AfPak: an overview of Pakistan / Afghanistan

[davidbfpo]

david, re: the question I asked in post #10 ?

JMM,

Distracted at the moment and have not watched Pakistan as closely as usual. I did watch the newsreel yesterday of Sharif's "long march" and the BBC repporter's comment that the police were active in opposition and then disappeared.

Others who watch Pakistan have remarked that the abyss is not close-by and that large parts of civil society remain strong. Not sure if the decision to restore the Chief Justice supports or detracts from this.

davidbfpo

[jmm99]

Seems the immediate crisis is over for the time being - per Reuters and Thai-Indian News.

The restoration of Pakistan's Chief Justice in the larger sense, brings us back to the Taliban in the NWFP. There, more sharia courts are announced.

Sharia courts in other areas of province soon, says NWFP information minister
March 16th, 2009 - 11:55 am ICT by ANI -

Mingora (Pakistan), Mar.16 (ANI): The North West Frontier Province (NWFP) Government has announced plans to establish sharia courts in other parts of the province.

Over a dozen related stories at the last link.

[George L. Singleton]

JMM,

Distracted at the moment and have not watched Pakistan as closely as usual. I did watch the newsreel yesterday of Sharif's "long march" and the BBC repporter's comment that the police were active in opposition and then disappeared.

Others who watch Pakistan have remarked that the abyss is not close-by and that large parts of civil society remain strong. Not sure if the decision to restore the Chief Justice supports or detracts from this.

davidbfpo

David et al:

The Shariff brothers are among the wealthiest land owners in and from the Pakistani Province of Punjab.

Punjab used to inclue all of what is today's NWFP, until 1901, as I wrote on SWJ yesterday.

The Shariff family reaches back to Raj era India and had and still has vast land, timber, and mining holdings both in today's Pakistani Punjab, as well as inside today's NWFP and inside today's Swat. I think the Shariffs own copper mine(s) in Swat, among other things.

To my eye these economic business interests the Shariffs own in now troubled terrorist zones explains to me that ex-PM Shariff when he was PM (overthrown in 1999 by Musharraf who knows all about these holdngs) and his brother have in the past (through 1999) and are again at the present among the power centers favoring "deals" with the Taliban...in order to preserve and protect their land, timber, and mining and any other related business interests in ex-Punjab zone now defined as today's NWFP, Swat, etc.

Hope this background helps you all better understand what the Pukhtuns don't like about Punjabis, particularly about the Shariffs who they voted against, not for, by voting for either the PPP or the ANP in the Presidential and Parliamentary national and provincial elections in 2008 in Pakistan.

Cheers,
George

[davidbfpo]

This long article appeared in The (UK) Daily Telegraph, the author is a former BBC journalist and now works for Al-Jazeera, who spent five weeks in Pakistan and the programme has been shown already:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worl...-Pakistan.html

The programmes are online: http://english.aljazeera.net/program...123302404.html

Nothing startling, but of interest.

davidbfpo

[davidbfpo]

Broadcast on Monday, on the UK Channel Four, a 49 minute long documentary made by a Pakistani lady reporter: http://www.channel4.com/video/brandl...ban-generation

The main website for short clips and commentary is: http://www.channel4.com/programmes/dispatches

Recommended by local contacts and to be watched later today; Spring is here and into the garden.

davidbfpo

[George L. Singleton]

http://www.khyberwatch.com/forums/showthread.php?t=6416

I think posting #6 may be of interest and perhaps best fits under this established thread by David.

Here is a pinpoint quote from this Internet Pakhtun website that is encouraging to me:

As I have already mentioned that we have always been enmeshed in proxy wars. We dont have much of the options. We have to wait. The govt should try something on the line of Swat, where reconciliation should be fostered to bring a temporary peace and stop further bloodshed. None of the member of this forum will agree, but I am of the opinion that if the local support army in reporting against taliban activities, I am sure this menace will be ended soon. Army is inactive due to non-cooperation from the civil population. Understandably, Taliban have killed many civilians having links with the army and therefore, I understand that civilians are hesitant to report anything to the army. But we have take risk otherwise this fire may take longer than our expectation.

It is not the job of civil population to fight with Taliban, it is the duty of Law enforcing agencies. So we better assist them in performance of their duties.

[Ron Humphrey]

Broadcast on Monday, on the UK Channel Four, a 49 minute long documentary made by a Pakistani lady reporter: http://www.channel4.com/video/brandl...ban-generation

The main website for short clips and commentary is: http://www.channel4.com/programmes/dispatches

Recommended by local contacts and to be watched later today; Spring is here and into the garden.

davidbfpo

Something gets posted that I try to check out in the UK
IT ends up tellin me something like-

You need to be within the UK or the Republic of Ireland to watch Channel 4 programmes

I think my ancestors got kicked out of Scotland for drinkin too much, thats gotta count for something

Startin to think yall got somethin against Yanks tryin to get edumucated

Thanks for the heads up though, Ill see if I can't find it somewhere else.
Look's informative