Ah, the deal – more confusion
by Raza Rumi Much has been made of this NYT article on the class inequalities in NWFP that are fuelling the Taliban movement. However, I would like to ask where in Pakistan class inequalities do NOT exist. They are everywhere. By using this argument then the Taliban takeover becomes a natural conclusion as a social revolution is required everywhere to correct the exploitative structures and provide ‘speedy justice’. Therefore, our political class has to rise to the occasion and provide the kind of leadership, delivery against their manifestos and restore the fading writ of the state. On another forum this deal was being termed as a popular demand of Swatis and here is what I wrote for those who are interested: With due respect to the … Read entire article »
Filed under: Al Qaeda, North-West Frontier Province, Pakistan, Peshawar, public policy, Rural, Terrorism, violence, war
Poem: Nightingale of Pukhtoonwala (Rehman Baba)
by Kashkin Here he rests The old nightingale In its peace and grave, From the descendants Of an old tribe and its code The old settlers, at the outskirts Through years of travel The poet, in mausoleum of words The old Pushtu poet Carried in his words, The echoes of peace and music … Read entire article »
Filed under: North-West Frontier Province, Peshawar, poetry
“Desecration of Rahman Baba’s tomb is desecration of humanity”
Posted by Raza Rumi The SCN press release echoes our sentiments at the disgusting act of vandalism in Peshawar. It is a befitting metaphor for the barbaric bigotry and the ineffectual state – a dangerous mix. It is a matter of national shame for Pakistan to have sunk this low. Rahman Baba (1653 -1711 AD) commands a universal following for his mystic syncretism, has now fallen prey to the cannibalistic doctrine of bigotry and intolerance. … Read entire article »
Filed under: North-West Frontier Province, Pakistan, Peshawar
‘Justice’, Taliban-style
by Beena Sarwar Violence against women has been on the rise in the Taliban-dominated areas of Pakistan. Recently the Taliban moral police killed two women in Peshawar, leaving notes on their mutilated bodies accusing them of immoral behaviour and warning others of similar repercussions if they didn’t reform. See Asma Jahangir’s statement at the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan blog: I wrote about this issue in March, for a Shirkat Gah publication that has just been published, ’2007 Events & Analysis’. Other essays in the publication are: ‘Lal Masjid Occupation and seige’ (Kamila Hyat), ‘The lawyers’ movement’ (Asad Jamal), ‘The students’ movement’ (Aasim Sajjad Akhtar), ‘Media’ (Muhammad Badar Alam) and ‘Violence against women politicians’ (Shahzada Irfan Ahmed). I don’t see it up on their website yet – www.shirkatgah.org. My essay below. Being a … Read entire article »
Filed under: Islamism, North-West Frontier Province, Peshawar, Terrorism, Women
NWFP History: The dismissal of the Khan Ministry and its aftermath (Part 3)
by Yasser Latif Hamdani In parts 1 and 2 of this present series, I presented the primary source record of the events leading up to the unfortunate impasse between the newly formed Pakistan government and the Afghanistan-backed Frontier Congress led by the Khan brothers. This third piece will determine whether or not there was an alternative left to the dismissal of the ministry as was widely expected and which was to be carried out by Lord Mountbatten with the prior approval of the Congress Party in Delhi before August 15, 1947. This piece will also determine how and why it came to be that the Pakistan government had to take this step? Before the referendum actually took place, Dr. Khan Sahib had famously said that he would resign from his … Read entire article »
Filed under: History, North-West Frontier Province, Peshawar
History is Not a Farce: The NWFP Referendum
Pak Tea House’s contributor Yasser Latif Hamdani has been posting articles on the Pakhtuns and NWFP province. In response to his latest piece, Shaheryar Ali, looks back at the NWFP referendum held in 1947 and presents an alternative view- We welcome myriad points of view at this forum only to ensure that history’s linearity and constructed versions are unpacked for a better understanding of the past and the present. (Raza Rumi-ed) “History is the memory of states,” wrote Henry Kissinger in his first book, A World Restored, in which he proceeded to tell the history of nineteenth-century Europe from the viewpoint of the leaders of Austria and England, ignoring the millions who suffered from those statesmen’s policies. From his standpoint, the “peace” that Europe had before the French Revolution was “restored” by … Read entire article »
Filed under: Colonialism, History, North-West Frontier Province, Peshawar
The roots of terrorism
By Adil Zareef AS the incumbent government gears up to meet myriad challenges, Mangal Bagh is becoming the new recurring nightmare in the NWFP. He left a trail of bloodshed, pillage and mayhem when he attacked unarmed villagers in Sheikhan, near Peshawar, and demolished a 16th century shrine. Mangal Bagh later forced the famous Karkhano market shut for days, causing economic losses running into millions of rupees. Recently he attacked another shrine in Khyber Agency and harassed women who traditionally pray there. Traffic in adjoining areas was brought to a halt for a few days as tribals protested against these excesses committed right under the nose of Pakistan’s mammoth security apparatus. For some these incidents produce a sense of déjà vu given what has happed in Waziristan, Bajaur, Swat, Darra Adamkhel and now on the outskirts of Peshawar. The ‘star’ of the story is Mangal Bagh from Bara tehsil … Read entire article »
Filed under: Citizens, North-West Frontier Province, Peshawar, Society, Terrorism
Pakistani musicians in NWFP long for better times
Things are likely to change for Zareen Gul…? Read this story from the Daily Times. Zareen Gul sits on the floor of his small recording studio in the Pakistani city of Peshawar and complains that he feels like a criminal for wanting to make music. A dusty computer and several recording machines are stacked on racks in his two-room Shama Recording Studio in the city’s busy Khyber Bazaar but nothing is switched on. Gul, who … Read entire article »
Filed under: culture, Islamism, Media, Music, Peshawar, Society
Pakistan Election Results -Defeat for the Islamists?
A quote from Breaking down Pakistan’s election results by Kanishk Tharoor: Defeat for the Islamists? An item less reported in the western press is the abject performance of Islamist parties in the election. The MMA, the major alliance of Islamist parties, won only three seats in the National Assembly. In 2002, the MMA won 63 seats in the country’s parliament. Tellingly, the godfather of the MMA and the Jamiat-ul-Ulema-i-Islam, Maulana Fazlur Rahman, lost in his constituency. The Islamists were expected to do well in the northwest, where Pakistani forces have been fighting Taliban and al-Qaida-allied militants in recent months. In the supposed Islamist heartlands of the North-West Frontier Provinces and the Federally Administered Tribal Areas, Islamists won less than 5% of the vote. Instead, the secular Pashtun nationalist ANP made huge gains after … Read entire article »
Filed under: Democracy, Elections, Islam, Islamism, Peshawar, Politics, Terrorism
The people of Pakistan reject extremism
Raza Rumi The election results notwithstanding the irregularities and fears of rigging, are pretty straightforward. They undo the Musharraf paradigm of ousting the two mainstream parties from the political arena; and instituting real democracy that is hostage to the bogey of Islamism and local feudal cliques through non-party local governments. These elections are also a slap on the face of the global corporate media (and their backers, the global military machine) that had painted Pakistan as a breeding ground for Islamic extremism and dare I say terrorism. The erstwhile sponsored face of Islamism – the Mutihada Majlis-i-Amal- has been routed in the North West Frontier Province (NWFP). The people of the NWFP have outrightly rejected this rentier class that uses Islamisation and extols Talibanisation for power and pelf. The secular and moderate parties have won the overwhelming majority of … Read entire article »
Filed under: Elections, Pakistan, Peshawar, Politics, Rights, Terrorism
Peshawar: Cutting trees
By Dr Ali Jan I was sitting in my cosy chair, feeling smug and sipping coffee in the evening when I received a distressing phone call from a friend, Arbab Haleem Khan, who gave me the news of some shisham trees being chopped down, “in the Cantonment, on The Mall near the Combined Military Hospital at 5 pm, on Jan. 24,” according to him. My heart broke and it felt like I had been personally robbed of something very precious. In British India, the term “cantonment” meant a permanent military station or settlement where the soldiers lived, not in private houses, but in barracks, quarters, forts or occasionally camps. After defeating the Sikhs and occupying the old town of Peshawar in 1849, the British founded a new cantonment, turning it into a … Read entire article »
Filed under: Environment, Peshawar, urban
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