided the plateform that was missing for those who feel for humanity and who care about their values. But hold on! what values those that we absorb from our social system or those that we were taught long before when we were also told that if we dont abide by these values we will be definite LOSERS.
Whenever I drive through roads travelling from one place to another often a feeling prevails my mind that while surrounded by so many vehicles running like hell I am safe, but as long as all the guys including me abide by some rules and regulations set for the safety of the travellers.
However when I apply same analogy to our my country assuming every element of the social system as a vehicle i feel that no one is abiding by the rules that are set for the safe propelling of society. Why is that and why we do not care about ourselves and our coming generations. The answer that comes to my mind is very simple. And that is our lack of understanding. We dont know to which values and regulations we should stick to.
My dear pakhtoon brother has been very right in his feelings about his fellow pakhtoons but with due apology we can not come out of this miserable conditions unless we are united. I request all friends in this forum that please do not through fire of hatred on each other. Everyone has the right to speakout but please be constructive in your approach rather than showing emotions.
JAGO PAKISTAN
July 5th, 2008 at 2:23 am
Interesting to see all Pakistanis (and/or pkpolitics visitors) eventually lining up along the border drawn by Bush ” either you are with us or with them”.
Regardless of what Bush and Taliban look like (one clean shaven, the other cave men) the world is eventually going to fall into place between these two camps. Like it or not, everyone has to choose one. There is nothing in between.
When drones kill Pakistanis, there are pushtoons, punjabis, sindhis, Baluchis on this side of the fence who shrug off the bombing to Chappal Kabab or Karahi Gosht dinners at the end of the day. There are pushtoons, punjabis, sindhis, Baluchis on the other side of the fence who reach out to their gun and take positions.
“US” or “THEM” is going to be new world order overriding nationalities and ethnicities.
July 5th, 2008 at 2:44 am
The persuit of military domination and secure isolation is unatainable. Peace can only be achieved by dialogue and compromise.-( Israeli )-
The Israelis have more experience with trying to dominate-( other people)- and they have recognised the above fact. In Pakistan we are trying to dominate our own people and when someone suggests that dialogue and discusion- a whole lot of people get upset at the mere suggestion.
Is there more intolerance amongst us or is there something else which is bothering .
Does anyone know ? if so- would they tell us or are they affraid to be pounced upon by the self righteous. The Wahabis think the Shia are not Muslims and all them should be killed while the others want to have all the qadianis killed . Oh Hindus and Christian are spared but the secularists want all the religious types killed.
July 5th, 2008 at 2:47 am
Taliban are the thugs, criminals and have myopic vision of the world and life. Whatever they see right in their own frame of reference, they impose the same on others whether you like it or not. This is not Pukhtoonwali. It is called ethnocentrism and not Islamic Sharia. Is it Islamic Sharia to burn school, blast barbars shops and music and movie centre. Islam is not against taking away a person livinghood.They are enemies of the progress, development and liberal world. They hate women, girls education, music, movies etc. If these are the causes of downfall of a nation, then why Europe and North America where these things are beyond our imigination prosper and even we the developing and underdeveloped countries are begging them. The root cause is not here. We are mis directed as a nation and we have no end in sight and we will always discuss these petty things to be the cause of our downfall.
Let me clarify these cave men what are called Takiban, they are against education, modernity, scientific and socio-economic liberty. These are the tools which define a nation strength. In the west despite these social evils, they have law and order in society, there is no problem of electricity, no ata shortage etc. Everybody can have the right to ask if something goes wrong. In Pakistan, a Chief Justice is asking for justice and cannot get it, so what about the common people.
July 5th, 2008 at 2:52 am
@Anonymous Pakhtoon Part - 4
“What have the Talibaan provided to the people of FATA and adjacent portions of Afghanistan. They have provided a system of justice, no matter how cruel, th