Pakistan woke up to a zingy Monday morning with journalist and documentary filmmaker Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy grabbing the golden statuette at the 84th Academy Awards.

Column inches have been filling thick and fast since then. Doubtless more is in store in the coming days and weeks to feast on the latest odds-defying story from Pakistan that keeps the foreigner spoiled.

Great symbolism is attached to this epoch-making development where Pakistan is concerned and it would seem even a rhapsodic note wouldn’t fall in the realm of overstatement.

The Oscar won by Obaid-Chinoy, who directed Saving Face — a stunning work on the harrowing lives of victims of acid throwing — with Daniel Junge, is a first for Pakistan.

It has come at a time when the South Asian nation is caught in a maelstrom of troubles, mainly from a draining war-on-terror in its myriad hues with seemingly no end and extremism to a struggling economy — with a government whose grip on the state is tenuous at best.

But that is stating the political economy. For a country whose better half of the population is female, the environment is hardly conducive for creative work. Crimes against women have increased manifold — forming part of the subject of Obaid-Chinoy’s Oscar-winning work — making it difficult to pursue causes that are at great risk of drawing the worst possible consequences at the hands of obscurantist elements.

Since we are on the subject of films here, it is so easy to forget that while there is no dearth of rich content waiting to be explored by the best of their trade, Pakistan is practically a dead hunting ground for its own industry.

For once, this has little to do with issues of security — that bane of many a Doubting Thomas. The moribund state of cinema has contributed to a general decline in exploring the medium as a vital instrument of expression.

This disenabling environment has led to a spectacular decline in the number of cinema houses, which has fallen dramatically from more than 1,300 countrywide in the Seventies to only dozens now. The arrival of a few Cineplexes half-a-decade ago have retrieved cinegoing to an extent but it is all down to Bollywood and Hollywood fare.

Every four years, a decent local flick does make a happy round but it is a bit rich to suggest that it would revive the Pakistani cinema — somewhat coquettishly branded Lollywood after its favoured seat of culture, Lahore.

It is against this backdrop that a Muslim, female documentary filmmaker from Pakistan has made a significant statement by landing an Oscar at a forum which just doesn’t get any bigger and where competition is nerve-wrecking. No wonder, Pakistan is electrified with message boards, Facebook and twitterverse in overdrive.

Obaid-Chinoy’s greatest hour has done wonders to lift the morale of a nation badly in need of heroes. However, to suggest this is the only story worth its speck of stardust would be underrating the heroics of other female of the species this side of Indus.

Pakistani women have fired the imagination of the nation before in both academic and sporting arenas.

Eighth grader Malal Yousafzai, 13, defined courage in her own way as a blogger for BBC, writing from Swat during the heady days of Taliban. Championing the rights of the people of the bloodied valley, she was nominated by KidsRights Foundation, an international advocacy group, for — and narrowly missed — the International Children’s Peace Prize last year.

The tragic death recently of Arfa Karim, the world’s youngest Microsoft Certified Professional, drowned the nation in sorrow but her heady achievements — she was still shy of her 17th birthday when she died of cardiac arrest induced by a sudden epileptic seizure — are legion, drawing both the state and private entities to honour her work with several rounds of dedication.

The world was also left stunned last year when Sitara Barooj Akbar, an 11-year-old girl from Rabwah — home to Ahmedis, the most persecuted community whose sect has been constitutionally excommunicated from the fold of Islam in Pakistan — became the world’s youngest to pass O’Level.

Sitara passed five papers including English, Physics, Chemistry and Biology and given her age and petite frame was at first mistaken by an IELTS examination officer for the daughter of a candidate!

No private sector institute was initially, willing to admit Sitara, who still has to commute 60km from home each day to a Beaconhouse branch in Faisalabad and back. Initially, her father was forced to leave his government job and open a private school to educate Sitara when no-one would admit her because of age.

Sadly, the international media is too preoccupied with stereotyped coverage of news events surrounding the war-on-terror in Pakistan to note these incredible stories of human endurance and courage.

If there is one woman, who personifies the never-say-die spirit, it is Naseem Hameed, who literally ran out everyone else to complete a fairytale the likes of which would be any nation’s pride.

A poor labourer’s daughter, Naseem became the fastest woman in South Asia. This happened against all odds. Naseem had a trying journey, not in the least because she was forbidden as a teenager from running and told by a medical specialist she could never compete because of a serious foot injury.

For a girl, who could not even afford a decent pair of shoes at one time, and whose parents had to tide over general disapproval among their kith and kin to allow their daughter to pursue her ambition, the 100-metre dash was more than just a means to secure a gold medal.

The spectacular triumph of Pakistani women cricket team at the Asian Games also did wonders for the image of a republic despite a lack of system that harnesses the obvious potential.

This space would not suffice to account for all the achievements but in a literal manifestation of managing the impossible, 19 Pakistani girls from Karachi Grammar School crammed into a smart car to create a world record in 2010 to drive home the point!

Obaid-Chinoy, then, is the latest amongst this magnificent breed of women, who have often been denied their due but almost always excelled given half a decent chance. Significantly, braver are the acid-attack victims, who defied the odds to tell the world their stories to Obaid-Chinoy.

Even more important than the Oscar she won, it was Obaid-Chinoy’s parting message, hand aloft with the coveted statuette, at the accepting speech that continues to inspire: “To all the women in Pakistan who are working for change, don’t give up on your dreams. This is for you”.

• ReplacingThermal Power Fuel:  Pakistanproduces about 81% of its electricity through Oil and Gas which costs us aboutUSD 9.4 Billion. To put it in other terms, that is about 53% of our totalexports and is the biggest cost on our import bill. Now given that our relianceon thermal power is so large, we cannot just simply dismantle it and magicallymove to hydro power. But what we can do is change the fuel used to gain thermalpower. Instead of using Oil and Gas, both of which are getting more expensiveand have volatile international prices, we can move to using coal. But not theThar Coal, I will explain why later, but imported Coal. If we were to importclean coal and use that as a fuel instead of Oil and Gas, it would cost us lessand the price of coal is more stable than that of Oil and Gas in theinternational market. This can bring some sort of price stability in ourelectricity prices that keep changing due to changes in international market prices.
• Movingpast the myth of Thar Coal:  Yes there iscoal in Thar. But assuming that it can be used immediately or it will solve allour energy problems is a myth propagated by a few people and political partiesfor their personal gains. Experts agree that Thar Coal is highly unstable andeven gasification of it is not without risks. The problem is because it is sounstable, it is very difficult to transport from location A to B. So the onlyoption left is Gasification on location, which again requires heavy investmentand even then might have practical difficulties due to the unstable nature ofthe coal deposits. So instead of wasting time and effort on this, for now weshould be focusing on importing coal to at least start replacing the everincreasing oil and gas bill.
• ImprovedEnergy Mix:  Energy Mixrefers to what sources of energy do we utilize in Pakistan to fulfill ouroverall energy needs. I need to give credit to the PML N on this one as theyare the first ones to talk of the holistic energy mix and not just the CNG orthe Electricity crisis. The fact is all our energy is interdependent. I havepreviously advocated that we need to move off CNG as we simply do not haveenough of it to supply the commercial, industrial and home users. It is nowtime that any future energy strategy Pakistan is supposed to have comes with aproper energy mix to solve our issues. As mentioned earlier, we need to moveoff Oil and Gas for Power generation. We need more Hydel Plants and RenewableEnergy projects. In the next 5 years we need to aim at getting 5% of our totalpower supply from Renewable sources. In addition to that we need to use theNuclear Power we are so proud of to supply electricity. Right now we are atabout 3% power generation from nuclear sources, which have to go up to at least5%. So an overall improved energy mix is what can solve our issues in the longrun.
• Standalone Power Projects:   This is asuggestion that I gave at the conference and I am advocating it now again.About 40% of Pakistan is off the National Grid. That means they effectively getto no electricity. Now thing is the way our grid operates, it is alreadysuffering from heavy line losses and other technical issues. So it is extremelyhard and very expensive to get 40% of Pakistan on to the National Grid. Butthere are solutions to this. We can work on and finance independent stand alonepower projects that can function in areas where there no national grid. Thisway the local communities and businessmen can set up their own energy solutionswithout taking prior permission from NationalElectric Power Regulatory Authority like they have to now. That wouldmean they can set up small scale Solar Panels and Plants in their communitiesand sell that electricity locally. In addition to that small wind farms can beused in such area given they are close to a wind corridor. The bottom line is,in areas that do not come under the National Grid, let people do what they canto supply themselves with electricity without any government involvement.
• Dismantlethe National Grid:   This is asuggestion I have already presented to the PML N and I am putting out there forevery other party as well. The National Grid needs to be dismantled andprovincialised. I say this due to a few reasons. Under the 18^thamendment, the profits of power generations to go the province that isproducing the power, so its profits according to source for power generations.That means, if electricity is being produced at Tarbela, royalties of that arebeing paid to KP Government by all other provinces. But what happens is theysell it to the National Grid and then the National Grid sells it down to theDistrict Electrical Supply Companies, who further sell the power to theconsumers. This way if there is a shortfall, National Grid chooses theelectricity supply patterns and hence decides which areas suffer outages themost. What I am saying is this, if we dismantle the National Grid and changethe electricity supply in to an open market, where Provincial Grids can buyenergy directly from source it would improve the power supply and would be morefinancially beneficial for the power producing province. This way the provincesthat have the most issues with electricity supply can simply outbid the othersto get enough for their local demand. This would not be privatization butprovincialization and this would encourage provincial governments to startdoing more for their people instead of relying on the Federal Government. Thiscan eventually lead to provinces working harder to upgrade their grids andreduce their line losses as their people would know exactly who to blame if thepower goes out. I think it is time we started thinking on these lines giventhat the 18^th amendment has already passed and provincial autonomyis our future.

For all of the discouraging news coming out of South Asia – Afghanistan’s escalating turmoil, the breakdown in U.S.-Pakistani relations, and growing political instability in Islamabad – there is one heartening development: India and Pakistan have restarted their peace dialogue following a three-year hiatus caused by the 2008 terrorist strikes in Mumbai. As a leading Pakistani daily puts it, “there is a discernible defrosting of relations with our neighbor to the east.”

The annals of India-Pakistan relations are filled with numerous false dawns and the current moves could well founder upon the sharp historical animosities that regularly bedevil bilateral affairs. But things may be different this time. Reports out of Islamabad indicate that the Pakistani government realizes the country is in desperate economic straits and that closer ties with its ever-richer sibling constitute a much needed lifeline. The military establishment is also said to understand that the eastern border needs to be stabilized so resources can be focused on combating rising internal security threats.

In a potentially significant development, Islamabad is reportedly even willing to put the perennially-inflamed dispute over the Kashmir region on the back burner. If these media accounts prove accurate – and if the beleaguered civilian government in Islamabad is able to sustain this stance in the face of vigorous domestic opposition – the event would represent an important breakthrough in the India-Pakistan rivalry. It would pick up where the intensive back-channel peace process both sides undertook in 2004-07 left off. Although those negotiations ultimately collapsed due to Pervez Musharraf’s political travails, they may have come tantalizing close to defusing the volatile Kashmir issue.

Things are already rolling along on the economic engagement front. Last summer, Pakistan’s Bollywood-esque foreign minister, the 34-year-old Hina Rabbani Khar, held unexpectedly warm talks in New Delhi, where she emphasized that a “mind-set change” was occurring among younger Indians and Pakistanis. This was quickly followed by a trip to New Delhi by Pakistan’s commerce minister, who brought with him a notably large business delegation.

The trip was especially productive. The two countries pledged to more than double their two-way trade flows – to the $6 billion annual level – by 2015. They agreed to ease visa rules for business travel and to open a new customs post at the Attari-Wagah border crossing that lies midway between Lahore and Amritsar. Islamabad also committed to extending “most favored nation” trade status to New Delhi, reciprocating the status India earlier conferred upon Pakistan. This last development promises to enliven the 2006 South Asia Free Trade Agreement which up until this point has been all but a dead letter. India’s commerce minister, Anand Sharma, captured the spirit of the meeting when he exclaimed that “only shared prosperity can bring lasting peace.”

Mr. Sharma, with his own high-profile business delegation in tow, paid a reciprocal visit to Islamabad earlier this month, where he signed several agreements to further reduce impediments to bilateral trade. The Indian and Pakistani central banks have announced plans to open branch offices in the other country, a move that will help facilitate cross-border transactions. Both countries have also advanced initiatives to enhance energy cooperation, including joint development of a natural gas field in Turkmenistan. Expert talks on expanding commerce in the electrical power and petroleum sectors are scheduled to take place in the coming weeks.

If enhanced trade ties were to develop between South Asia’s largest economies, they would produce significant commercial and (eventually) security dividends for both countries. Despite the common civilizational and historical bonds that permeate South Asia, as well as the unified market forged by the British Raj, the region today is remarkably fragmented economically. Trade flows between India and Pakistan, for instance, represent a miniscule fraction of each country’s overall trade portfolio. Attari-Wagah is the only vehicle crossing along the 1,800-mile-long international border. The two-lane road there is only open a mere eight hours a day and the cargo that passes through it must be unloaded and transferred to local trucks. Indeed, the crossing, which some refer to as the “Checkpoint Charlie of South Asia,” is better known for the Kabuki-like displays put on by the border guards than as an efficient transit point.

The pervasive barriers to bilateral economic cooperation have also spurred circuitous and highly inefficient trade patterns. A booming India requires cement for its construction sector yet is forced to import it from Africa instead of Pakistan, where the cement industry has excess capacity. Off-the-books trade – the value of which easily rivals official levels – is also conducted via third countries like Dubai, Singapore and Afghanistan. According to various studies, a more liberalized trade regime would increase bilateral exchange at least 20 times above current figures as well as boost economic prosperity in both countries. A new report by the Confederation of Indian Industries argues that cross-border trade could easily quadruple in just a few years if both governments moved to increase economic linkages.

(This commentator has argued elsewhere that the United States would be wise to reinforce the current stirrings by launching a Marshall Plan-like initiative geared toward bolstering cross-border economic cooperation between the two countries. This effort would dovetail well with the Obama administration’s “New Silk Road” initiative that is designed to ensure Afghanistan’s economic viability by building it up as a regional trade and transit hub.)

To be sure, there is a surfeit of factors that could derail the thaw in India-Pakistan relations, such as political upheaval in Islamabad or a major terrorist attack in India that emanates from Pakistani soil. Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani’s government has a tense arrangement with the army leadership and is under increasing fire from an emboldened Supreme Court; indeed, Gilani may in the coming months find himself in jail on contempt of court charges. Still, the Pakistan Peoples Party is expected to do well in the March 2nd Senate elections and this should provide enough political reinforcement for the government to continue, at least in the short term, with the push for improved relations with New Delhi.

A larger, if somewhat more distant, danger resides in the sharper security competition that is sure to erupt between the countries as the United States and its NATO allies hasten their departure from Afghanistan. Both India and Pakistan regard the country as a key theater for their strategic rivalry and the current defrosting in relations will likely be a casualty as the situation in Afghanistan deteriorates into a new civil war that has regional powers scrambling for influence.

Still, the present stirrings of peace demonstrate that despite its singularity intensity the India-Pakistan rivalry has always been a fluid admixture of cooperative impulses and competitive dynamics. Both governments would be smart to do what they now can to accentuate the former before the latter returns to the fore.

 

I have been hearing about all the beautiful places my homeland has since I
came in here but making a trip to all these places wasn’t easy. After being
done with my housejob I decided to finally make the very long awaited trip.
After getting all The trip planned I headed first to Lahore,the city with a
whole history in it. I planned to make this trip a bit more adventurousand
interesting by travelling through bus. I opted Daewoo Pakistan and it payed
me off.I was thinking that it would be no different than other services but
it proved me wrong. So I started off my trip at 8pm(which I shouldn’t
have..I will tell u later why). The first stop was at around 1am bt Moro.I
went off to charge my cellphones. Afterwards I had a little chit chat with
the driver. Driver: sir I will switch off the lights inside the bus as we
will move till sukkur. Me: why?? Driver: sir in the past 15 days there has
been a lot of looting incidents have taken place and one of our drivers has
been shot at and he is badly hurt so, it will be the precaution,moreover
when the guard will give signal just duck down so that u don’t get hurt.
Me: (*thinking* shit why did I take night coach and y on earth is he
tellingme all this now :-S)good. So my plan of taking a nap got screwed and
I fixed my gaze towards the window all the way to sukkur after which he
declared it safe.I dosed off for a while and got up at rahimyarkhan where
the Daewoo stopover point was recently refurbished with all the basic
things a traveller might need including good quality food..after sunrise we
set again for journey. As I passed RYK the first scenery that I saw was
absolutely astonishing. It was of the fields which were being watered and I
could see steam coming off these beautiful fields. As I moved on I saw
fields of cotton, sugarcane and oranges(kinu). Though the cotton season was
over but there were a few of them unharvested. Therewere beautiful white
birds In the harvested fields. All the way I could see the beauty of my
country, which was amazing.
(guys i couldnt upload pics in her so go to facebook link for the pictures )

https://www.facebook.com/ibrahimhashmi11?sk=photos#!/ibrahimhashmi11?sk=photos

Warid’s youth based cellular brand Glow by Warid has announced an exciting campaign, “Dosti Ke Rung“, celebrating its core ideology of providing youth entertainment and value.

Glow’s ‘Dosti Ke Rung’ movement is based on the premise of providing groups of friends with an opportunity to come and enjoy its uniquely designed on-ground activities.

These special activities will be taken on-ground live with customised Warid Glow activity areas in select colleges, universities, shopping and entertainment venues across Lahore, Karachi and Islamabad.

Glow’s celebration officially begins with the brand new ‘Dosti Ke Rung’ music video being aired across all major local networks, promoting the colours of friendship.

On Glow’s sustained efforts to create avenues for entertainment and engaging the youth, Director Marketing Warid Sadaf Zarrar said, “Warid launched Glow for the very purpose of providing the youth with the most competitive voice and data packages, as well as providing entertainment across various platforms. To this end, Glow has organised as well as partnered with a diversity of events encompassing education, music, theatre, sports and games. With the ‘Dosti Ke Rung’ campaign, we want to further our commitment to the youth and promote positivity within the youth, and bring something fresh and new.”

Brand Manager Glow Saud Khan while giving his comments said, “Glow is a brand targeting the youth of the country and we as a brand understand what “Dosti” means to our audience. The ‘Dosti Ke Rung’ campaign is our way of rejoicing with the youth and showing that we are an integral part of their friendship circle.”

These new initiatives by Glow come at a time when planned activities for the youth are few and far between, and with this, Glow encourages youngsters to come forward and participate in their specially-planned events that will be taking place during March and April across the major cities of Pakistan.

Further, by introducing the lowest Friends & Family call rates at 61 paisas/30 seconds, exciting SMS bundles and amazing Mobile Internet tariffs, Glow makes it easier for the youth to keep in touch with their friends at all times.

How to activate Glow Dosti Package ?

• New Glow Customers: Dial 789 to activate Glow Dosti
• Existing Warid Prepaid or Glow Customers: SMS Dosti to 7777

SMS Bundles:

• 150 SMS at Rs. 1.50 / day * SMS Glow 150 to 7777 to activate
• 400 SMS at Rs. 2.99 day * SMS Glow 400 to 7777 to activate
• 700 SMS at Rs. 6.99 / week * SMS Glow 700 to 7777 to activate
• 1000 SMS at Rs. 7.99 / week * SMS Glow 1000 to 7777 to activate

To deactivate, SMS OFF to 7777
Note: Rs. 1+tax will apply on every SMS sent to 7777

Mobile Internet Package:

• 2MB at Rs. 2.99 / day * SMS 2MB to 7777 to activate it.
• 10MB at Rs. 30 / month * SMS 10MB to 7777 to activate it.
• Surf @ Twilight: Unlimited at Rs. 20 / day (1am to 9am) * SMS Twilight to 7777 to activate it.

Note: Activation Charges are Rs. 20 and Rs. 1 + tax will apply on all SMS sent to 7777.

To add Friend and Family or fnf numbers and for more details visit Glow official Page

 

Glow by Warid announces ‘Dosti Ke Rung’ campaign — a nationwide celebration of friendship

Youth-based cellular brand Glow by Warid has announced an exciting campaign, ‘Dosti Ke Rung’, celebrating its core ideology of providing youth entertainment and value. Glow’s ‘Dosti Ke Rung’ movement is based on the premise of providing groups of friends with an opportunity to come and enjoy its uniquely designed on-ground activities. These special activities will be taken on-ground live with customised Warid Glow activity areas in select colleges, universities, shopping and entertainment venues across Lahore, Karachi and Islamabad. Glow’s celebration officially begins with the brand new ‘Dosti Ke Rung’ music video being aired across all major local networks, promoting the colours of friendship.

This is second of a series of posts on my recent Iran trip. For all posts in the series, view the Iran Chronicles tag.

Arrival in Tehran and Money Exchange

After the hassle-free exit from the Tehran IKA airport, I faced my first task to do: get the currency exchanged. The US imposed economic sanctions on Iran means no banking relationships with Iran – effectively none of the debit/credit cards work in Iran and one has to bring all the money required in cash. I struggled for half an hour to get some of my US dollars exchanged with Iranian currency at the airport but all of the half-a-dozen bank branches were on break for some reason. A local approached me, decrypting the confused look at my face and offered the on-spot exchange at a good rate – within minutes, I had enough local currency to pay for the cab and the hotel I had booked earlier in Tehran.

Ironical it may sound, but the most acceptable foreign currencies in Iran are US dollar, the Euro and the British Pounds. One can get them exchanged pretty easily even if there is no currency exchange office around; try any shop or even a local passing by you. Why should one just not get Iranian currency before traveling into Iran? Well, to finance a two week trip for two in Iran, one needs a sack full of Iranian currency, considering the exchange rate. At the time of my visit, 1 GBP was equal to 17, 000 IRR (Iranian Rials) – although the smallest denomination I saw was 500IRR, still none will be comfortable carrying a separate bag for cash. But, one can get a tourist ATM card (a prepaid ATM card) from most of Iranian banks, available even at airports or any bank branch.

Tehran Airport and the cabbies

Tehran IKA, now the capital’s primary airport, was opened in 2004 and almost all international flights have been transferred here from the old Mehrabad Airport in downtown Tehran, which still is the main domestic flight hub. IKA is situated about 30km south of Tehran on the highway to Qom. With no public transport system yet in place, the only way to get there is by private taxi, the rates for which are fixed by the state. Tehran Metro is planned expansion will connect the airport to the city through two lines, scheduled to be completed by the end of the year 2012.

The cab drivers at Tehran airport, like everywhere else in the world, were a bit arrogant and not too welcoming. Their monopoly on the transportation between airport and the city explains why. However, they do not try to rip you off – the fares quoted were reasonable and when I tried to negotiate with a young cabbie, he waved his hand in a Ja-Oay! gesture and walked away without saying a word. Luckily our midnight arrival allowed us to avoid the traffic clog and busy roads of Tehran and our middle aged cabbie took only 45mins to take us to the Southern part of the city. Our driver took a while to find our hotel while wandering through streets of this middle/lower-middle class neighborhood which was very quiet at this hour of night. Finally, he found LP recommended Khayyam Hotel (B&B actually) hidden in an alleyway off Amir Kabir Street which is dotted with motor workshops. The nearby Mellat street is home to home appliances market and the Saadi street for tool fittings, ceramics etc – all of these three merge at Imam Khomeini Square. For Lahori readers, Imam Khomeini Square was like Mozang, Amir Kabir Street being the Lytton Road, Mellat Street being Abid Market and Saadi Street being Ferozpur Road and Ichrra.

The middle-class Ichhra-like neighborhood of South Tehran

Khayyam Hotel is a bit dated (built 1976) simple B&B with basic rooms and overpriced for what it offers. The owner, Mr. Ali Jasbi who is occasionally available at the reception is welcoming, friendly and always ready to help. In addition to this, the other plus side was the location of the hotel – excellent suburban rail connections through Mellat Metro and Imam Khomeini Metro stations (both 10mins walk away), extensive bus connections through Imam Khomeini Square (10 min walk) and 24X7 availability of cabs (from Amir Kabir street) and shuttle taxis (from Imam Khomeini Square, 10 min walk).

It was 34C with the sun shining straight on our heads as we headed out on the first day in Tehran. We had a confusing start of the day wandering through Amir Kabir and Saadi Street where we found ourselves a bit lost and couldn’t find anything other than spare part shops and motor workshops. We didn’t expect being based in middle of a Montgomery Road in Tehran but this turned out to be quite a learning experience. I quickly deciphered trade links: the sings on the shops had bits of Urdu and Turkish; the goods delivery-agents had signs reading Quetta, Karachi, Istanbul, Baghdad and other cities of the region;  and the cheap hotels in the area (primarily for traders on trade-trips) had Pakistan and Turkish flag visibly hoisted. To my surprise, as we walked past tool fitting shops, I heard a Bollywood item number being played out loud and then another guy saying “Pakistani?” quite loudly, in a questioning tone as we walked past his shop.

First Chelo Kebab

Within a couple of hours, the heat and surprises drained our energy and it was time for first meal in Iran. We struggled in this part of the city to find a decent/interesting place to eat and ended up having Chelo Kebab (boiled rice with minced meat Kebab) at one of these small road-side restaurants. Chelo Kebab can be called Iran’s national dish – this is essential for every Iranian kitchen irrespective of social class or financial status.

I struggled again when it was time to make the payment as it takes a bit of time to get used to the local Iranian currency – which you have to carry loads. Confusingly, Iranians talk of money in different system/units (Tomans) than what is printed on currency notes (Rials) – the reason being the IRR has gone so down in terms of its value that even a loaf of bread will cost several thousand rials (1 GBP = 17,000 IRR). The locals came up with an easy solution: another unit of currency i.e. Toman which is equal to 10 Rials. With filled tummies and blistering afternoon, it was by default time for a siesta and thus we headed back to the hotel passing through the endless maze of stores.

Golestan Palace

Later in the afternoon, I unpacked my customized list of places to visit in Tehran and headed straight to Golestan Palace [Eng site] which was once enclosed within the mud-thatched walls of Tehran’s Historic Arg (citadel). The green-tin tuck shops which dot Tehran’s landscape, regulated by state in terms of location and prices had an obvious presence in this area too. On the 20min walk, we had to pass through the same streets, the busy Imam Khomeini Square which serves as transport hub in this part of the city and then a boulevard which hosts the administrative offices like Department of Justice and Central Bank of Iran [Eng site].  Next to these is the 400 year old Golestan Palace. When Tehran became the capital during the 18^th century in Qajr era, this palace became the court and official residence of the royal family. The palace was also used for royal receptions during Pahlavi era and the coronation of Pahlavi kings also carried out in this palace. This is for sure one of the most beautiful palaces in Iran and definitely one of the most well preserved and well managed historic buildings I have seen so far, at par with Hampton Court Palace in the UK.

Golestan Palace, operated by Cultural Heritage Organization of Iran (administrated and funded by Government of Iran) is home to fascinating architecture, beautiful wall paintings and tile work, amazing marble based designs, refreshing greenery spread around ponds and fountains and mind boggling glass work. Takht Marmar (Marle Throne) made from yellow marble from Iran’s Yazd province is one of the oldest structures in the palace. Coronations of Qajar kings (including Raza Shah Pahlavi in 1925), and formal court ceremonies were held on this terrace (iwan). Khalvat Karim Khan, hosting amusing and geometrically appealing tile patterns dates back to 1759 – this building was a part of the interior residence of Karim Khan Zand. The Negar Khaneh exhibits amazing collection of artifacts, paintings (showing evolution of painting in Iran), jewellery, furniture and valuable objects . Talar-e Berelian (Hall of Brilliance) was named so for it is adorned by the brilliant mirror work of Iranian artisans – the mirror work and chandeliers are absolutely mind boggling. Then there is reception hall called Talar Salam, Talar Zoroof and the Museum of gifts which shows collection of gifts received by Qajr and Pahlavi kings as well as works of ceramics and chinaware. Talar Adj (Dining Hall) and Talar Aineh (mirror hall) are the most famous of the palace halls. Shams-ol-Emareh (Edifice of the sun) is the most stunning structures of the Golestan Palace. The Monarch, Nasir od Din Shah wanted a structure from which he could have panoramic views of the city.

national Museum of Iran

Our next stop that day was The national Museum of Iran located on a walking distance in the same area. This museum is supposed to celebrate the rich heritage of Iran, home to Empires, known as Cradle of civilizations but unfortunately this hosts a modest collection of sculptures, ceramics and seals that date back to the 4th and 5th centuries BC. The museum displays artifacts from Paleolithic, Neolithic, Chalcolithic, early and late Bronze Age, and Iron Ages I-III, through the Median, Achaemenid, Seleucid, Parthian, and Sassanid periods in three halls. The artifacts from the post Islamic period are housed in separate building in the same complex.

The museum is well laid out, the building is quite impressive and is managed really well considering the entrance is dirt cheap but it doesn’t do justice to Iran. I was told parts of collection is displayed at local museums in different parts of the country and an even larger proportion is in the EU museums specially in the UK and France e.g. the famous Cyrus Cylinder is one of over a hundred Iranian artifacts displayed in British Museum in London. Not too impressed by the museum itself, we looked around and found this excellent little Souvenir Shop in the museum courtyard. The shop displayed an amazing collection of souvenirs, gifts, decoration items etc at amazingly low prices. If there was no baggage allowance limit on my flight, I might have ended up buying half of the shop but we had to cease our shopping desires after buying Achaemenid decorative items to give a flavor of Persian civilization to our living room. On top of that, the ticket officer on entrance of Museum of Islamic Art, which is housed in the same complex, was really friendly and asked the usual question which every Iranian will ask after encountering a foreigner – “where are you from?” He was quite excited to find out we’re from Pakistan but couldn’t let us in, despite the obvious I-wish-I-could-help-look on his face, because the museum was closed for renovation.

National Jewels Museum

The other museum which we visited was National Jewels Museum/Treasury – the biggest tourist draw-card in Tehran. This has to be the most stunning collection of jewels on the planet and I can bet you haven’t seen anything like this and will never see. This is absolutely astonishing and you can literally spend hours and hours trying to absorb the detail and beauty of this lovely huge collection. We had to struggle a bit to find the museum as this is located off the main Saadi Street behind a tall structure of Bank Melli. There is no visible sign on the road front but reading through the directions on my Lonely Planet guide, as I tried to enter a fenced area, a security guard ran towards me saying “Kojaa, Kojaa!” (Where?) to which I responded saying “Moza Jawahir”. He asked the usual question and felt a bit comfortable knowing we’re from Pakistan, then guided us to the museum entrance where we could buy tickets and wait for our turn to go inside. Only a limited number of people are allowed to be in the museum at a time until the earlier batch, or some of them come out. The museum itself is located in an underground security vault with rigorous security measures with several checkpoints – both electronic and manual. You are not allowed to take literally anything within the museum and deposit that at entrance. The beauty of this collection cannot be explained, it can only be enjoyed while being there. I’ll only add that this museum alone justifies a visit to Tehran. This was again very well managed and clean, better than some museums I have been to in the EU and entrance was cheap as chips. The art gallery in the Golestan Palace and The National Jewels Museum in combination display the incredible jewellery with which the Safavid and Qajar monarchs adorned themselves.

You can spend several weeks in Tehran, visiting museums only

The same area is home to a few other museums including Iran Ebrat Museum, Glassware, Post and Telecom Museum. We tried to visit a few other museums but could not manage to sync with the opening times. The city has a museum for everything you can imagine – jewels, post, telecom, natural history, science, history, Islamic period, ancient history, geography, archaeology, revolution, Quran; you name it. There is a museum every few miles, spread all over the city. You need weeks, only to see the museums. Since we only had three days allocated to Tehran, we sufficed with those we visited and decided to see what else the city has to offer…

Iranian encounter: Shared table with Zoroastrian Tehrani couple at Azerbaijani restaurant

The nearest restaurant recommendation on my LP guide was Ferdowsi International Grand Hotel which has a variety of restaurants, famous of which is their traditional restaurant/cafe especially popular among the young Tehranis. We were a bit late as they were closing the kitchen but the restaurant was still very crowded – apparently because of pipe smoking and chae which is served hours after the kitchen is closed. They let us order provided we are okay to share a table with another couple, who gladly allowed us to. When we were being hesitant, the young Iranian couple sitting on other side of the table break the ice and made us feel very comfortable. “You don’t have to be shy and reluctant. You’re in a very difficult city – it won’t work if you’re here”, the guy smiled and said while his partner seemed to agree. Within minutes, we were chatting on stuff ranging from politics and religion to food, culture and sports. Bahman is a self employed trader exporting mechanical parts to the middle East. He explained how difficult it is to manage businesses considering the economic sanctions and the absence of banking channels. He briefly talks about the state of minorities specially the Bahais and didn’t sound very comfortable with the Islamic Government in power, who in his view had done little for protection of human rights in Iran. The couple help us choose what to eat and made us share their starters which included delicious Azerbaijani and Kurdish snacks. The couple left giving us their contact number which we used extensively during our stay in Tehran get directions and advice. The second day in Tehran ended on a pleasant note and we were back in our hotel before mid night taking pictures along the way. We felt very safe even in later hours of the night wandering through the streets of Tehran…

Azadi Square: site of two of Iran’s most epochal protest movements

Even before planning the trip to Tehran, I visualized myself jumping in front of Azadi Square and somebody capturing that moment of joy. To make that happen, enjoy a view of Tehran from a considerable height, and to visit the hotspot of all political activity in Tehran, we decided to start the next day with a visit to Azadi Square. In Iran’s modern history, Azadi Square –  site of two of Iran’s most epochal protest movements, is second only to Tehran University in terms of its symbolic political significance. It has been the centre of all political or religiously inspired movements and protests whether it be the Islamic Revolution of 1979 or the recent Green Movement.

The Azadi Tower, in centre of Maydan-e-Azadi marks the entrance to the city and was built in 1971 to celebrate 2500 years of Persian Empire. The architecture combines elements of Sasanid and Persian Islamic Architecture. This is one of the most fascinating works of modern Iranian architecture – very well placed in the middle of a huge square. Arrays of flowers of several varieties, starting the outer end of the square and merging at the tower create a beautiful enjoyable scene. Ofcourse there are fountains around the tower which add to the beauty. A lift leads you to the top of tower to the viewing platform from where one can enjoy amazing view of Tehran city. Apparently photography isn’t allowed at viewing platform but the attendant, after knowing that we’re from Pakistan reacted very warmly, shook hands, escorted us to the viewing platform and said “take photos, but slowly, I wait for you there”. I took my time, captured some lovely shots and then spent some time trying to absorb the spread of the city. Those colourful cabs which come in yellow, orange and green variety dot the landscape in all directions.

Underneath the tower, there are a couple of museums, galleries and a cinema. The outer walls are adorned by the wall painting of protesters from Revolution of 1979. One of the halls inside is dedicated to photographs of the Revolution while audio tapes play famous speeches of Khomeini and other leaders all the time. This creates quite an interesting atmosphere, considering where you are, and one can get a bit of feeling of what really happened back then. The other halls are dedicated to Jewellery, Iranian culture and history etc but the place of honour is occupied by a copy of Cyrus Cylinder.

 And shopping like Tehranis…

If you really want to challenge yourself, go try crossing a road midday in Tehran. The traffic is crazy and can scare the hell out of you if you have no experience of traffic in this part of the world. My Lahore-traffic-skills came to rescue and soon we were headed off to Vali Asr Avenue in one of the shared taxis. The shared taxis in Tehran are as critical to city’s transportation needs as is the Metro. Cheap, quick and take you everywhere from everywhere; it’s a travel option of choice for many. Paying 18,000 IRR (nearly £1), both of us were in Vali Asr Avenue fairly quick. But why we were there…. ?

As I spent time in the city, I was noticing how the women were dressed. Some took fashionable liberties with coats tailored to button closely around waistlines and display that, yes, they had rear ends. Designer bag in hand, pointy-toed shoes peeking out beneath trousers, silk scarf tied under the chin or hanging at back of head, make-up carefully applied (with great attention paid to the eyes), they were amongst the most fashionable and trendy women I had ever seen. Contrary to the popular belief that one would find black chadors, there was plenty of color and shades on the streets in Tehran. After the first two days in Tehran, Madeeha knew I was already in love with the Manteaus which young women in Tehran wore. It’s like a regular shirt, sometimes long, sometimes T-shirt length normally sewn to fit with belt at waistline wore with jeans. So, my excuse for being here was just to see and get the feel of the place I had heard and read a lot about and Madeeha’s excuse, as one would expect, was shopping Manteaus (after feeling a bit insecure may be).

Not a lot of shops were open as we were a bit late but we were quite surprised to find what was on offer. It’s interesting to see how Tehranis have managed to be trendy and fashionable softly defying the dress-code rules of the regime. Atleast we were not able to spot a single burka or black chador on sale in Tehran. The shops offered an amazing variety in design and color for Manteaus. Young Tehrani girls have replaced black chadors with a T-shirt length manteau wore with jeans, a roosari (which is a loose scarf covering some part of head but allowing them to display their hairstyles) and trendy athlete shoes. That’s all you can find in this shopping region with some more surprising outfits like sleeveless shirts, swimming costumes, bikinis, very fancy skirts and even miniskirts. Surprisingly, this was all on display publicly on several shops.

The Zoroastrian couple we met earlier in restaurant had recommend Madeeha to visit Tajrish Square for shopping and I am so glad we acted upon their recommendation. This allowed us to have a quick look of North Tehran region which is dramatically different from South Tehran where we were based. Courtesy the Alborz Mountains, the region enjoys fairly mild weather; you get a cool breeze and can avoid Tehran’s pollution. Tajrish Square, the Liberty RoundAbout of Tehran is home to several shopping Plazas, modern hotels and restaurants. Male salespersons were ready with assistance, striking me as odd given the Iranian code of public distance and non-touching between the sexes that goes so far as to divide the seating in public buses into two areas – men in the front and women in the back. But here, men were helping women try on manteaus, tugging and touching here and there while pinning alteration markings.

MPs Residency and Tehran’s Parks

We were back later that evening in Southern Tehran and decided to wander around to just to see what else is out there….

Wandering through this lower-middle class part of the city, we found signs reading Government hostels for members of the Assembly. These were small cubicles on top of ground floor shops. The Shared taxis stopped near the shops for the MPs to transport them to other parts of the city. The same area is home to dozens of banks. One Tehrani commented, “Saadi Street area hosts more bank branches than any other part of the world, and I can bet on that”. I’ll probably agree seeing several dozen of them.

Traveling through the city, I noticed countless signs with directions to parks. According to estimates, there are more than 800 parks in the city – some huge large scale parks with lakes and boating facility, many mid sized parks and then hundreds of those small parks in localities for locals to enjoy the shade in sunny days. The city’s local Government has converted every small corner or open area into a park growing grass, planting a few trees and beautifying it with flowers and a fountain. I saw several of those walking through the streets of residential Tehran. Locals enjoy their chae or smoke pipes under the tress. This is critical and a breather for a city which is amongst the most polluted cities on Earth courtesy the vehicles from 70s.

Absorbing Tehran on last day

It was start of our last day in Tehran and we still had loads on our list still to visit.

Considering time was running out and we still had loads to experience in Tehran; we planned a hectic eventful last day for ourselves with intention to experience city’s religiosity, get a flavor of history and political struggle and finally absorb everything in city’s affluent neighborhood in North enjoying views of city’s skyline at night from the Darband mountains.

Bibi Sheherbano’s shrine atop a hill in outskirts of Tehran

Bibi Sheherbano’s shrine (daughter of Yazdgerd-III, the last king of Sasanid dynasty of Iran and Imam Hussain’s wife) is located atop a hill in the outskirts of Tehran. The cab driver Abbas told me it will take an hour and a half to get there; but with my little Persian, I failed to understand the reason he quoted. Soon I discovered this was quite a challenge he took. Tehran’s traffic is crazy, literally fanatical. Forget Lahore’s traffic which we blame all the time; this city of 16 million with countless motorcycles, buses and specially cabs of as many colors as you can think of could be the biggest traffic challenge for any driver. When you’re on a road, you are basically at your own to ensure you return home in one piece – nobody seems to care much really. Anyway…apparently it was Abbas’s first time to visit the shrine although he had been living in Tehran for years but he didn’t seem too excited, as most religious people from sub-continent would be for something like this. Asking people for directions on the way, we finally reached the end of a straight road which faced a huge hill – a road going upwards, a small sign pointing towards the shrine atop the hill and a 8X8 small cab office which apparently was not in use. Another 10 minutes driving uphill and we were there – a few buses, a couple of motorcycles and a few cars in the parking area; didn’t look like a very busy place. The shrine complex occupies a small area on the hilltop, not more than a few kanals. Men can access the shrine from a small door while most part of the complex is reserved for women – this looked more popular amongst the women as majority of the visitors were women or children. The environment inside the shrine was relaxed and calm, I couldn’t hear much wailing and crying as one would expect; kids continued playing in the courtyard when their mothers paid homage to Bibi.

Harm-e-Motahar (Harm-e-Khomeini) – Tehran’s favorite family picnic spot

Our next stop Harm-e-Khomeini, located South of Tehran in Behest-e-Zehra cemetery unpacked loads of surprises. Abbas dropped us off in the parking area and we parted ways. I opened up my LonelyPlanet guide and read “while the scale of the Holy Shrine of Imam Khomeini is quite enormous, for the time being it looks more like a shoddily built and empty aircraft hangar than one of Iran’s holiest sites”. I had a look around and nodded my head in agreement. The shrine structure has a golden dome in center and has four towers in four sides of the mausoleum which are 91m in height in memorandum of Imam Khomeini’s age. Seventy-two tulips adorn and surround the dome symbolizing the seventy-two persons who fought with Imam Hossein in Karbala and were martyred. The Haram has five entrances, again symbolic either to the Islamic theology (5 elements/pillars of religion) or the Shi’ite Panjtan ideology.

Men, women and children seemed enjoying the sunny day. I could smell Kebabs and Chae as we walked past hundreds of families scattered in the complex grounds, towards the complex entrance while the sun shine on our heads. You have to handover all your belongings at the office at entrance but surprisingly, you don’t have to wear a chador to enter the building or roam around anywhere in the complex. No guardians of Hijab to point towards your head instructing you to cover your head. The interior hall is enormous, measures nearly 400 feet, I was told and it is being expanded. Like the structure itself and the exterior, the interior is unfinished too. There are huge wall hanging covers showing how the tile work will look like when it’s done. The atmosphere is very relaxed – men playing cards everywhere, women gossiping in small groups, children playing here and there. Kids roll coins along the marble floors or go sliding around in their socks. Inside it can seem like more of a playground than a sacred site. Watching the rambunctious families at play is, in fact, the most interesting thing about this place. For middle class Iranians, who are frequent visitors of the shrine, Khomeini is more of a saint than a Ayotullah, a Supreme Leader or a holy figure. The complex includes a university, a seminary, several shops, a post office, a bank, restaurants, shopping complex, hotel to stay, 20,000-car parking lot and snack bars. With its 5000 acre spread, it is huge without seeming particularly grand or impressive.

No gender segregation in Harm and no enforcement of Hijab/chador. Thousands of families setting up camps, partying with qalyan/huqqa and food, kids playing everywhere, men playing cards inside the Harm and women gossip and laughing out loud – this was biggest surprise of the trip so far.

Tehran Metro

Surprised to find out the relaxed environment but not too impressed with the complex itself, we decided to move on and it was time to experience Tehran’s Metro, spread over 250KM in distance. The complex is connected through the Red Line (Line 1) on the Metro which runs North to South of the city while the Harm being on the Sothern end. Single Journey ticket is 1200IRR (£0.07 or 9Rs) which you can use to travel from anywhere to anywhere. Four lines are operational (while another two are under construction) which carry over 2.5-4 million passengers every day. One distinctive element of the trains is that the cars are interconnected, you can sit in the last car and see through all the way to the first car – it appears from inside as it is a single car. This makes it easier in rush hours allowing people more space and opportunity to move.

The tunnels are air-conditioned while natural lighting is provided in the tunnels through air ducts. Axial fans are used to lower the air temperature in the underground stations. The facilities at stations include toilets, snack bars, telephone/internet etc which was a bit surprising for me with the experience of London Underground, ten-fold in cost with little to offer. You do not lose your mobile signals anywhere underground and are able to make/receive calls and even connect to Metro WiFi. The trains on Tehran Metro, project supported by companies from China and Austria, run very frequently- every few minutes and this RTS was nominated for 2011 Sustainable Transport Award. Trains run both underground and over ground with an average distance of 1-2KM between stations. The single most interesting aspect about Tehran Metro was the interior of the Metro stations. They are a well thought out show case of Iranian cultural heritage, traditional and contemporary Persian art. From Cyrus to Khomeini, from Persepolis to Qom, from Achaemenid empire to Islamic Republic, everything is well represented. This was a strong contrast to the kind of bland Underground stations I am used to.

Tickets are valid for 1, 2 or 10 trips (including change of lines). There are ticket booths at every station. You can also buy a contact-less fare card (weekly, monthly, quarterly or yearly) which is the best option if you are going to use metro a lot, or simply want to have less hassle by paying for a card and use it on both metro and some city buses. Metro can whisk you quickly from one end of the city to the other without having to deal with the noise, pollution and chaos of Tehrani traffic and that’s exactly what we did as we headed North of the city to feel the change of atmosphere and avoid Tehran’s noise and pollution.

Darband Mountains

On way to Darband, I got involved in a lively discussion about politics with our taxi driver who was eager to talk but language barrier didn’t allow us go too far. He said he opposes the current regime, but he would pick up a gun to defend Iran if the United States ever attacked….

Tehran is probably the most polluted city on face of earth today – credit due to the economic sanctions because of which almost all taxis and an overwhelming majority of vehicles are from 70s, mostly old Paykans. They are very inefficient in fuel consumption and deadly for the environment. However, as you move from South to North of the city, the temperature and atmosphere changes dramatically and we experienced that as we traveled to Darband. Darband Mountain is a popular mountain in the north of Tehran where chadors are completely absent. It becomes very crowded with mountain climbers on Friday mornings. The area is full of traditional restaurants and a popular dating spot for Tehranis, you can spot couples walking everywhere holding hands or enjoying a cup of tea. As we waited for our dinner, several groups of young men and women walked past, or came in to reserve a table. Women are wearing makeup and manteaus and scarves in every color you could imagine, and the styles are much more trendy and tight fitting than one would imagine. The conversations were frank and the communication casual as between young friends anywhere. The couples and groups of friends seemed to be enjoying their day and were fairly relaxed. There didn’t seem to be a lot of pressure as they enjoyed their time together with lots of touching, laughters and casual hugging.

Bye Bye Tehran

That was the end of a very hectic day with every hour planned to do something and it was time to catch our late night train to Mashhad. Tehran’s Railway Station is well managed and clean, as every public building in Iran. I had booked only standard seats in 2^nd Class on purpose to allow me the opportunity to travel with middle class Iranians and I was expecting some warm hospitality and opportunity to make some good friends. Apparently it was the end of School Holidays and thus a busy time to go to Mashhad. We had to struggle a bit to find the right carriage but the train was exactly on time, not a minute late. Considering the cost (only £5 for nearly a 1000KM journey) the service was excellent. The train was very clean, the seats comfortable with good leg space and the mineral water and snack box was a pleasant surprise.

Within minutes after the train headed towards Mashhad, one of the families sitting on our right showed signs of hospitality and the urge to start a conversation. We started with usual questions but within minutes, Manijeh and her young brother moved from their seats to the seats in front of us so we can converse easily. I couldn’t ask for more. This was my first chance of proper conversation with a Persian family. Manijeh knew good English and Muhammad could do good as well while their parents kept offering one thing after another very graciously. I thoroughly enjoyed their mint+cheeses wraps followed by Pistachios. They told us they visit Mashhad every few years and since Muhammad was starting university, they wanted to visit Imam Reza shrine before everyone gets too busy with work and life. We talked nonstop before all of us dozed off a few hours later…

Early next morning, there was breakfast for us ready on the table as we opened our eyes. Whenever we tried to resist, Manijeh’s parents on the other side would insist with their smiling warm gestures. I found them very welcoming, friendly and eager to learn from us and help us learn about Iran. This was some of the best time I spent in Iran and we are still in touch and hope to be so in the future. I will always regret I could not accept their offer of dinner at their place but hopefully I’ll see them again.

Other surprises and nuggets from Tehran?

Now that I had left Tehran, I recalled some of the surprises on train…

• I had seen men’s hairstyles of all varieties, dyed in all colors and styles – spikes, scissor cuts, short length, gelled back, shoulder lengths and even longer. I also witnessed young men wearing earrings and tattoos all over their arms and necks moving freely using public transport. Either than news of prescribed hair styles by IRI was wrong, or not enforced at all, I thought.
•  Recalling my clever observations of Irani women, no matter which part of the city you’re in, you will always be able to see a lot of women (and a few men sometimes) with fresh nose-jobs and bandages still on. Cosmetic surgery is flourishing in Iran and the people seem to be very conscious about their looks.
•  Literally every woman has bleached hair. That appears to be quite a significant cultural factor now and irrespective of the social or financial status, you will hardly find women with hair in their original color. More evidence to my belief that Iranians are very conscious of their looks.
•  There’s a revolution in street names. In every locality, there will always be a Khayaban-e-Khomeini and a Maydan-e-Khomieni. Streets and roads have been named after people who died during the revolution or the Iran-Iraq war.
•  You will always be at a 5-10min walking distance from a park. There are more parks in Tehran, perhaps, than the local grocery stores.
• One of the best things about the city is the paintings on the huge walls of plazas/buildings which face main roads. No wall of any of such buildings has been left blank – student artists are chartered to paint these on a variety of themes which include the Revolution, Iranian culture, Persian hospitality, Persian poetry and literature, caligraphy etc.

So, that was the end of eventful few days in Tehran. There is so much to Tehran that you can’t do justice to the city in days – it’s a matter of weeks. I still regret not being able to go skiing, visiting Alborz mountains, take Tochal cable car, visit Tehran University, the Grand Bazaar, the Parliament and the Melad Tower in the North which is amongst tallest buildings in world. Hopefully, next time I will be able to hang out with Bahman, Manijeh and Muhammad to experience Tehran from a local’s perspective.

 Life in Tehran

A picture is worth a thousand words, they say, and the guys at Tehran Live blog have been proving it for years. This blog regularly posts photos from Tehran which has helped me understand and learn a lot about life in Tehran. I have extracted over 1800 photos from the blog which can be viewed on my Flickr album here.

By Prof Farakh A Khan

(This is continuation of my last article.. It was felt that this subject requires greater depth since people in Pakistan have distorted view of our Fata issue. The origin and evolution of Jihadi Wahhabi movement has to be put in proper perspective)

Conflict in society is the oldest human response inherited from our evolutionary animal past. As human society graduated from sticks and stones as weapons of aggression to high explosives and air war the level of carnage increased dramatically. We are now entering phase of robotic war lased with nuclear technology where power of destruction has escalated to a new level. The level of misery caused by modern wars is not acceptable anymore. War in Afghanistan either by foreign forces intervention or internal conflict for the last 50 decades has left the nation in state of perpetual war. Since Russian intervention in Afghanistan in 1979 Pakistan still has 1.7 million Afghan refugees. The conflict in Afghanistan has spilled over into Pakistan where since 2004 estimated 35,000 people have been killed and many more disabled. The only winners of war are the manufactures of arms and ammunition. For Pakistan Federally Administrated Areas (Fata) formally called the Tribal Areas has been devastated and there is no end in sight. For Pakistan Balochistan is also an area in turmoil. The Americans are also pointing fingers at our Balochistan human rights record.

Pakistan’s religious and cultural hereditary ties with Central Asia, Iran, Afghanistan and Middle East have always been strong. Any development in one country has its impact on others including Pakistan. Today we are caught in conflict in Afghanistan tomorrow we may be in a bigger mess if Iran is attacked by Israel/American forces. Attack on Iran will be most unpopular with the people of Pakistan and destabilise its leadership especially the army.

Endgame in Afghanistan

The Nato/American occupation of Afghanistan since 2001 directly impacted on Pakistan especially in Fata. People Pakistan actively volunteered to resist the invading army but was initially overwhelmed by the firepower of the American guns. Historically people of Fata has seen whole host of aggressors from the West and East. Each time aggressors have called people of what are now Fata and of Khyber-Pakhtunkhawa different names at different times of history labelled as terrorists, militants, rebels, religious extremists/fanatics or freedom fighters. The ten-year war in Afghanistan has taken toll of the American purse and its fighters. The French want to pull out by next year. On the other hand the Afghan people are constantly suffering. Both sides are in fatigue mode. The Americans are openly talking to Afghan Taliban leadership since November 2010 to end American occupation of Afghanistan. The talks are at a crucial juncture where a Taliban office is to be opened in Qatar. The Americans are considering release of five Taliban leaders from infamous Guantanamo prison to be stationed in Qatar. Team led by Marc Grossman from the American side and Qari Yousaf Ahmedi from Afghan Taliban side are in discussions (DeYoung, Karen. US links Taliban talks to Karzai’s consent. Dawn/Washington Post/ Bloomberg News Service. January 13, 2012). In Qatar talks the sticking point is release of Guantanamo Taliban commanders and timing of ceasefire. The Americans want ceasefire first before prisoner release but the Taliban want start of American troop withdrawal first (US, Taliban historic talks begin in Qatar. AFP. The News. January 30, 2012). Taliban has denied any talks with the US (Taliban deny talks with ‘puppet’ govt. AFP. The News. February 17, 2012).

The Americans with their many think tanks and experience of Vietnam and Russians bitter Afghan disaster perhaps made no impact on the American leadership. The arrogance of power overrides the long-term reality of war in Afghanistan. The British with long direct experience of wars in Afghanistan were also drawn into the conflict in 2001. Their famous war hero Lord Roberts of Kandahar after the Second Afghan War (1878-80) strongly advised Britain to avoid meddling in Afghan affairs. The Treaty of Gandamak (May 26, 1879) took away foreign affairs from Afghan rulers with fatal results. The right to foreign affairs was given back after the Third Afghan War (1919) following a treaty on November 22, 1921 (Shah, 2000). This was part of the Great Game strategy. But this was long time ago.

Besides American brokered talks with Taliban Afghanistan and Pakistan wants separate talks to be held in Saudi Arabia (Afghanistan seeks Taliban talks in Saudi Arabia: officials. AFP. The News. January 30, 2012). The Americans feel greater threat from Iran and want to windup operations in Afghanistan as early as possible. For Pakistan Fata is the key problem area. If Iran is attacked then the problem shall spread to rest of Pakistan.

In a discussion on at the Karachi Literature festival on ‘Afghanistan and Pakistan: conflict, extremism and Taliban’ Dr Maleeha Lodhi claimed that Pakistan’s stand regarding Afghan solution to be achieved through dialogue was rejected by the US. Ten years later the US is trying to do the same (Ali, Imtiaz. US follows what Pakistan said 10 years ago: Lodhi. The News. February 13, 2012). In 1838 Maharaja Ranjit Singh faced a similar problem with the British intention of attacking Afghanistan. The British tried to persuade Ranjit Singh to join them in the attack. The clever illiterate Sikh ruler understood the people of Fata, then part of Afghanistan, better and politely refused but gave free passage to the British army to attack Afghanistan. The result in 1842 when the proud ‘Army of the Indus’ was annihilated as predicted by the Sikh chief.

In an address to US Senate Select Committee on Intelligence CIA Director David Petraeus claimed that Pakistan was supporting Taliban in Afghanistan. Pakistan, it was alleged, was supporting Haqqani Network, Commander Nazir Group and Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan by providing sanctuaries and war materials. The allegation is not new but may be partly true although this was hotly denied by Pakistan (Iqbal, Anwar. Pakistan not putting sufficient pressure on Afghan Taliban: CIA chief. Dawn. February 2, 2012). On September 22, 2011 Admiral Mike Mullen claimed that ‘Haqqani Network is part of strategic arm of ISI’ (Krasmer, D Stephen, 2012). The report based on prisoner’s interrogation in Afghanistan called ‘State of Taliban’ was ‘leaked’ to the press. It implicated the ISI in helping the Taliban direct attacks against the Isaf forces in Afghanistan. The report admitted that once Nato forces leave Afghanistan the state will collapse and open it to return of Taliban (Secret Nato report accuses Pakistan of helping Taliban. The News. February 2, 2012). For Pakistan a stable Afghanistan is essential for solving Fata problem. Unfortunately its army determines Pakistan foreign policy.

There are reports that US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta is thinking of US forces combat mission to end by mid-2013, a year earlier than previous estimates (US plans to end combat mission by mid-2013. OC. Dawn. February 3, 2012). He has urged Pakistan to help stop IED attacks, which allegedly were manufactured in Pakistan and used in Afghanistan (Iqbal, Anwar. Pakistan urged to help contain IED attacks. Dawn. Dawn. February 16, 2012).

How will withdrawal of US forces from Afghanistan impinge on Pakistan? Withdrawal of US forces and handing over security to the Afghans is not as simple as it was seen in Iraq. The cost of US withdrawal would be in billions of dollars every year for decades to come to sustain the Afghan National Security Forces and the Afghan economy (Sehgal, Ikram. Drawdown in Afghanistan. The News. February 9, 2012). It is interesting to note that think tanks all over the world blame America for leaving Afghanistan to its own devices after Russian army withdrawal in 1989. Now that the Americans are in full force in Afghanistan the same think tanks want them out.

Taliban who?

But let us first define what Taliban means? In our language it signifies a student. A movement was triggered by few madrassa students led by Mullah Omar and later joined by the majority of Afghan people against the corrupt warlords of Afghanistan all were later called Taliban including former warlords. In Pakistan Taliban is an ideological group supporting Afghan Taliban in supply of fighters and war material. It is debated whether Taliban are products of madrassas in Pakistan. Nevertheless jihadi literature is common in our madrassas. Poor socioeconomic conditions do promote recruitment to Taliban fold. In Fata the Taliban umbrella includes besides Pashtuns other nationalities as well. They have in their midst Pakistanis mainly from Southern Punjab, Arabs, Chinese Muslims, Uzbeks and Muslims from the West. These ethnic groups are bound by religious ideology of jihad against invading American and Nato forces (Gul, Imtiaz and Jaffar, Nabil, 2012). Punjab developed massive madrassas with government help during Gen Ziaul Haq’s time to produce mujahedeen to counter Russian invasion of Afghanistan. The fallout from jihadi madrassas spilled over into sectarian violence and attacks on soft civilian targets leaving 30,000 dead. Jihadi madrassas were in place in KP (Haqqania in Okara Khattak) as well as in Karachi (Madrassa Bonaria) (Hussain, 2012). Unfortunately most people in Pakistan are convinced that attacks on Pakistani people are the work of American, Israeli and Indian intelligence agencies.

Pakistani Jihadi Organisations

With retreat of the Russian troops the jihadi organisations turned their attention towards Kashmir and India for their terrorist activities. During Gen Musharraf’s Kargil disaster (May-July 1999) these mujahedeen were wrongly portrayed as leading the attack. When these Mujahids were prevented from meddling in Kashmir and India under international pressure they moved to Fata and carried out suicide attacks in Pakistani cities (Hussain, 2012). The monster created by our intelligence agencies started to attack our own civilian population and security forces. For a while these home grown Taliban conquered Swat and were poised to establish ‘Islamic’ system of government before army crackdown in 2009.

For the western media Taliban became associates of Al Qaeda in the leadership mode and after 9/11 were the target of the American might. Let us be clear that Taliban had no role in 9/11 beyond sheltering their leader Osama. Osama being an Arab had no leadership role in the tribal society of Afghanistan or Fata. For last six years of his life he was hiding in Abbottabad, Pakistan and had no role in Afghan resistance movement.

Taliban in western literature became synonymous with any religious organisation targeting the invading forces in Afghanistan and hence an enemy. The Western paranoia reached a stage where all Muslims and their religion Islam were designated as radical Islam, terrorists, militants, extremist or fundamentalists. Unfortunately other religions do not describe their ‘extremists’ in the same way as Islam. The Christian evangelists are just as radical as ‘ultra right’ Jews or ‘extremist’ Hindus. All religions have subset of people who claim to know the ‘true’ meaning of their religion but the issue is of imposing their views on others. The West should have recognised Taliban as freedom fighters against an occupying army. In fact Taliban designation covers a large number interest groups ranging from Jihadi ideologues to outright dacoits striving for loot through robbing banks or kidnapping for ransom. The Taliban do not have a standing army. The dress code has not changed over centuries, which include carrying arms, and we cannot distinguish between combatants and non-combatants. We also have to recognise that Wahhabi interpretation of Islam did not emerge with funding from Saudi Arabia during Russian occupation of Afghanistan. In fact Wahhabi Islam reached Fata area in 1824 and soon spread to Afghanistan initially as anti Sikh and later anti British platform to oust the infidels from the Muslim society.

People admire the bravery and tenacity of Pashtuns of Fata and Afghanistan and their place in history. They have been devastated and made paupers in the name of ‘gairat’. The Afghan leadership has also been eulogised for their farsightedness and sagacity. Nothing can be far from the truth (Siddiqi, Muhammad Ali. No Sandhurst no West Point. Dawn. February 16, 2012).

Emergence of TTP

The Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) is not a single homogeneous body. TTP was formed under the leadership of Baitullah Mehsud in an agreement between 13 different armed groups in December 2007 against the Pakistani security forces, schools, mosques, markets and Nato forces in Afghanistan but it remains a loose federation of different interest groups. The Afghan Taliban led by Mullah Omar is striving to unite these groups to concentrate on on-going battle against the Nato forces in Afghanistan. A meeting organised by Afghan Taliban on December 11, 2011 in Datta Khel area, NWA the Afghan Taliban requested TTP to sink their differences and fight the Americans. Hakimullah Mehsud, Waliur Rehman, Maulvi Nazir and Hafiz Gul Bahadur attended the meeting. Sirajuddin Haqqani was representing the Afghan Taliban. Two representatives of Quetta Shura along with Al Qaeda commander Abu Yahya al-Libi attended the meeting. It was decided to establish a five-member Shura-e-Murakeba (Observation Council) which was launched on January 2, 2012 to sort out differences and concentrate on fighting the Americans in Afghanistan rather than take on the Pakistani security forces (Murshed, S Iftikhar. A dagger at the heart. The News. January 30, 2012).

The TTP is also involved in suicide bombing in major cities of Pakistan. The basic resentment emerged as the basis of revenge against killing of their kith and kin by the security forces and drone strikes. Revenge is basic cultural trait of the people of Fata. On the other hand killing of innocent people in Pakistan alienated any sympathy for them and went against the TTP public popularity. It is not surprising that bombing of cities in Pakistan has been put on hold. There is the issue of cross border attacks on Nato forces by some organisations in Fata. Since the Pakhtun relations lived across the porous ‘border’ (Durand Line) the TTP and other organisations were duty bound to help their brethren in Afghanistan. This has been strongly resented by the Americans and tried to put pressure on Pakistan to stop these attackers. The other aspect of Taliban ideology is found in rest of Pakistan especially in Punjab and hence called Punjabi Taliban. The Taliban belief of war against West, India and Israel and pro Taliban jihad is rampant in religious and main political parties in major urban areas of Pakistan. Majority of Taliban jihadi ideology mind set in Pakistan do not subscribe to violence as a means of change in the society. We do fear a military intervention (coup) since they are the ‘saviour of Pakistan’ and custodians of its ideology? Gen Zia’s indoctoration of the Pakistan military has played a significant role in the mind change of previous set of military commanders. Gen Hamid Gul is the prime example of jihadi generals of the past now part of ‘Defence of Pakistan Council’ organisation based on hate America, India and Israel.

Nato Invasion of Afghanistan and its Aftermath

Up to 2001 Afghanistan was an insignificant state ruled by Wahhabi leaning semi literate bunch of nobodies living in the Stone Age with scant understanding of developments in the world. They imposed their version of Wahhabi Islam. The world had forgotten Afghanistan with retreat of Russian army in 1989 till 2001. The most powerful army ever seen in the world seething with rage decided to ‘take out’ Osama after the 9/11 attack by a group of Arabs mainly from Egypt-none from Afghanistan. It seemed that the Taliban in Afghanistan would be pushover against the might of high-tech American army and their 500lb bombs dropped by air. It was predicted that Taliban would be totally eliminated by American hammering and what would be left of them shall beg for peace on American terms. Little did they realise that ten years later they would be still trying to find a way out of Afghanistan. Unfortunately the world and Pakistanis know very little about the conflict area in Afghanistan or Fata. For the world and Pakistani Fata and adjoining Afghanistan became the ‘bad lands’ and ‘most dangerous place in the world’ after 9/11. For the British in India these places were always the ‘bad lands’ only fit to train their army and seek medals for valour of their fighters against improvised lands. We need to explore the background of resistance of the people in the area before we make sweeping judgments.

The past of Afghanistan is haunting the Americans today and we need to divulge the past to understand what is happening today. We need to explore the historical role of foreign fighters and Punjabi Taliban in present context. These foreign fighters never assumed leadership role in the tribal system. The phenomenon of people crossing into Afghanistan from India to fight is not a new one.

Afghanistan Invasions in History

The Achaemenid Empire founded by Cyrus the Great (575 BC-530 BC) followed by Darius the Great (550-486 BC) included Afghanistan and part of Pakistan. Alexander’s objective was to conquer the Persian Empire and invaded Pakistan in 326 BC calling it India. He stopped at the banks of river Beas because beyond that was not India. This was a short Greek incursion of which the people of the area had no recollection. Bactrian Greeks ruled Afghanistan and northern Pakistan from 256 BC to 1^st century BC when Parthians finally defeated them. This was followed by invasion by Yuezhi (Kushan) and Scythians (Saka). The impact of invasion by different armies on local culture there is no documented evidence of change besides development of Indo-Greek sculpture used by Buddhists during Kushan period and adoption of Parthian dress of salwar kamiz by the people. In the middle of 4^th century AD Afghanistan was overrun by Epthalite branch of Huns. They finally managed to conquer most of northern India. Huns introduced title ‘khan’ into Afghanistan and Pakistan (Tanner, 2002). Besides invading armies over centuries different ethnic groups have silently moved across India from the west to permanently settle there. These migrating bands quietly integrated into the Indian society. Unfortunately these historical migrations have not been properly documented. In recent times war in Afghanistan has also displaced people. During the Russian invasion more than 3 million Afghans migrated to Pakistan. Today some 1.7 million Afghans refugees are still in Pakistan.

In more recent times the British invasion of Afghanistan by the ‘Army of the Indus’ to install a British puppet (modern American Karzai) as their ruler in 1839 led to annihilation of the army in its retreat in 1842. The Afghan invasion was pushed by the then Governor General Lord Auckland due to unfounded fear of Russian expansion into Afghanistan (this finally happened in 1979 when Russian army invaded Afghanistan). This was the time when Britain was the sole super power. British arrogance led them to disaster. To boost army’s morale Sindh was conquered in 1843. This was followed by annexation of Punjab in 1849. These British moves sent clear message about future British intentions to the hill tribes in the north west of the expanding British Empire. As early as 1847 Herbert Edwards as the British officer with the Sikh administration posted to Bannu as Assistant Resident, at that time border of ‘Eastern Afghanistan’, was able to subdue the valley and extract revenue for the Sikh Darbar (Obhrai, 1983). Starting in 1849 the British were regularly sending in punitive ‘expeditions’ into the Tribal belt. By 1857 British had launched 15 expeditions into the ‘Frontier’. By 1939 the ‘expeditions’ had increased to 58 (Barthorp, 2002). It is unfortunate to note that the British army in India used Fata as live training ground for its soldiers. But when the army faced well-equipped European armies during the Second Anglo-Boer War (1899-1902) and WW I it was found to be sadly lacking in battle skills. It was highly unethical to use the people of Fata as a military training ground for fame and glory. But if you are all powerful then ethics do not matter.

Before Sikh invasion of Peshawar (1818) the city was the summer capital of Kabul ruler. The city was finally annexed by the Sikhs in 1834 and was ruled by Gen Paolo Avitabile. His reign of terror was known as ‘gallows and gibbets’ (Wikipedia, 2012). The first British envoy Mountstuart Elphinstone visited the Afghan king in Peshawar in 1807 (Schofield, 2003). During the Sikh Darbar the Sikhs held the plains but the mountains in the west remained independent. By 1818 the Sikhs had taken Peshawar valley but part of the territory was given as Jagir to three brothers of Kabul ruler Amir Dost Mohammad. Till 1834 the Afghans were ruling Peshawar as Jagirdars of the Sikhs before it was annexed. Peshawar was the summer capital of ruler of Kabul. The Sikh army under the dreaded general Hari Singh Nalwa defeated the Afghan army in Nowshera and in 1838 Sikh Kardars replaced the Afghan administrators. Sikh garrisons were placed in Peshawar, DI Khan, Kohat and Teri. After the First Sikh War under a treaty signed on December 16, 1846 British formed Council of Regency and Hazara, Bannu, Kohat, DG Khan and DI Khan were placed under the British Assistant Residents. Chief Commissioner ruled Punjab in 1849 and in 1859 by Lt Governor. North-West Frontier got its Lt Governor in 1932. In the districts British Deputy Commissioners were appointed. During the Sikh wars Amir Dost Mohammad of Afghanistan moved into the Peshawar valley up to the Indus in December 1848. He made a grave miscalculation by sending a contingent of cavalry to aid the dying Sikh rule against the British.

During the Sikh rule Peshawar valley (Kabul River) up to Jamrud in the west was held with great atrocities. In 1849 the British took over the Sikh Darbar territories and established pickets (check posts) along the eastern banks of Indus and in Kabul River valley along the bases of mountains to restrain raids from tribes beyond in the mountains. The British were now in direct contact with Afghanistan and Persia. The first incursion of the British forces through what was Afghan tribal area took place when their army attacked Ghazni and Kabul in 1839 what became the disastrous 1^st Anglo-Afghan War (also called Auckland’s folly) (Barthorp, 2002). This was followed by revenge attack in August 1842 when the invading British forces (‘Avenging Army’) under Gen Pollock and Gen Nott brutally killed people of all ages and both sexes. This according to Duke of Wellington was ‘Restoration of Reputation in the East’. Kabul was sacked and bazaar burnt but this time the ‘Avenging Army’ retreated quickly.

Role of ‘Hindustani Wahhabi Fanatics’ in History

The origin of ‘Hindustani Wahhabi Fanatics’ needs to be explained. From times immemorial the Pakhtun belt now located between Afghanistan and Pakistan has not changed although they were Hindus at one time then converted to Buddhism and finally to Islam. Babar (early 16^th century) records his attack into Bonair to gather livestock and make a pyramid of heads of the local population (a Turkish tradition of Central Asia). At the time of Emperor Akbar, who held Kabul as a province of his empire, the Mughal policy was to pay some tribes for safe passage and to send expeditions to others. The unrest of Fata tribes instigated by Pir-e-Roshan (Sheikh Bazid Ansari) and his descendants, formally of South Waziristan Agency resident of Jalandhar (now in India) hence technically  ‘foreign fighters’, against religious doctrine of Deen-e-Elahi and occupation of Pakhtun homeland by Mughals was a severe test for Akbar’s armies. He sent in 15 expeditions to counter the jihadis in Tirah and Waziristan and after much bloodshed (including loss of his court jester Raja Birbal) he managed to make the area peaceful through diplomacy (Hosain, 1938; Shah, 2000). The tribes were in constant war with each other but united against any invader usually led by a religious figure. Nothing has changed since.

In more recent times Wahhabi cleric Syed Ahmed Shah moved from Bareilly, India, to what is now Fata to incite the tribes against Sikh rule in Punjab in 1824. In 1830 Syed Ahmed Shah, having not received any support from the tribes, was killed fighting the Sikh army in Balakot where he was buried.  His 300 surviving followers retreated to Sitana in Bonair and settled on the property of Syed Akbar Shah who became their Amir. The subsequent resistance movement was Wahhabi in nature. They were displaced from time to time but managed to establish ‘training’ centres in Tirah, Chamarkand and other places. Bonair became a serious problem for the British in 1852 when ‘Hindustani Wahhabi Fanatics’, as labelled by the British, with the help of Hasanzai tribe took over the Kotla fort belonging to Nawab of Amb. An expedition was launched against them in 1853 and the fort was taken back.  At the time of Mutiny of 1857 the Hindustani fanatics led by Maulvi Inayat Ali Khan caused some problems. Their village called Narinji was attacked in July and later in August 1857 by a British force and set on fire. According to Major Vaughan “Not a house was spared; even the walls of many were destroyed by elephants…Three prisoners were taken—one was a Bareilly Maulvi, second a Chamla standard-bearer and the third a vagrant of Charonda; they were all subsequently executed.” Next was attack on the village of Sitana led by Sir Sydney Cotton. The Hindustanis came into attack dressed in white in silence and ‘every Hindustani in the position was either killed or taken prisoner (Nevill, 1910; Wylly, 1912).

Hindustani Wahhabi in Bonair 1860s

The scenes of massacres were still fresh in the memory of the tribes when the British forces launched Frontier War in 1863. The idea of this war was to teach a lesson to the tribes of Bonair to stop raids into the settled areas under British control and to ‘Hindustani fanatics’ of Wahhabi Islam who considered the British as occupier of their lands across India making jihad legitimate. The British felt that ‘Hindustanis’ were also spreading Wahhabi Islam in Fata and had to be stopped (Albinia, 2008).

To oppose British occupation the ‘Hindustani Wahhabi Fanatics’ were receiving funds from ‘Southern’ Bengal’ with its headquarter in Patna in Bihar. The arms and ammunition was coming from the Gulf and Afghanistan. Later armaments were supplied from ‘Mesopotamia’. The Mulka village in Mahabun Mountains of Syeds of Bunair housed left overs of Syed Ahmed Shaheed (d 1830) uprising against Sikh rule, was eventfully burnt by the locals under a British detachment in 1863. Between 1850 and 1863 the British launched 20 expeditions into the mountains beyond the plains occupied by the British forces. Each time the number of invading forces increased. In Sitana campaign (1863) more than 5,000 troops were used and later enforced. The initial force was trapped in Ambela Pass and Gen Sir Sydney Chamberlain was evacuated with severe wounds. The cost of the expedition was worrying for the British administration. The opposing tribesmen had few matchlock guns and mostly relied on swords and hurling stones. Swords were used in close quarter action (Adye, John. Sitana: a mountain campaign of the borders of Afghanistan in 1863. Published 1866). In 1860s the Afghan jezail with a range of 300 yards was better then the Brown Bess used by the British army. The introduction Snider and later Lee Metford and Martinis rifles (1897) with smokeless powder backed by artillery gave the British again the advantage. Finally the introduction of machinegun (Gatling and Maxim) made the British army a superior force. At the same time the tribes managed to acquire new weapons and balance was again maintained (Skeen, 1932). By 1906 Muscat imported 278,000 pounds worth of rifles from four European countries. The arms were transported to Mekran coast by boat and from their Afghan camel caravans took them to Southern Afghanistan and sold to the tribes. The British tried to block the movement by sea and land (Wylly, 1912).

The main issue of attacks by the British beyond its borders into Tribal Areas of Afghanistan (now Fata) was raids (cattle lifting) by tribes supported by ‘Hindustani Fanatics’ in the area. We must realise that the people living in inhospitable mountains had limited agricultural resource, living partly a nomadic life and raids in the more prosperous plains. In 1858 the British army raid destroyed Sitana, Bonair on the southern slopes of Mahabun Mountains. The British claimed that part of Amb State which was under British protection had been invaded by ‘Hindustani Wahhabi Fanatics’ and had to be evicted by the British Army. This was followed by destruction of ‘Hindustani settlement’ of Mulka located on the northern slopes of Mahabun Mountains in 1863. The British army in another raid destroyed ‘Hindustani village’ of Mundee in 1864. The other British approach was to block supplies, funds and fighters from British India. For the people of Fata fear of British occupation of Sindh and later Punjab was an indication of their advancement and occupation of their areas  (Punjab Administration Report, 1863-64 and 1867-68). The retaliatory raids into Tribal Territories by British forces became a nuisance for the poor. The tribes requested the Hindustani Jihadis to move their training camps into remote areas or leave the area. The Jihadis from outside Fata returned following Russian invasion in 1979.

20^th century Wahhabi Movement in India

There was resentment against British occupation of India among the educated youth in India. The Wahhabi doctrine of jihad carried intense appeal for these men. They decided to launch their jihad from Pakhtun tribes of British and Afghan frontier. They hoped that Afghanistan and Turkey would help them to conquer India. Large number of educated Muslims in India decided to move into the Tribal Area and some into Afghanistan in 1905. These British citizens called ‘Hindustani Wahhabi Fanatics’ were interned in Afghan territory at Jallalabad by the Afghan king Amir Habibullah Khan under pressure from the British. Influential Indians in Afghan court finally released them. Although highly educated young anti British volunteers were influenced by Deoband School led by Sheikhul Hind Maulana Mehmoodul Hassan they were looked upon with suspicion. The money was supplied from across India from Calcutta, Patna and Punjab. However they were sadly disillusioned with the state of affairs they found in Afghanistan. There was no rule of law and the justice system was a replica of ancient system where the only the king finally gave his verdict. There was no system of education and this is where the ‘Young Afghans’ with the help of young Indian students led by Dr Abdul Ghani from various parts of India proposed to bring change. A society with proposed constitution and educational awareness threatened Amir Habibullah’s rule. In 1909 Dr Abdul Ghani and 38 British subjects members of Mashroota movement were interned in the Ark Fort Kabul while seven Afghani citizens were blown from artillery pieces. The Islamic Wahhabi renaissance of Afghanistan with system of the West ended with complete disillusionment of educated Muslims of India. Amir Habibullah was assassinated in 1919 and the new Amir Amanullah released them.

The Muslims of India during the WW I felt betrayed by the British when it went to war against Turkey a Muslim country and the home of the Khalifa of the Muslim World. This was the Khalafat Movement joined by Hindus and Sikhs as a means to ouster of the British from India. The Muslim preachers across India were asking for jihad against the infidels in particular an end of Indian occupation by the British.

Another jihadi group of about 20,000 people entered Afghanistan from India during Khalafat Movement of 1920. A poor country like Afghanistan could not afford to house and feed these people who has burnt their boats in India and had nothing to live on. Most moved back to India but a small hard core remained but their cause was doomed. By this time the political scene had changed. Russia as a communist state was expanding into Central Asian states also became enemy of the religion and hence of Muslims. Some Mujahids became communists. Many of jihadis in Kabul were seeking communist help to push the British out of India. Other Indians wanted help from Turkey but the country was in dire strait and refused anything to do with these Indian ‘revolutionaries’. There were endless intrigues within the Indian ranks in Russia, which did not help their cause. Amir Amanullah was advanced financial support and fearful of Russian intention he aligned with the British and would not tolerate anti British moves in his kingdom. Many of new jihadi arrivals moved to Fata and settled in older Hindustani settlements. For the British transportation of explosives was worrying and made efforts to stop this. They used secret agencies to affectively stop funding of Hindustani settlements from their sympathisers in India. The jihadi movement by Hindustani Fanatics continued till the 1930s but were a spent force and did not pose any danger to the British authorities. Only two Hindustani settlements were remaining in Fata.

The movement for jihad by Hindustani Wahhabi volunteers had sever setbacks from changing world scene and from within their ranks. However one cannot but admire these people from relatively affluent background in India chose a life of immense struggle and hardships. With no military training they faced hostile tribes, corrupt police, suspicious rulers and dacoits these people were moving across Asia and Europe despite poor resources. Their travels in Afghanistan, Central Asia and Turkey could have given credit to any Western explorer of that time (Shah, 2000). With the Russian and later American invasion the old ‘Hindustani’ now Pakistani Mujahids started to stream into Afghanistan to fight the invaders. Nothing has changed.

Fata during the British Raj

The Agencies of Fata were created firstly of Khyber to keep a hold on the Pass in 1878. Following cession of Kurram by the Afghan government in 1879 it was made an agency in 1892. The Malakand, Tochi and Wana (later Waziristan) were developed between 1895 and 1896.  The people of Waziristan were up in arms against demarcation of western border based on strategic heights rather than tribal lines. To force the tribes in accepting Durand Line Waziristan Field Force was organised in 1894. In 1901 the settled districts were made into province of North West Frontier and the Agencies separated (Obhrai, 1983). Starting in 1920 railway line from Peshawar was extended to Landi Kotal (Bayley, 1926).

 

The British continued its policy in Fata of ‘Butcher and Bolt’ in retaliation of tribal raids. After subduing the lashkar the villages of ‘miscreants’ were torched or blown up, the crops burnt, waterways destroyed, livestock rounded up and economic blockade of the offending area put in place. Each time a new agreement was made with the tribal elders. Starting in 1917 the British troops used ‘Air Service’ to attack the Mehsud tribal lashkar. In response the old style of Lashkar attack was abandoned. In 1930s Chief of the Air Staff Sir Hugh Trenchard proposed use of fighter aircraft to keep the tribes in check rather than rely on slow cumbersome land expeditions. He was overruled due financial constraints (Barthorp, 2002). Now drone strikes by the Americans and bombing by Pakistani F16 are trying to do the same. With advancement of military technology armoured cars and later light tanks were used. In Tirah the tribes were asked to remove ‘Turk and Afghan’ settlers (now foreign fighters) which they did sending them back to Afghanistan (Obhrai, 1938). It seems that nothing has changed in the 21^st century. Unfortunately we have no written record of the suffering or body count of people during various invasions and devastations caused by armies entering the area.

 

The British policy regarding Fata had been shifting. John Lawrence was in favour of ‘backward school’ making the Indus as the final ‘natural’ border. Sir Mortimer Durand advocated a ‘scientific frontier’, which was a soft face of ‘forward policy’ (Diver, 1935). The Durand Line split the ancient tribal system to secure military vantage points for the British. Whatever the policy development work in the area was limited to making roads to facilitate movement of troops at short notice. When the British left in 1947 Pakistan reversed the Fata ‘forward policy’ and pulled out the regular troops from Fata. We had peace in Fata till 2004.

 

Recent Developments in Fata

Let us jump to recent events shaking Fata and Afghanistan. The bookshops today are full of bewildering array of old and new publications on Afghanistan, Taliban and Al Qaeda (see Bibliography). Most of the modern authors have little understanding of the area, people or its history under discussion. Even the Pakhtuns of KP have vague understanding of the people of Fata. Fata tribes are individually unique and do not fit into a single cultural pattern. Al Qaeda, initially an all-Arab group, as an entity appeared on our radar screen through American invasion of Afghanistan in 2001. Al Qaeda led by Arabs has a foreign agenda and is irrelevant for Pakistan’s Fata problem.

 

The Russian invasion of Afghanistan in 1979 galvanised the tribes and people of the country and Fata against the occupiers. This time Russian had helicopters, APCs and tanks but in this asymmetrical war the Afghans had the terrain on their side and supplies of manpower and ammunition from America, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan. Al Qaeda, a small splinter group, was born out of this triple marriage. The supply of Stringer missiles by the Americans negated Russian air power. On our visit to Bokhara in 1995 it was sad to note a large soldiers graveyard in the local park killed in Afghanistan-a needless butchery of the youth of Bokhara.

 

The American invasion of Afghanistan in 2001 united the Fata tribes once again into military opposition. People of Pakistan are also opposed to American intervention in Afghanistan and drone attacks in Fata. They are supplying manpower and funds to Taliban as seen in 1860s. The ‘Hindustani fanatics’ are now ‘foreign fighters’ or called ‘Punjabi Taliban, Arab fighters or Uzbeks’. The Fata Pakhtun ‘raiders’ of 1863 were transformed into Mujahedeen during Russian occupation and then into Taliban when the Americans came in. AK47, 50 calibre machinegun, sniper rifle, Improvised Explosive Device (IED), landmines, Rocket Propelled Grenades (RPG) and suicide bombers now affectively replace the Stringer missiles. The Pakhtuns are innovative. Pakistan became an enemy of the Taliban fighting the American and Nato armies because of Pakistan governments support to Americans in the form of supplies and drone attacks. We saw spate of suicide and IED blasts in major cities of Pakistan.

 

The incidence of Lal Masjid in Islamabad and then attack of the Pakistani army into South Waziristan in 2004 was the last straw for peace. Most of the students who died in Lal Masjid in the army assault were from Fata and KP. Then came the incidence of US troops killing 24 FC soldiers in cold blood in North Waziristan on November 26, 2011, which was followed by retaliatory freeze of Nato supplies through Pakistan and returning of Shamsi Air Base used for drone strikes in Fata. Earlier CIA agent Raymond Davis was held for shooting two motorcyclists in Lahore and then released after payment of blood money under Islamic law. He was never tried for murder of two young men in America. This was followed by the killing of Osama in an American raid in Abbottabad, which produced bad blood between the two countries. The people of Pakistan were told of thousands of visas issued by Pakistani embassy in US to dubious people considered as CIA agents.

 

Ten Years of American Occupation of Afghanistan

America is bleeding in Afghanistan like its predecessor the Russians. The 1^st World armies require expensive services and equipment, which are not appropriate for war in the 3^rd World. With killing of Osama the main reason for invasion of Afghanistan has been removed. The original motivational force for the American troops in the field was to make America ‘safe’ and revenge for 9/11 by removing Al Qaeda leadership has been achieved. The Americans have killed enough innocent Afghans to settle revenge for 9/11. The civilian deaths in Afghanistan in 2011 were estimated as 3,021, which was more than 8% in 2010. A total of 4,507 civilians were wounded. These deaths were attributed to militants (77%) and 14% due to Isaf and Afghan forces. The number of suicide bombings (450) increased by 8%. Homemade explosive landmines killed 967 people (Johson, Kay. Civilian deaths in Afghan war hit record high. Dawn. February 5, 2012). A report by Amnesty International claims that 500,000 Afghans are homeless due to on-going war. About 400 people are made homeless on daily basis (War, neglect leave 500,000 Afghans homeless, says AI. Agencies. The News. February 24, 2012). Today Americans are questioning the basic reason for US invasion of Afghanistan (Cloughley, Brian. Afghan war is based on lies and deception. Counterpunch/Daily Times. February 20, 2012).

 

The US soldiers in the field are now fighting a non-ideological war where it is now ‘them or us’. It is not surprising that American soldiers have been caught taking fingers as souvenirs and urinating on dead Afghans. It is time they got out without giving an impression that they have their tail between the legs. In any case Americans do not need troops on the ground in Afghanistan to ward off any untoward incidence. They have 50 bases in the Middle East and Qatar and Bahrain bases are not far from Afghanistan. For surveillance the Americans have ample supply of drones and settilites. Their troops can be moved into Afghanistan at short notice. I do not see how the Americans can maintain Karzai as the leader of Afghans once they leave.

 

Fata Solution-Options

The other player in Afghan scene is Pakistan. Afghan leadership never had soft corner for the Pakistan. The bone of contention between the two is the 2,640 km 1893 Durand Line Agreement inherited from the British for fixing ‘spheres of influence’ between the two countries. Thus the British claimed Fata and what is now most of KP as their ‘sphere of influence’. Today neither Afghanistan nor Pakistan can dictate to the Fata tribes. Both keep Durand Line as a porous border and bone of contention. The attacks into Pakistan by Taliban or its splinter groups have been worrying. Like the British earlier the American and Pakistani leadership have made agreements with the various groups of Pakistani Taliban and tribes, which each side claim were broken by the other. Both Pakistan and Afghanistan have to give a clear programme for the betterment of the people.

 

Legally the situation in Fata and Balochistan is quite similar. In Balochistan Area A, which is only 3% of the province is under direct provincial rule where the administration is functioning. In Area B (97%) the Sardars have been given the responsibility of governance and maintenance of private armies. In Fata, since there were no tribal chiefs, governance was given to the tribes with the right of the central government to intervene under Frontier Crime Regulation. The ancient tribal autonomy is the main issue for integration of Fata into mainstream of Pakistan. There have been many suggestions for bringing Fata into the mainstream of Pakistan. Since last year political parties have been allowed to function in Fata. Some claim that Fata should change its status from ‘sphere of influence’ into a province of Pakistan. Then there are others who want Fata to become part of corrupt Khyber Pakhtunkhawa province (Afridi, Ghulam S. Fata’s integration. Dawn. February 8, 2012). The political solution has to emerge from the people of Fata and cannot be dictated by the Pakistan government. The present military policy of creating displacement of the population (IDPs) followed by indiscriminate destruction of what little livelihood of the people of the area had has been a disastrous policy. The ‘hull’ (solution) for Fata is not war but economics and education. In any case Pakistan cannot financially afford even low-level military intervention in the area. Pakistan was spending (directly and indirectly) Rs259.10 billion on ‘war on terror’ in 2005 but by 2010 this was increased to Rs2,975.04 billion. Another estimate claims that Pakistan is loosing Rs3 billion daily and Rs93 billion every month on ‘war on terror’ (Abbasi, Ansar. Pakistan lost Rs7,020b, got only Rs990b. The News. February 8, 2012). The cost of human lives lost and those maimed is also significant (Shah, Akhtar Hussain in Stabilising Afghanistan, 2011).

 

Historically Afghanistan was on the trade route from Central Asia and Iran to India. Later the Russians joined in. With communist take over of Russia (1917) the borders were hermitically sealed and the ancient trade movement stopped. Afghanistan became dependent on India and later Pakistan for its basic needs.

 

From times immemorial Afghanistan and Fata was trading and providing heavy work to India till the Russia, British and later Pakistan came to define borders. Horses and cloth were brought in from Iran and Central Asia to be sold in India. Dry fruit sale was in their hands all over India. Heavy work such as building mud walls and providing wood to the rural areas in India was the work of these hardy men from the mountains. Today Fata has a million armed men but is heavily dependent on food, electricity, infrastructure, fuel and some places gas from Pakistan. Only 7% of land in the area is cultivable. Fata survives on smuggling, heroin export, and jobs in local militia and in rest of Pakistan. We are not sure of mineral wealth of Fata since no survey has been carried out. Thanks to the Americans we now know that neighbouring Afghanistan is full of mineral wealth including rare earth minerals (Simpson, 2011). Before the Russian invasion there was insignificant poppy growth in Afghanistan. Today they are producing 5,800 tons of opium a year and the American army has failed to make a dent on heroin production or its export (Cloughley, Brian. Doing Afghan drugs. Daily Times. January 29, 2012). Fata is one important outlet for heroin export and source of earning for the poor people.

 

We also need to evaluate the impact of developments in Afghanistan on Pakistan. First and foremost Talibanisation to a degree has taken place in Pakistan where most people are supportive of Islamisation, which cannot be equated with Talibanisation. The first step towards Islamisation of Pakistan took place with Objectives Resolution in 1949. Since then the rulers of Pakistan have used Islam to promote their rule over the country. Some of the so-called religious scholars have used Islam for financial gains or to grab power. Money has flowed from local and foreign sources in support of different factions. Religion has become the biggest industry in Pakistan. Religion has also been source of deadly conflict within Pakistan as different sects jockey for power.

 

The Arab Spring in Middle East and North Africa has drifted to Islam as a source of inspiration. Even Turkey with years of enforced secularism as visualised by its army is trying to find Islamic values. The lack of understanding by the West of the Muslim World is the basis of the problem of being threatened by Islam. There is also much confusion among the Muslim World as to what is Islamic and is coloured by cultural past of each society in the Muslim World. On the other hand Muslims should understand that ‘Islam is (not) in danger’ and they do not require armed conflict to achieve their goal. The Muslim World has to realise that we are now living in a global village and cannot survive in isolation as being tried by Iran. Most of all the West needs to understand the mind set of emerging Muslim World. A free stable Afghanistan needs to evolve from Stone Age and not forced at gunpoint to perceived Western values and governance. Afghan peace would bring peace in Fata. Rest assured the Afghans or people of Fata are not going to declare war on the West.

 

There is a strong parallel between Russian and later American invasions. The Russians came into Afghanistan to make them communists while the Americans after the period of rage want to build a capitalist system in their style of democracy. Neither of these super powers have made any dent on the Afghans. Change comes from the mind and not guns. This was the effort of Bacha Khan the Frontier Gandhi. He was essentially a social worker and not a politician dubbed as a traitor by the Pakistani leadership. We should use the carrot rather than the stick to solve Fata problem. There has been in place Fata Development Authority for many years it has dismal record of socio-economic development as compared to rest of Pakistan. Fata also has Fata Disaster Management Authority collaborating with UN Development Programme, which requires $200 million (Ali, Zulfiqar. Donors seek access to monitor Fata uplift. Dawn. February 15, 2012). Poor figures of health and education are alarming. We do not have correct information since the army feeds it and we have no independent observers in the area (Qureshi, Shafiullah. Fata failure. The News. January 29, 2012).

 

Guns shall make the Fata situation worse since there is no military solution. Above all we need professional research of the area and a ten years planned strategy with the consent of the Fata tribes. The old social structure has been altered with massive influx of arms and ammunition during Russian invasion. The old British administrative system is in tatters. The Political Agent and Malik equation and the jirga system have been dismantled. We are not dealing with old Fata anymore. Solution of Fata has to emerge from its people. Before we plan for a long-term policy for Fata it has to be taken off the hands of the Pakistan Army.

 

PS. Today Pakistan faces a more serious problem of separatist nationalist movement in Balochistan, which unlike Fata is not a religious issue. Unfortunately successive governments in Pakistan have been in a state of denial and used the gun to make Balochistan fall in line. This time it is not going to work.

 

Radicalisation of Pakistani society unleashed by Gen Zia fast gaining ground is also a major issue yet to be addressed (Hussain, 2012).

 

Selected Bibliography

 

1. Adye, John. Sitana: a mountain campaign of the borders of Afghanistan in 1863. ASIM: BOO6PE65CC. Published 1866.
2. Ahmed, Khalid. The mystery of what Pakistan wants. Friday Times. Jan 2/Feb 2, 2012.
3. Al Qaeda in its own words. Edited by Gilles Kepel and Jean-Pierre Milelli. The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press. 2008.
4. Albinia, Alice. Empires of the Indus. John Murray, London. 2008.
5. Baha, Lal. NWFP: administration under British rule 1901-1919. National Commission on Historical and Cultural Research, Islamabad. 1978.
6. Barthorp, Michael. Afghan wars and the North-West Frontier 1839-1947. Cassell & Co, London. 2002.
7. Bayley, Victor. Permanent way through the Khyber. Jarrolds Publishers, London. MCMXXXIV (1924).
8. Bellew, HW. Afghanistan and the Afghans: brief review of the history of the country and account of its people. Samson Low, Marston, Searle and Rivington, London. 1879.
9. Bergen, Peter L. Holy war Inc: inside the secret world of Osama bin Laden. Phoenix, London. 2002.
10. Borovik, Artyom. The hidden war: a true story of war in Afghanistan. Faber and Faber Ltd., London. 1991.
11. Bruce, Richard Isaac. The forward policy and its results. 1898.
12. Burns, Alexander. Cabool: a personal narrative of a journey to, and residence in that city, in the years 1836, 7, and 8. Reprint Ferozesons Ltd., Lahore. 1961.
13. Caroe, Olaf. The Pathans. Reprint by Oxford University Press, Karachi. 1975.
14. Charny, IW. Fighting suicide bombing: a worldwide campaign for life. Praeger Security International, Westport. 2007.
15. Deshpande, Anirudh. British military policy in India, 1900-1945. Vanguard Books, Lahore. 2005.
16. Diver, Maud. Kabul to Kandahar. Peter Davis, London. 1935.
17. Docherty, Paddy. The Khyber Pass: a history of empire and invasion. Oxford University Press, Karachi. 2007.
18. Dupree, Louis. Afghanistan. Oxford Pakistan Paperback, Karachi. 1997.
19. Edwards, Herbert B. A year on the Punjab Frontier in 1848-49. Vol. I & II. Reprint Ferozesons Ltd., Lahore. 1963.
20. Elliott, JG. The Frontier 1839-1947: the story of the North-West Frontier of India. Cassell, London. 1968.
21. Fata- a most dangerous place. Principle Author Shuja Nawaz. Centre for Strategic & International Studies. 2009.
22. Griffiths, John C. Afghanistan. Pall Mall Press, London. 1967.
23. Gul, Imtiaz and Jaffar, Nabila. Taliban and the Pakistani politics. Friday Times. Jan 2/Feb 2, 2012.
24. Hamilton, Angus. Afghanistan. William Heinemann, London. 1906.
25. Hopkirk, Peter. The Great Game: on secret service in High Asia. John Murray, London. 1990.
26. Hosain, Mohammad. A few phases of the Afghans in Jullundur Busties. 1938.
27. Hussain, Mujahid. Punjabi Taliban: driving extremism in Pakistan. Pentagon Press, New Delhi. 2012.
28. Hussain, Zahid. The scorpions tail. Free Press, New York. 2010.
29. Jalal, Ayesha. Partisans of Allah: Jihad in South Asia. Harvard University Press, Cambridge. 2008.
30. Jan, Abid Ullah. Afghanistan: the genesis of the final crusade. Pragmatic Publication. Ottawa. 2006.
31. Journals and diaries of the Assistants to the Agent, Governor-General North West Frontier and Resident at Lahore 1846-1849. First edition 1911. Reprint Sang-e-Meel. 2006.
32. Khan, Mohammad Hosain. A few phases of the Afghans in Jullundur Basties. 1938.
33. Khan, Wajahat S. The other guy’s endgame—Part I. Friday Times. Jan27/Feb-2, 2012.
34. Khan, Wajahat S. The other guy’s endgame—Part II. Friday Times. February 3-9, 2012
35. Krasmer, D Stephen. Getting tough with Pakistan. Foreign Affairs. January/February. 2012.
36. Kroernig, Matthew. Foreign Affairs. January/February. 2012.
37. Lahood, Nelly. The jihadis’ path to self-destruction. Hurst & Co. London.2010.
38. Lieven, Anatal. Pakistan a hard country. Allen Lane, UK. 2011.
39. Matinuddin, Kamal. Power struggle in the Hindukush Afghanistan (1978-1991). Services Book Club, Lahore. 1991.
40. Mir, Amir. Talibanisation of Pakistan. Pentagon Security International, New Delhi. 2009.
41. Murray, Hallan AH. The high-road of Empire. John Murray, London. 1905.
42. Nevill, HL. Campaigns on the North-West Frontier. First published 1910. Reprint Sang-e-Meel Publications. 2003.
43. Nichols, Robert. Settling the Frontier: land, law and society in the Peshawar Valley, 1500-1900. Oxford University Press. 2001.
44. Obhrai, Divan Chand. The evolution of North-West Frontier Province. First published 1938. Reprint Saeed Book Bank, Peshawar, 1983.
45. Omissi, David. The Sepoy and the Raj: the Indian Army, 1860-1940. Macmillan Press Ltd, Houndmills. 1994.
46. Pakistan: the militant jihadi challenge. Asia Report No. 164. March 13, 2009. Pennell, TL. Among the wild tribes of the Afghan Frontier. Seeley &Co., London. 1909.
47. Post Taliban. Complied and edited by Ahmed Salim. Sang-e-Meel Publication, Lahore. 2003.
48. Rashid, Ahmed. Decent into chaos. Allen Lane, UK. 2008.
49. Razvi, Mujtaba. The frontiers of Pakistan: a study of Frontier problems in Pakistan’s foreign policy. National Publishing House Ltd., Karachi. 1971.
50. Ridedel, Milton A. In search for Al Qaeda: its leadership and future. Vanguard Books, Lahore. 2009.
51. Saleem, Shahzad. Inside Al-Qaeda and the Taliban: beyond bin Laden and 9/11. Pluto Press, London. 2011.
52. Shah, Zahid. Muslim freedom fighters of India based in Central Asia. Area Study Centre (Russia & CA) Peshawar University and Hanns Seidel Foundation. 2000.
53. Schofield, Victoria. Afghan frontier: feuding and fighting in Central Asia. Tauris Parke Paperbacks, London. 2003.
54. Simpson, Sarah. Afghanistan’s buried riches. Scientific American. October 2011.
55. Skeen, Andrew. Tribal fighting in NWFP. First published 1932. Reprint Vanguard Books, Lahore. 2009.
56. Stabilising Afghanistan: regional perspective and prospects. Edited by Maqsudat, Hassan Nuri, Mohammad Munir and Aftab Hussain. Islamabad Policy Research Institute. Hanns Seidel Foundation. 2011
57. Steven, Coll. Ghost Wars. Penguin Books. 2004.
58. Stewart, Jules. The Khyber Rifles: from the British Raj to Al Qaeda. Sutton Publishing, Phoenix Mill. 2006.
59. Sykes, Percy. A history of Afghanistan. Vol. I & II. First published 1940. Reprint Al-Biruni, Lahore. 1979.
60. Tanner, Stephen. Afghanistan: a military history from Alexander the Great to the fall of Taliban. Oxford University Press, London. 2002.
61. The Second Afghan War: 1878-80. Complied by Charles Metcalfe MacGregor and India Army Intelligence Branch. Army Education Press. 1975.
62. Thomas, Lowell. Beyond Khyber Pass. Hutchinson & Co., London. 1920s.
63. Warren, Alan. Waziristan, the Fiqir of Ipi, and Indian army- the North West Frontier Revolt of 1936-37. Oxford University Press, Karachi. 2000.
64. Wylly, HC. From the Black Mountain to Waziristan. Macmillan and Co., Ltd. London. 1912.
65. Yate, AC. Travels with the Afghan Boundary Commission. William Blackwood & Sons, Edinburgh. 1886
66. Zaeef, Abdul Salam. My life with the Taliban. Hachette, India. 2010.

 

 

Appendix

 

Chronological Table of North West Frontier Campaigns (Barthorp, Michael, 2002).

 

 

1849               Baizais                                                1879               Zakha Khel

1850               Kohat Afridis                                     1880               Marris

1851               Mohmands                                         1881               Mahsuds

1852               Ranizais                                              1883               Shiranis

1852               Utman Khel                                        1888               Black Mountain Tribes

1852               Waziris                                               1890               Zhob Valley

1852               Black Mountain Tribes                     1891               Black Mountain Tribes

1853               Hindustani Fanatics                          1891               Miranzai

1853               Shiranis                                              1891               Hunza and Nagir

1853               Kohat Afridis                                     1894               Mahsuds

1854               Mohmands                                         1895               Chitral

1854               Afridis                                                 1897               Tochi Wazirs

1855               Orakzais                                             1897               Malakand

1855               Miranzai                                             1897               Mohmands

1856               Kurram                                               1897               Orakzais

1857               Bozdars                                              1897               Afridis

1857               Hindustani Fanatics                          1900               Mahsuds

1859               Waziris                                               1908               Zakha Khel

1860               Mahsuds                                             1908               Mohmands

1863               Ambela                                               1915               Mohmands

1863               Mohmands                                         1917               Mahsuds

1868               Black Mountain Tribes                     1919-20         Waziristan

1868               Bizotis                                                 1923               Mahsuds

1872               Tochi                                                  1927               Mohmands

1877               Jowakis                                               1930-31         Afridis

1878               Utman Khel                                        1933               Mohmands

1878               Zakha Khel                                         1935               Mohmands

1878               Mohmands                                         1936-37         Waziristan

1878               Zaimukhts                                          1937-39         Waziristan

 

 

 

Warid’s youth brand gets a new life with the launch of ‘Dosti Ke Rung’ / Colours of Friendship thematic campaign. As per the official press release Glow’s ‘Dosti Ke Rung’ movement is based on the premise of providing groups of friends with an opportunity to come and enjoy its uniquely designed on-ground activities. These special activities will be taken on-ground live with customised Warid Glow activity areas in select colleges, universities, shopping and entertainment venues across Lahore, Karachi and Islamabad. Events will be taking place during March and April across the major cities of Pakistan.

The celebration officially begins with the brand new ‘Dosti Ke Rung’ music video being aired across all major local networks, promoting the colours of friendship.

On Glow’s sustained efforts to create avenues for entertainment and engaging the youth, Director Marketing Warid Sadaf Zarrar said,

Warid launched Glow for the very purpose of providing the youth with the most competitive voice and data packages, as well as providing entertainment across various platforms. To this end, Glow has organised as well as partnered with a diversity of events encompassing education, music, theatre, sports and games. With the ‘Dosti Ke Rung’ campaign, we want to further our commitment to the youth and promote positivity within the youth, and bring something fresh and new.

Brand Manager Glow Saud Khan while giving his comments said,

Glow is a brand targeting the youth of the country and we as a brand understand what “Dosti” means to our audience. The ‘Dosti Ke Rung’ campaign is our way of rejoicing with the youth and showing that we are an integral part of their friendship circle.

Glow Dosti Tariff

Activation Process

• New Glow Customers: Dial 789 to activate Glow Dosti
• Existing Warid Prepaid or Glow Customers: SMS Dosti to 7777
• Port-In to Warid’s superior quality network using our Mobile Number Portability Service (MNP), whilst keeping your existing number & network code. You can enjoy better quality, amazing features and unmatched rates. Dial 0321-321-321-1 & let us take care of the rest.

Further details on the Friends and Family Numbers and VAS plans can be followed here.

In 2010, there was a big roar about blasphemy and its aftermath. Like me, there were many people, who wanted to know the real truth behind that set-drama of saving the criminal, who was the main agent of that time’s deteriorated circumstances. Since all people belong to their own school of thought, they have therefore, their own ways to satisfy their intriguing nature. I, followed my own way and tried to seek the truth by interviewing, comparing and researching internet,different articles, and religions about the blasphemy issues. I in the end came up with these two articles. Read here and here. These two articles, gained a lot of criticism, which I had expected beforehand. However, at the same time, there were many people who appreciated me and are still encouraging.

It was a surprise for me when after 2 years, i received a mail from a brother by Islam- Ibn Hanif (Saudia Arabia) reminding me of those two articles i wrote earlier. He was coming to Pakistan for meeting his family and for some awesome photography of spring-o-Lahore. I was delighted to realize, that he is also bringing some ZamZam and ajwa khajoor for me from the holy land of Makkah as an appreciation to those articles and my efforts that were put in. What else any one could wish for? Living so far from Makkah, but lucky enough to be bestowed with the holy gifts?

After waiting for some two days, I received a big bag full of gifts-I had not expected.He is really a brother. without breaking the boundaries of Hijab, he dropped gifts at my Dad’s office. Not to mention that the meeting was arranged by me. It is such a comforting thought that with no worldly intentions, free from any type of repay, there is a person somewhere far-somewhere in the holy land, praying for you. It was equally a pleasant surprise for my father to meet him. After returning from office, I was handed over my gifts by my father. They were: Ajwa Khajoor- Most delicious one I have ever eaten in life, ZamZam bottle (1.5 Litre), a praying mat, a beautiful wall hanging, a professional sound recorder and another tray of khajoor.

I have no words to say thanks to my online brother, who devised such a sweet way to encourage his sister. Above all, without breaking the boundaries of hijab. Is anything more required to prove the level of sincerity? World still possess kind people, sincere and free from worldly thoughts.

In the end I would like to say thanks to brother Ibn Hanif. I find myself lost in the words, to choose a best word that could describe how grateful I am. Dear brother, me and my all family will always remember you in our prayers for your holy gifts and sincere feelings!
Thank you =)

The Photographing Artists Series is an attempt to compile various perspectives and angles of how artists are perceived. Portraiture was once only the domain of artists who painted or drew famous people, commissions, muses, lovers and themselves. However, it has always intrigued me how artists are perceived by others. I have commented on it before in the blogpost ‘artist: the raving lunatic’ and most recently also did a feature on a self-portraiture group show ‘the artist and the self’.

In this series I will be posting images of Pakistani artists that have been taken by various photographers in the photographer’s studio, in the artist’s studio, at exhibitions/events, or even candidly.

If you have photographs of artists that you’d like to share, please email them at saira[at]sairaansari[dot]com with details.

Artists photographed by Nashmia Haroon

Nashmia Haroon’s portfolio is vast and she works best when she is tackling situations that are beyond the controlled environments of a studio. Some of her most moving works came from photographing post-bombing sites in Lahore (featured in Reuters 2010), documenting protests (included in the Delhi Photo Festival 2011), and even venturing into the infants ward at a local hospital. Another side to her portfolio is the beautifully structured domain of urban and architectural imagery which is often photographed keeping key light, reflection and exposure elements as the narrative makers. On a different note today, here are her ‘artists‘. Enjoy.

See more work at Nashmia Haroon’s website and on her facebook page .

Roll over pointer on images to see titles. Click images to see them magnified.

Artists photographed (in order of appearance): Rashid Rana, Usman Saeed, Sumaya Durrani, Risham Syed, Sarah Ahmed Mumtaz, Sana Arjumand, Ameena Hussain and Amean J.

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• Visit The s.a. Project facebook page for more regular updates
• Join in the discussion at twitter – SairaAnsariPK

I have enjoyed reading Yasir Pirzada‘s column whenever I got a chance because “you” comes in the middle of the week which means a roller coaster ride for me. Being a working mom of four kids, working days pass by without giving me moment of respite. I would like share his ‘Branded Pakistan’ with you …. I could not stop laughing at his narration of some of the ads.

On a serious note, Mr Yasir! in a  country of 170 million people only Faisal Qureshi and a few others, who can be counted on fingers make creative and interesting ads. Rest of the ads are either copied, bought or look like poor female modelling photoshoots! If nobody knows how creative advertising can be then who will build, market and brand Pakistan. Ah…Our beautiful and beloved Pakistan!

Branded Pakistan

by Yasir Pirzada

Let me share a ‘serious’ joke at the very outset. When a guy meets a woman and tells her ‘I am a great lover’, that is called marketing. When somebody else tells the woman about that man ‘trust me, he is a great lover’, that is called public relations. When the guy himself repeatedly tells the woman ‘I am a great lover, I am a great lover…’ that would be called advertising. But when the woman herself says ‘I understand you are a great lover’, that would be called branding!

Branding is a serious business and so is advertising. But unfortunately, the concept of advertising in Pakistan, like many other concepts, is not the same as it is in other countries. We make simple advertisements for the simple reason that we can’t make them creative. And branding, for sure, is not our cup of tea. Obviously, I am not talking about a few multinational companies who are very particular about branding. My concern is those types of ads, which, in the first place, are run on cable TV; and secondly, those non-stop repetitive programmes which are actually paid advertisements. However, if I were to choose between these two, I would go for cable TV Commercials (TVCs), at least they are humorous.

The best thing about cable TVCs is that they are cheap (means monetarily) plus they are hilarious. One of my favourite these days is TVC of a ‘Rent a Car’ company. It is simply unbeatable. The ad opens with a glimpse of vehicles decorated with flowers claiming it to be the largest network of rented cars in Pakistan. Then suddenly a family is shown coming out of a rickshaw; as soon as they step out of the rickshaw, the driver grabs the man for some unknown reason and then the lady (presumably man’s wife) interferes and tells the rickshaw driver to be ashamed of himself for being abusive to his ‘father-in-law’ (at least that’s what I have understood). Then a heavy weight model (seeing is believing) with straight hair, chips in and says ‘phone malayein (not milayein) aur gari mangayein!’ Then glimpses of the proprietor as well as his brothers and kids are shown who are smiling while looking at the camera (don’t know why) and then it is told that the proprietor is also the president of some kind of association. After that the scene changes and another family, this time a pretty decent couple, is shown with three kids. Wife is clad in a saree, who, after seeing a chauffer driven car, expresses her satisfaction to the husband and jumps into the car hurriedly. Then again, our heavy weight model comes in and says ‘safar key matabuq (not mutabiq) paisey manasub!’ Now I can’t narrate the remaining advertisement because I want you to watch it yourself and enjoy. This ad is only aired on TV in Lahore but because of its immense popularity now you can also search it on YouTube and many have even shared it on Facebook! Hats off to its director!

As far as long and repetitive paid programmes are concerned, I think these have proved to be beneficial only for the retired or flop film stars. An actor like Jackie Sheroff can be seen nowadays in one of such advts, marketing ‘joint pain medicines’. Similarly, Bhagia Shree, heroine of super doper hit ‘Meiney Pyar Kia’ is selling hair oil these days. The most annoying thing about these ads is their monotonous tone. I don’t know exactly how successful this marketing strategy is but I am sure these ads certainly attract people and that’s why these have been on air for such a long time.

Apart from these two categories of ads, there are certain ads which I simply hate to watch. One of them is a ‘cleaning toilet challenge’… and what a challenge that is! One of our TV stars is shown in the ad throwing a challenge to a group of housewives as to who can clean the toilet in a better way! Certainly our hero wins the ‘challenge’ and he proudly announces it at the end.

And lastly, I wish someone would come up with an advertisement that portrays a positive image of our country. We need it badly for our country. An ad that would brand our country in a way like a multinational brand its product successfully. If a multinational can do it for its ordinary products, why can’t it be done for a vibrant country like Pakistan! So let’s start building a ‘Branded Pakistan’.

 

The writer is a columnist, TV anchor and playwright and can be contacted at yasirpirzada1@gmail.com

 

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