Dissolve Pakistan---These provinces were all knocked together, by the Brits

[rodeodance]

Ali Ettefagh at PostGlobal
Ali Ettefagh
Tehran, Iran

http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/postglobal/ali_ettefagh/2007/11/why_not_dissolve_pakistan_too.html

Why Not Dissolve Pakistan, Too?

Pakistan is not a country. It is a failed British fantasy about the fabrication of a nation-state. It has other failed and failing peers in the Middle East, all fabricated during the 20th century. It is time to seriously review all of these structures and redraw the borderlines.

Pakistan was a phrase coined for an idealistic confederation of five Muslim provinces within the old British-controlled India (Punjab, Northwest Frontier Province or Afghania, Kashmir, Sindh and Baluchistan). However, these are tribal lands with distinct traditions and have very little in common. These provinces were all knocked together, on presumption of a common religion, and a “dominion” was fabricated within the Commonwealth with self-governance authority akin to independence after World War II. It was all part of the post-war fire sale of territorial control of Britain. The ill-conceived plan even set up a separate territory of East Bengal as East Pakistan, a subcontinent away, with the rough-and-ready argument of common religious beliefs and a majority Muslim population. East Pakistan eventually became independent and renamed itself Bangladesh.

Pakistan’s short 60-year history is full of coups and raw, violent tribal rivalry, peppered by jailing or executing the previous rulers. Most recently, we saw a stark and bold example of such rivalry: a returning Pakistani politician, a former prime minister, was deported from his own country.

There is no commonly accepted language among these tribes and thus the official language of Pakistan is English.

For as long as I remember, Iran’s eastern border with Pakistan has always been a hub of instability, smuggling and violent crime. Pakistan is the main transit route for opium and heroin from Afghanistan, where more than 90% of the world’s opium supply is produced. In turn, that cash flow encourages money laundering, armed banditry, murder, violence and corruption. Therefore, several conflicting layers of official structure naturally form, each operating as lawless gangs or states within a state. Drug-infested territories have a poor record of development. Power and corruption leads to uneven, Byzantine relations between groups and to opaque alliances. Meanwhile, the masses remain in poverty: according to the World Bank, that’s about a third of all Pakistanis.

[HereSince1628]

1. Yes and knock apart Iraq while you are at it. Give every historic and fabled tribal claim

validity and then let the survivors nuke it out with each other.

Whatever is left we be the birth place of a stable Southwest Asia. Or NOT.

[iconocrastic]

2. LOL

I notice the article was written in English. So the Brits can't be all bad, now can they?

[RaleighNCDUer]

3. It's not about the Brits, per se, but about the breakup of Empire.

The Empire model that was used deliberately divided ethnic groups into two or more separate nations, then awarded governance to the minorty of each nation, to ensure that the ruling party would remain loyal to the Empire. This was done in South Asia, in East Africa, the Middle East, Ireland. Allowing an ethnic majority to dominiate their own nation encourage independence movements. One exception to this rewarding of minority populations was with the Kurds, because their ethnic territory was divided between various different empires - Syria (French), Turkey, Iraq (British), Iran/Caspian (Russian influence, if not domination). The result of this policy, however, was that when Empire ended the world was left with divided ethnicities, hated minorities in power, and long standing grudges against the west in general.

American neocons and neolibs are modeling their dreams of empire on the British model - divide and conquer. Unfortunately (or fortunately) Americans are as inherently ill suited for maintaining empire as the Brits -- too damn decent for their own good.

[nealmhughes]

4. I think Ali Jinnah and the Muslim League may have had a bit to do with it.

Former princely states were rather late in joining Pakistan as a constituent part as well.
Pakistan is mutliethnic. Imagine that, much like the UK, France, Switzerland or India. Let's not mention the US or China or Russia. Autonomy for Schlewig-Holstein NOW! Jutland deserves its own king! Heligoland for Heligolanders! A nuclear armed Isle of Man!

[JCMach1]

6. Pakistan was Jinnah's and the Leagues IDEA of a country

The reality of sticking Punjabis, Pathans, Sindhis and Baluchis together has not worked so well in practice.

There are some realities that have to be faced though:

Iran would never allow an independent Baluchistan
Pathans have never cooperated with anyone
Sindhis hold the balance of political power and WEALTH
Punjabis would love to be free of the rest, however it would leave the rest of the states impoverished for power, food, industry, etc.

There are no good political alternatives... Musharaf, Bhutto, Sharif... ALL OF THEM are crooks regardless of what they spout from their mouths.

Pakistan is screwn!

I just hope my friend and his family get back here before the worst of the shit hits the fan!

[Igel]

5. Oddly, much of the same logic applies to Iran.

Breaking up Iraq and Pakistan would release the Shi'ite Arabs and the Balochis, whose ethnic extent doesn't stop at the Iranian border. SE Iran is Baluchi, SW Iran is Arab.

Of course, this has the effect of allowing the Azerbaidjanis in the NW of Iran to join Azerbaidjan. It would isolate a chunk of ... was it Armenians or Georgians? ... surrounded by Azeris.

It would also help the Kurds in Western Iran--they could join up with, at least, the Iraqi Kurds. The Eastern Iranian Kurds would be SOL. But perhaps the Persians could join up with the Dari and Tadzhik speakers to form a greater Arya or something.

Because, after all, the only reason for the Iranian borders is an old kingdom, an empire that used to stretch further and was truncated. So Iran's borders reflect a rump empire, a vestige of, dare we say it, Persian imperialism?

But it wasn't British imperialism, so I guess that's ok.

[zulchzulu]

7. Yeah... let's get the nukes and the oil and then call it Whogivesafuckistan...

They got surfin' too...

:sarcasm:

[The Magistrate]

9. Political Science, Sir?

"Wouldn't want to hurt no kangaroo."

[The Magistrate]

8. It Seems, Ma'am, To Be Doing So Nicely All On Its Own....