Pakistan: "Nightmare on the subcontinent"

[Solomon2]

...the worst nightmare on the subcontinent is Pakistan, whose dysfunction is directly the result of its utter lack of geographic logic. The Indus should be a border of sorts, but Pakistan sits astride both its banks, just as the fertile and teeming Punjab plain is bisected by the India-Pakistan border. Only the Thar Desert and the swamps to its south act as natural frontiers between Pakistan and India. And though these are formidable barriers, they are insufficient to frame a state composed of disparate, geographically based, ethnic groups—Punjabis, Sindhis, Baluchis, and Pashtuns—for whom Islam has provided insufficient glue to hold them together. All the other groups in Pakistan hate the Punjabis and the army they control, just as the groups in the former Yugoslavia hated the Serbs and the army they controlled. Pakistan’s raison d’être is that it supposedly provides a homeland for subcontinental Muslims, but 154 million of them, almost the same number as the entire population of Pakistan, live over the border in India.

To the west, the crags and canyons of Pakistan’s North-West Frontier Province, bordering Afghanistan, are utterly porous. Of all the times I crossed the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, I never did so legally. In reality, the two countries are inseparable. On both sides live the Pashtuns. The wide belt of territory between the Hindu Kush mountains and the Indus River is really Pashtunistan, an entity that threatens to emerge were Pakistan to fall apart. That would, in turn, lead to the dissolution of Afghanistan.

The Taliban constitute merely the latest incarnation of Pashtun nationalism...

So what is the preferred solution? Greater India with a looser federal structure? The break-up of Pakistan into additional independent states? Anarchy? Does anybody think Pakistan will be the same state five years from now that it was a decade ago?

 

[Communist]

Solomon, thanks for posting such sick thinking. Yes, US can think this way. It is after all still the super power.

Even if the geo-political points are valid, still, I may ask you, why not a Greater Pakistan uniting India and Pakistan?

Why you people always think one way, why should always be a greater India? Why not even a greater country omitting the name India which is objectionable to some?

 

[saiko]

To be honest I think the sub-continent should have been broken up into far more states upon independence from the British. Both India and Pakistan. There could be a dozen states easily in the sub-continent.

 

[Communist]

To be honest I think the sub-continent should have been broken up into far more states upon independence from the British.

Practically that would have been natural and good for maintaining the balance of power. Separation in terms of political autonomy is not bad always as we think, if we look at Europe, where all smaller countries are unified under the banner of European Union.

 

[PeacefulIndian]

So what is the preferred solution? Greater India with a looser federal structure? The break-up of Pakistan into additional independent states? Anarchy? Does anybody think Pakistan will be the same state five years from now that it was a decade ago?

I would not prefer integration of Pakistan with India & call it greater India. Not because Pakistan has many ethnic groups. India has been successfully handling so many ethnic groups from long time, and doing good progress. But only because of the mess Islamic militants have created there. In most parts, there is no infrastructure, and countless number of militant organizations running amok. Will be too much to handle for Indian government, and can not be done without compromising the fast pace of economic development. So today's India will just want to make its borders water tight, and just concentrate on economic growth for next 5 years. After 5 years, if Pakistan is recovering, well & good for both the countries. If not, policies have to be re-written.

So a solution? I don't know. Looks like anarchy will prevail for quite some time unless Pakistani administration can get its act together.

Solomon, thanks for posting such sick thinking. Yes, US can think this way. It is after all still the super power.

Even if the geo-political points are valid, still, I may ask you, why not a Greater Pakistan uniting India and Pakistan?

Why you people always think one way, why should always be a greater India? Why not even a greater country omitting the name India which is objectionable to some?

Actually, this content is much less sick than yours. And why not greater Pakistan? Population of India + Pakistan = close to 1.2 trillion. And Hindus will be about 800 million. How can it remain a muslim state with muslims being a stark minority? And moreover, why make 1.2 trillion people live in a failed state? Much better that they live in a nation which has equal rights for all, is democratic & showing solid economic growth since last many years?

 

[PeacefulIndian]

To be honest I think the sub-continent should have been broken up into far more states upon independence from the British. Both India and Pakistan. There could be a dozen states easily in the sub-continent.

If you see that way, each Indian state should have been nation by itself. Would have been a nightmare. We have many state level disputes like Maharashtra- Karnataka border dispute, Karnataka - Tamilnadu water dispute etc. Thankfully today, as they have center to go to, these problems do not escalate. In absence of a center, there would have been wars for sure. And what if some states get nuclear assets? Then we have got a problem at our hands. All states would have turned into a bunch of failed states.

 

[Communist]

Actually, this content is much less sick than yours. And why not greater Pakistan? Population of India + Pakistan = close to 1.2 trillion. And Hindus will be about 800 million. How can it remain a muslim state with muslims being a stark minority? And moreover, why make 1.2 trillion people live in a failed state? Much better that they live in a nation which has equal rights for all, is democratic & showing solid economic growth since last many years?

So you want to invade and occupy Pakistan? Pakistanis do not want to live in India. What is your solution? Be clear.

 

[PeacefulIndian]

So you want to invade and occupy Pakistan? Pakistanis do not want to live in India. What is your solution? Be clear.

Already posted in Post # 5 above.

So a solution? I don't know. Looks like anarchy will prevail for quite some time unless Pakistani administration can get its act together.

And I have already made it clear that I do not prefer integration of Pakistan with India. Just care to read the posts before replying.

 

[jeypore]

To be honest I think the sub-continent should have been broken up into far more states upon independence from the British. Both India and Pakistan. There could be a dozen states easily in the sub-continent.

Speak for yourself!! Since the state of Pakistan is in flux, does not mean the whole southeast region is the same. The thread is right, Pakistan has become a nightmare for the world and India. Why do you think al-queda finds a safe haven in only Pakistan? no other country, I guess except somolia too.

 

[Jako]

I feel if india and pakistan ever unite,we have to do away with the names india and pakistan,coz this may create confusion among us..........moreover i still believe we can live as one,all we need is a able leader who can handle the situation intelligently and properly.........to coexist one has to abide by the basics of the indian constitution,truly.......it(constitution) was created for different ethnic grps to coexist properly........hell,we coexisted under one Jalaluddin Mohammed Akbar once,subcontinent was united then by his intellegent ruling and policies.......hindus prospered under a muslim ruler,and muslims coexisted with the hindus..........if it wasnt for some power loving politicians india wd have been one today under the likes of Netaji.......without american dictatorship........

 

[kidwaibhai]

Again with this Pakistan Yoguslavia bulls**t. yes pakistan faces a lot of problems but there is nothing to worry about. a sizable portion of the pakistani army is made up pushtuns too. we have generals in the army that are pushtuns.
the idea of pushtunistan is dead. even the ANP does not talk about it anymore.
if anybody noticed the chief justice of pakistan is actually from balochistan and every part of the country agitated for him. i think that as time goes by ethnicity will become more and more irrelevant. i define my self with the intense muhajir intensity that my parent or my grandparents do. i believe as more and more generation of pakistanis are born this yoguslave stupidity will be put to rest

 

[Beskar]

To be honest I think the sub-continent should have been broken up into far more states upon independence from the British. Both India and Pakistan. There could be a dozen states easily in the sub-continent.

Things were based on religion back then. Hinduism Vs Islam was the sole reason why Pakistan and India came into existence. But nowadays, ethnicities are the deciding factor.

I don't believe what you're proposing would've been any good for the region. The more separate states we would've had, the more blood shed would have followed.

 

[TOPGUN]

Pakistan will not break in pieces inshallah we will live through this nightmare as well and for those that wish for this sorry to pop your little wet dream not happening and i dont need a precher nor a teacher to tell me otherwise lets hope for the best long live Pakistan..

 

[XYON]

Frankly & statistically speaking, India has more & earlier chances of disintegration then Pakistan owing simply to the huge mix of ethnic races living under a false banner of Hindu dominance. Pakistan's ethnic tracings are far less pronounced and thereby more controllable compared to India. India is already facing insurgency of one sort and the other in its length and breadth; these potential sparks have the capacity to create a fire that can engulf the entire Bharat ending up into Khalistan; Tamilistan, Naxalistan, yada yada yada!

Now imagine what would become of the nukes in India if she breaks up! Brrrrrrrr! The true nightmare of the Sub Continent is yet to take smaller shapes in Bharat.

 

[shravan]

Frankly & statistically speaking, India has more & earlier chances of disintegration then Pakistan owing simply to the huge mix of ethnic races living under a false banner of Hindu dominance.

LOL. Very True. And we don't even have the beautiful concept of Brotherhood .... Which you guys have.

What went wrong in 1971 ?