I doubt you are, Suicide attacks are at a all time high, Pakistani citizens are scared to leave their houses, Bomb blasts occur on a bi-weekly basis. Not so sure if the goal has been acheived. I think the situation is far worse in Pakistan right now, You are aware that Pakistan is the worlds dangerest country right? Not so sure how successful your corrupt government is so far.
What you sow, so shall your reap. Enough said.
I don't think you have been paying attention to events in Pakistan - the security situation this year is dramatically different from last. Around this time last year the Taliban and the TTP thought they had gotten away with carving out their very own fiefdom in Swat, and had expanded into Buner and Dir, and SW was off limits.
Today, Swat is well on the road to recovery, the majority of the population that was displaced due to the military ops has returned, the TTP has been decimated in Swat, SW, Bajaur and elsewhere, and terrorist attacks are far lower.
So yes, the Taliban have been made to pay dearly for what they have done, and will continue to pay.
Well, its a win,win situation for me. I am not an Afghanistani to argue in Afghanistan's favor. My point is to see peace in those countries. I wish well for Pakistan and Afghanistan, However, Quite frankly it is Pakistan that is sticking its nose in Afghanistan's business attempting to spread influence.
Its even clear in this thread that many Pakistani's want Afghanistan as an ally on good terms, Have you even bothered reading the public popular view in this thread? Its quite humurous if you ask me, The resentment of Indian presence has always made me laugh when argued by a Pakistani.
Nevertheless, what I posted was a video of a Pakistani journalist describing failure in your country. I agree, with you media can not be used as a medium to describe a country.
If media was favorable to the Taliban, they can easily point a camera towards a group of people happy with Taliban presence. Would that make my stance better? Ofcourse not, its what you and I say and present that will make the audience judge on this matter. So how about we both refrain from posting videos and focus on authoratative sources,Scholarly to say the least.
What are 'authoriative sources'? The views of a self proclaimed 'Afghan born, raised and educated in the US? As I pointed out to you, there are hundreds of Pakhtun who live in NWFP and FATA on this forum who argue the opposite of what you do. If 'opinion' is what you wish to go by, then yours is by far the lonely minority.
You have yourself engaged with Pakhtun's on this forum who have criticized your rants, your response has been to engage in ad hominem attacks and question whether they really are Pakhtun.
This is not a new tactic - go to any Afghan forum and this is exactly what they do when Pakistan Pashtun disagree with their ranting and raving against Pakistan - engage in ad hominems and question their 'Pakhtun-ness'. Most of us have followed forums long enough to recognize this tired old Afghan (the nationality, since you like to pretend to be obtuse and act like a child over the usage of the word, when the context of its usage is obvious) tactic.
Here is another 'authoritative source', a Western journalist for the BBC reporting from Bajaur:
Army commanders are getting a hero's welcome in Bajaur.
At a meeting of tribal elders they were greeted with handshakes and embraces.
Bearded local leaders thanked them for the sacrifices they had made, but they also presented the military with a long list of demands - including help rebuilding roads, bridges and homes damaged by the army during the fight.
Most of all they want jobs. They say employment is the most effective weapon against the Taliban.
"When people don't have work, and they don't have amenities, when they are dissatisfied with their lives, then, of course, they will adopt another way," said Abdul Sattar, a tribal elder.
"If they get these things they will be busy, they will be working, and they won't go towards other ways".
Strategic shift
But locals are siding with the army, for now. Hundreds of tribesmen danced by the roadside, when army chiefs arrived. It was part celebration, part show-of-force.
The tribesmen were holding their machine guns aloft. They say they'll fight the militants themselves if they try to return.
They have formed a lashkar, or militia, led by five battle-ready locals, who have lost loved ones to the Taliban, and have been targeted themselves.
The army will be relying on the help of men like this to keep the Taliban at bay. The military has already set its sights on neighbouring parts of the lawless tribal belt, and the next stage of the fight.
BBC News - Pakistan flag flies over former Taliban stronghold
So now you have video footage and Pakistani and Western journalists providing the same accounts of events, as well as Pakistani Pakhtuns in the hundreds, living and breathing the air of NWFP and the FATA arguing the opposite of what you do.
I am sorry, but your lies and rants stand completely exposed. I am not going to take your word (which is all you are providing) against that of hundreds of Pakistani Pakhtun who actually live and post from Pakistan.
So unless you have some credible polling from a credible organization backing up your fantasies of the Pakistani Pakhtun disliking Pakistan and being called Pakistani, this conversation is at an end.
You have been given enough leeway to argue your opinion, and in terms of that opinion, a self-proclaimed 'US born, bred and educated Afghan' has very little credibility compared to the hundreds of Pakhtun on this forum who live and post from NWFP and FATA.
So back up your claims with hard statistical evidence from credible organizations, or be banned for trolling and flaming.
Nevertheless, If my people (Pashtuns) are happy in Pakistan, I am also happy but the thing is so far they are not. Ive actually visited the nation and see how they are treated and don't tell me they are "Patriotic" cause the join the military, I'll argue and say one of the major reasons why the join the military is cause its better paying as compared to jobs that are either inaccessible or hard to find. But nevertheless, My argument from the beginning was my people are treated bad, I have visited 2 provinces, spoke to them and I am not happy at all. So don't tell me a French Pakistani who happens so that travels to Quetta is very happy and he is a Pashtun. That argument simply will not work with me.
Pakistan is a young developing country with weak institutions, for a variety of reasons - the situation is not bad just for those who live in the NWFP and FATA, but for people across Pakistan.
In Sindh and Punjab it is common Sindhis and Punjabis suffering under the yoke of feudal landowners that treat these people like slaves in many cases
Now, I am not playing devils advocate here, My point is Pakistan should mind its business, Improve its countries conditions rather then always be worried about its neighbors who the assume is causing a "Potential threat". That's all.
Part of Pakistan's business is protecting Pakistan from external actors wishing to destabilize it, and Afghanistan has historically played that role in Pakistan, and its government continues to harbor irredentist ambitions and make statements to that effect. So long as Afghanistan does not categorically announce that it is at peace with Pakistan and accepts the existing border and respects Pakistani sovereignty, Pakistan has legitimate concerns about what happens in Afghanistan.
Nations can do more that one thing at a time. Pakistan's investment in reconstruction in Afghanistan is continuing apace with investment at home, much as Indian investment in Afghanistan, despite the high poverty rates and lack of development in India, is continuing apace with Indian investment in India.
This argument of yours is therefore invalid.
My other argument is, Pakistan needs to do more for my people, Build schools that teach their language and history. So far I see nothing being done in that case.
They are not 'your people' - they are Pakistanis and you are American, and the Pakhtun as part of a Pakistani democracy (albeit a nascent one) can play their own role through the political process in obtaining what is needed - we see this playing out in the negotiations over the 18th amendment currently.
I have visited Quetta, and I can tell you those Pashtuns are not quite happy with the way they are being treated, To an extent that Punjabis are being target killed and were even asked to LEAVE.
Again - you are one chap in the US claiming to be the sole perveyor of truth, and there are half a dozen people on this forum who are from Quetta and live in Quetta and Balochistan who disagree with what you are implying - hatred amongst the general population to the degree of killing Punjabis and 'asking them to move'. All you are doing is regurgitating headlines in a fashion that suits your agenda.
That said, there is resentment in Balochistan over the lack of development (for which the local Sardar's are equally responsible) but militancy itself remains a very small movement and the terrorist attacks on settlers in Baluchistan are committed by these Baluch separatists organizations, and are not necessarily reflective of the sentiments of all Baluch or Pashtun in Baluchistan.
Not so sure with that one, Didn't you just ban a Pashtun from Pakistan who was speaking against you guys? I have been lurking for a while and I beg to differ with the above. As an American, You cant fool me with that argument.
He was not a Pakhtun from Pakistan, he was posting from the US and likely another Afghan trying to push the Greater Afghanistan agenda such as yourself.
His posts were full of abusive diatribes and derogatory comments which is why he got banned. Surely you are not suggesting you have sympathy for that sort of mentality?
same goes for non Pashtuns from Afghanistan, Tajiks,Uzbek are tortured by Pakistanis for simply not being Pashtun and not speaking Pashto, and they are forced to pay bribes from both Pakistani side and Afghan side. Like I said, we know how bribery works in your country.
So its not fair to single out Afghanistan, Its equally Pakistans fault as well.
You are the one who raised the issue of non-Pashtun being openely discriminated against by the Afghan authorities when passing through to Afghanistan. You were bragging about this discrimination in fact, trying to highlight how much Afghans (citizens of Afghanistan) hate non-Pakhtun. It was only when I pointed out that his behavior by the Afghans represented a sick and racist mentality and was a disgusting example of open discrimination that you went on a tangent and are now trying to cover your rear end by arguing that 'discrimination occurs in both nations' - You should not have been bragging about the open discrimination and racism of the Afghans in the first place.
I will laugh at you if you think those "I-Ds" are actually being used. It wil show me that you have merely ever visited the border area.
On the Pakistani side they are - the Afghan (citizens of Afghanistan and the GoA) appear to have issues with them and a lack of respect for the travel and identification documents of other nations.
I can argue for my position that you have done the same. You claim Pakistan is not sticking its nose in Afghan affairs, You claim Pakistan does not want its influence in Afghanistan, Yet your generals, members of this board argue the opposite. Who is wrong here?
I have not done the same - I have provided evidence in the form of videos and accounts from Pakistani and Western media, as well as pointing you to the presence of hundreds of Pakhtun living and posting from NWFP and FATA on this forum, debunking nonsensical claims of 'Pakhtuns hate being called Pakistani and being a part of Pakistan'. You have engaged with those Pakhtuns and your response has been the response typically seen on Afghan fora - question the identity of those Pakthun and engage in personal attacks on them.
You on the other hand have offered nothing but your unsubstantiated opinion on the basis of some so called 'visit to Pakistan'.
Your opinion is outnumbered by many magnitudes, so even if there are some Pakistani Pakhtun with sentiments such as you describe, they appear to be in the minority by far.
An Afghanistan that minds its own business and respects Pakistani sovereignty and territorial integrity does not have to be an ally - such an Afghanistan would be an example of a 'responsible State' at peace with its neighbors.
We don't need Afghanistan as an ally - we just need it refrain fro poking its nose in Pakistan's business, something the Afghans appear intent on doing.
I agree, Your country and Afghanistan needs to realize they share a lot and they should live in peace. I agree with the above. They should both engage in dialogues and find out ways to improve relations.
The 2nd largest population in Pakistan is Pashtuns(ethnic Afghans) and the largest ethnic group in Afghanistan is Pashtuns, quite obviously as you can see both countries share a lot. If Canad and My country the U.S.A can live in peace, So can your country Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Enough said,
I have nothing against this - but as I said, the ball is in Afghanistan's court on this matter. Perhaps karzai and the Panjsheri mafia in charge of the Afghan military and intelligence were led to believe by the Indians and their own analysts that Pakistan would break apart and India and Afghanistan would share the spoils, and that has prevented them from coming to peace with Pakistan.
The marked change in the situation in Pakistan compared to last year should put an end to such hopes, and hopefully the Karzai government can finally accept Pakistan and respect its borders as demarcated under the Durand agreement, and we can move on to synergizing our economies and boosting trade and travel, and yes, have open borders, with certain conditions.
