Saleem's Post

  The militancy-hit areas of KPK and Balochistan are heavily weaponised.  The warring factions, comprising marauding bands, with a sprinkling of battle-hardened veterans (particularly in the former Tribal Areas), are constantly at each other's throats. Their animosity is based on the Shia-Sunni divide – a power play that is based on ancient rivalries and prejudices. Besides Iran and the Gulf states, sectarian groups in Lebanon, Syria, and Iraq – the so-called Shia Triangle, play their part in keeping the militancy in Pakistan’s restive North-West alive. How were the foreign interlocutors successful in emotionally blackmailing the Pakistani militants? Pakistan inherited a northwestern region that remained in flux for thousands of years. Lacking the fertility of India’s Indus and Ganges valleys, the terrain across the Durand Line is harsh. The Pakistani and Afghani Pashtuns struggle many times more to earn their livelihood than inhabitants of the Indian mainland. The situation...

  Pakistani society is a mishmash of lobbies where it is frequently difficult to differentiate between secular and religious aspects of life.   It is so because vested interests in Pakistan disproportionately exploit religion to influence secular life. The vested interests equally include political and religious groups and bureaucracy. This study focuses on the Qadiani sect as a socio-political lobby that has remained at the centre of political and religious controversy since the birth of Pakistan, particularly after Pakistan’s parliament declared Qadianis a religious minority in 1974.   Mirzā   Ghulām Ahmad (13 February 1835 – 26 May 1908), was an Indian religious leader and the founder of the Ahmadiyya movement,  a breakaway sect of Islam.  There are no two opinions about the religious intolerance in the Pakistani society. Persecution of religious minorities constitutes a long list of embarrassments for the tolerant Pakistani majority.  Soc...

  What do the Israelis and their Arab/non-Arab friends think about the Palestinian struggle for independence?  Ariel Sharon, the hero of the 1967 Arab-Israel War, and a former Israeli PM, during an interview with Time magazine, stressed the oft-repeated Zionist argument that there is space for only one state between “The River and the Sea” (River Jordan and the Mediterranean). When asked by the interviewer what would happen to a Palestinian state, he replied, “There is a Palestinian state – Jordan”. Notwithstanding Sharon’s rhetoric, the proponents of a future Palestinian state give four reasons in its favour:   1. Demographics are not on Israel’s side and will never be. With a much higher Palestinian birthrate and a shrinking Jewish population, Israel is likely to be swamped by a sea of Arab populations in years to come.  2. Hamas was a reaction to the ghettoization of Palestinians. Its elimination will not end the problem until the root causes are a...

  Remembering the 1965 War  The first Kashmir war did not end in a decisive solution for either contestant. Pakistanis felt frustrated and bitter while their leadership tried to hide behind the United Nations resolutions and similar excuses. On the other hand, Nehru, the man who had promoted himself as a person, symbolizing India, was generally content with what India had grabbed. He temporarily appeared sated like a cat after it polishes off the mouse. For him, Pakistan held Kashmir could wait for another day.  The leadership in both countries, however, occasionally made noises about recovering the chunks of Kashmir they had lost to the other side. Breaking the inertia was the main motive for Pakistan to move forward, hence the 65 War. There are many theories about the causes of this war. The boilerplate explanation by the Pakistani leadership is the refusal by India to grant the right of selfdetermination to the Kashmiris. According to the proponents of this...