Pakistan heading towards anarchy, cautions author

[illusion8]

I have been hearing Ahmed Rashid harp about this for almost 15 years. God, why doesn't someone just call him out on this in an interview. I wish he is put in an interview with Wajahat Khan, he surely will rip this guy apart.

He seems to be already on the list.

he has received numerous death threats and was named by Foreign Policy magazine as one of the top 100 global thinkers.

But his writings are mostly pro Pakistan,

Rashid argues that the Obama administration has fueled Pakistan’s paranoia by locking it out of peace talks with the Taliban, not discussing its decade-long Afghan war and exit strategy and increasing relations with economic powerhouse India, Pakistan’s nuclear-armed neighbor and regional rival.

Calling those opposing positions “the standard” for ties between Washington and Islamabad since the beginning of the Afghan war, Rashid called upon both sides to “break the logjam.”

“And on the American side, there needs to be greater American trust in discussing their withdrawal plans and future plans with the Pakistanis.”

Rashid cautioned Obama against waiting to announce more details on the US exit strategy from Afghanistan for fear of losing voter support in his re-election bid in November.

Though he doesn't like the present situation in Pk.

That spells more trouble for Washington if such groups gain further control in a nuclear-armed country where the military now largely controls foreign and security policies and has taken the lead in relations with the United States, he said.

“I feel very much that the lack of state control, the lack of state authority is going to mean there is going to be increasing anarchy in many different parts of the country,” said Rashid,

“There has to be a greater willingness by Pakistan to show when and under what conditions it would be willing to give up the sanctuary for the Taliban,”

adding that Pakistan, which has long harbored Taliban leaders, must be included in the talks.

 

[foxbat]

I have been hearing Ahmed Rashid harp about this for almost 15 years. God, why doesn't someone just call him out on this in an interview. I wish he is put in an interview with Wajahat Khan, he surely will rip this guy apart.

But in last 15 years Pakistan has significantly moved in the direction talked about by this dude... Compare Pakistan of 1995 to Pakistan of today and you will know what he means.

 

[Matrixx]

How many times have we heard that Pakistan is finished??? It's like little mice praying cat will die.

Cat is committing suicide here

 

[Solomon2]

60 years plus, and all we do is get stronger.

More nukes, more rapes, more murderers celebrated for killing infidels, foreigners, Sufis, and ministers. Just the sorts of strength Pakistan needs, yes?

 

[53fd]

More nukes, more rapes, more murderers celebrated for killing infidels, foreigners, Sufis, and ministers. Just the sorts of strength Pakistan needs, yes?

Well, there are certainly many problems in Pakistan today. I would argue, however, that none of them are critical to Pakistan yet.

Anyways, pre-1947, Pakistan had only one developed city in the form of Lahore. There were no other cities, as the British focused their efforts of industrializing what is known as present day India, & only visited present day Pakistan for their vacation spots. Today, Pakistan has many big cities, a big growing economy (despite the WOT), & generally, a Pakistan that is opening new avenues of revenue generation, & moving forwards quickly. This was Pakistan in 1954:

Pakistan today:

http://www.defence.pk/forums/general-images-multimedia/28647-development-pakistan-47.html

 

[nalandapride]

i'm impressed that you remembered the name of my native village....if you get the permission, you can come visit anytime to see for yourself

Actually I heard about Parachinar at many places and even saw Iranians talking about it.

 

[Abu Zolfiqar]

Actually I heard about Parachinar at many places and even saw Iranians talking about it.

Iran obviously holds some importance for some of the people in Parachinar.....at times, they've interfered on the issue by commenting on them.

During 2006 war in Lebanon, the locals raised funds which they provided to Iran for Hezbollah cause.....there's even a Hezbollah-offshoot group in Parachinar (same flag).


things get complicated......but for now there is total peace in Parachinar and i hope it stays that way. People on both sides are tired of being used as pawns. Everyone knows eachother by name, everyone knows who is a local and who is a stranger/trouble maker.

 

[Abu Zolfiqar]

More nukes, more rapes, more murderers celebrated for killing infidels, foreigners, Sufis, and ministers. Just the sorts of strength Pakistan needs, yes?

you know Solomon, for all these ills you mention i have 5 counters for each ill?


by the way, USA also has nukes....you have more than we do!

 

[Jango]

Oa, Anarchy kahan say arahi hain, pichlay teen saal say nhn pauhaunchi.

Uska pata to karo kahan reh gayi hai.

 

[Solomon2]

you know Solomon, for all these ills you mention i have 5 counters for each ill?

No, I didn't know. Elaborate, please.

 

[twocents]

What's the background of Ahmed Rashid? He is regularly interviewed by and writes for US media outlets. I caught a few of his interviews in which he appeared rather negative about Pakistan.

 

[Abu Zolfiqar]

it's Friday and i want to leave the office early so i'll be happy to enlighten you with 1 counter per ''point'' you made......think of it as appetizer; i'll have the entree for you later

More nukes

the USA has nearly 2000 operational strategic warheads as of 2010

Just How Many Nukes Does the US Have?


Pakistan (according to some thinktanks and analysts) has around 150, maybe 200 warheads.

more rapes,

first of all, do you have proof of that?

HRCP releases its annual report on Human Rights in Pakistan and they have a separate report they release annually on Violence Against Women. The trend seems to be going downward. And I would only hope the authorities continue to get serious on this issue.

on a per capita basis, there are much more rapes in the USA than in many countries around the world....regionally, it is india that has MUCH more rapes than Pakistan ever had (in New Delhi alone).


and i'm surprised you only brought up rape...what about victims of acid attacks? Now there is awareness on it thanks to people like Ms. Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy who just won an Oscar by highlighting this issue; and doctors and NGOs in Pakistan (many of which exist) out there that have helped these victims

we have such ills in Pakistan but by and large, women are respected and treated with dignity in Pakistan.....those that violate them deserve punishment. And speaking of punishment, the laws are being changed and hopefully enforced throughout to ensure that offenders are caught and face serious punishment.


with a powerful and highly reactionary media, there is no way in hell that such a thing can take place without being reported......the problem is also that some rape victims (out of feeling of shame or guilt) do not report the crimes -- which is sad, also -- but ours is an honour-based society.

more murderers celebrated for killing infidels, foreigners, Sufis, and ministers.

there arent more this year than last year or year before...so where does ''more'' come from?

murderers are murderers....last i checked, people like Mumtaz Qadri are behind bars. What else you want us to do?


by the way -- one of your soldiers murdered 17 Afghan civilians (mostly women and children) and was quickly flown out of the country and declared a ''possibly mentally incompetent''.....what is your comment on that?

Just the sorts of strength Pakistan needs, yes?

how much did USA go through to be where it is today?

you had prohibition, lawlessness in the west and even in chicago, you had slavery, civil wars, civil rights movent...etc.


Pakistan is not even 70 years old since Independence. Not everything is perfect and there are issues; but you are only focusing on the negative things because of your anti-Pakistan bias and hardly disguised intolerance -- especially for Muslims.


you accuse many of being anti-Jewish...well now i'm turning it around and alleging that you are anti-Muslim.

 

[SMC]

 

[nalandapride]

Iran obviously holds some importance for some of the people in Parachinar.....at times, they've interfered on the issue by commenting on them.

During 2006 war in Lebanon, the locals raised funds which they provided to Iran for Hezbollah cause.....there's even a Hezbollah-offshoot group in Parachinar (same flag).


things get complicated......but for now there is total peace in Parachinar and i hope it stays that way. People on both sides are tired of being used as pawns. Everyone knows eachother by name, everyone knows who is a local and who is a stranger/trouble maker.

Thanks for the valuable information on your town, many of the information are new to me. A local always know more what is going inside his locality. I always found people amusing when some fanboys talk about Naxals(my own home state is affected) and I know more reality of my locality than these fanboys.

 

[VCheng]

How many times have we heard that Pakistan is finished??? .............

Not as many times as we have heard that the dollar is finished!