I came across two good articles on Pakistan today.
The first, 'They don't blame al-Qa'ida. They blame Musharraf' by Robert Fisk (thanks, Ayesha) talks about the ISI (i.e. Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence agency) and about how:
The second, 'It's Troubled, But It's Home' by Mohsin Hamid,is completely different. It's a much more personal article, written from the perspective of a Pakistani expatriate:
Which then ends on a positive note:
If you get the chance, do read both of them.
The first, 'They don't blame al-Qa'ida. They blame Musharraf' by Robert Fisk (thanks, Ayesha) talks about the ISI (i.e. Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence agency) and about how:
...Yesterday, our television warriors informed us the PPP members shouting that Musharraf was a "murderer" were complaining he had not provided sufficient security for Benazir. Wrong. They were shouting this because they believe he killed her.
The second, 'It's Troubled, But It's Home' by Mohsin Hamid,is completely different. It's a much more personal article, written from the perspective of a Pakistani expatriate:
...As my wife and I board our flight from London to Lahore, evident all around us is a longing for home -- for the friends and family who are central to Pakistani culture in a way that many foreigners find so remarkable. (As an admiring American roommate of mine once said, "All you guys do is hang out.") This duality of Pakistan as a place both troubled and normal, a place capable of producing a large diaspora while also affectionately tugging at those who have left, is often lost on the world's media. International news outlets tend to cast Pakistan as the one-dimensional villain of a horror film, a kind of Jason or Freddie whose only role is to frighten. Scant attention is paid to the hospitality, the love for music and dance, or the simple ordinariness of 164 million people going about their daily lives.
Which then ends on a positive note:
In the United States, there will be newspaper columns and television talk shows dedicated to "loose nukes" and the "war on terror." Here in Pakistan, one can see signs of people coming together. Scare stories notwithstanding, it is possible (although by no means certain) that out of this tragedy the world's sixth-largest nation may succeed in finding its voice -- and with that the chance for a better future.
If you get the chance, do read both of them.