[whataretheysaying] Mary Madigan: 2 views on why Pakistan is what it is..

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Posted by Mary Madigan:
2 views on why Pakistan is what it is..
http://whataretheysaying.powerblogs.com/posts/1195143648.shtml


   [1]Ali Eteraz - Pakistan is Political Darwinism on Crack:

     There is a reason for this vast disparity of opinions about
     Pakistan: it is perhaps the most honestly-Darwinian political
     system we have encountered in recent times. It is not Iran (with
     its oligarchy), nor North Korea (with its god-king), or Ba'athist
     Iraq (with its genocidal-lord), nor Egypt (with its Arab
     strongman), nor Burma (with its junta). Pakistan is, basically,
     disorder unplugged; political pluralism on complete and utter
     crack.

     The guiding principle in Pakistani politics is that there are no
     principles.

   And the [2]National Geographic

     If there is an address, an exact location for the rift tearing
     Pakistan apart, and possibly the world, it is a spot 17 miles (28
     kilometers) west of Islamabad called the Margalla Pass. Here, at a
     limestone cliff in the middle of Pakistan, the mountainous west
     meets the Indus River Valley, and two ancient, and very different,
     civilizations collide. To the southeast, unfurled to the horizon,
     lie the fertile lowlands of the Indian subcontinent, realm of
     peasant farmers on steamy plots of land, bright with colors and the
     splash of serendipitous gods. To the west and north stretch the
     harsh, windswept mountains of Central Asia, land of herders and
     raiders on horseback, where man fears one God and takes no
     prisoners.

     This is also where two conflicting forms of Islam meet: the
     relatively relaxed and tolerant Islam of India, versus the rigid
     fundamentalism of the Afghan frontier. Beneath the surface of
     Pakistan, these opposing forces grind against each other like two
     vast geologic plates, rattling teacups from Lahore to London,
     Karachi to New York. The clash between moderates and extremists in
     Pakistan today reflects this rift, and can be seen as a microcosm
     for a larger struggle among Muslims everywhere. So when the earth
     trembles in Pakistan, the world pays attention.

References

   1. http://www.jewcy.com/cabal/how_understand_pakistan_political_darwinism_crack
   2. http://www7.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0709/pakistan/pakistan.html