A Comment on Anatol Lieven's perception of Pakistan

A Comment on Anatol Lieven's perception of Pakistan

A Mutiny Grows in Punjab by Anatol Lieven: A Comment from Peshawar

Prof. Ijaz Khan

Sometimes even (partially) correct factual description of a situation may lead to interpretations and policy recommendations not really warranted by it. Anatol Lieven in his book ‘Pakistan: A Hard Country’ has done precisely that. He builds on his arguments in his essay titled ‘A Mutiny Grows in Punjab’. His arguments and policy recommendations can be summarized as

Taliban and Pashtun Identity

Taliban and Pashtun identity
originally published in 'The Friday Times' in January 2012 is no more available in its archives, however, LUBP an online group had re published it and is there. you can read it there or here too

Nationalist movements promote and protect national language, culture and identity through political expression. They aim to control their affairs without outside interference. They are about managing their economic resources by themselves. They may want autonomy within a multinational state in order to structure it to protect their identity, or in certain cases for an independent state of their own.

Taliban meet none of these criteria in Afghanistan or Pakistan, and therefore cannot be considered a Pashtun nationalist movement. They take ideological and political inspiration from Arabs and other non-Pashtuns. They have consciously, as a matter of policy, targeted different cultural traits of Pashtuns, like tribal councils and folk music; they are not concerned about the language and promote mostly Arabic and/or interestingly, Urdu; Economic resources or their control is not their concern; neither is any political or administrative manifestation of Pashtun identity their goal.

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Are We At War?

Are We at War? My take on the NATO Shelling of Pakistani securioty checkpost in Mohamand Agency