I would like to mention that the report conveniently missed out efforts by Abrar Ul Haq. He is, by far, the biggest act in the country who might have far more influence than anyone else. He has come out with a song which in no way ambiguous about what it is trying to achieve, with lines like “Jannar Saar Ke Jannat Kaadee, Bachay Maar Ke Jannat Kaadee” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0hqUZpFwn54

However, unfortunately, its true that as a nation, we are in denial and it shows in some of the mainstream acts coming out of the country.

Sameer and I are also of Muslim cultural backgrounds, but my family are Pushtun nationalists who look to the creation of Bangladesh as an inspiration.

Some in family, though horrified by the Taliban, secretly take pride in the havoc that these men are doing to the psyche of Pakistan.

wait how did a post on political music in Pakistan turn into a discussion of terrorism, partition, all of that?

Pakistan was born from partition and terrorism is addressed in the NYT article and accompanying video.

Pakistanis are constantly in denial and they blame India for everything.

The sorry state of affairs of the Muslim world cannot be blamed on India, Indian Muslims have been integral to India’s secular success.

I’ve had these conversations. I can imagine the backstory, the context, the rest of the interview. Too bad Adam Ellick only grabs the sound bites that back up his thesis. I agree entirely with the journalists (particularly Nadeem Peracha) and, to some extent, the musicians. Just wish we could hear more than the sound bites. Ali Azmat sounds like a fool, but he’s a musician, not a political theorist. He knows what everyone else does, what they get from the Pakistani media, and he sings out his feelings on that.

This journo is critiquing Pakistani rockers for getting political, just not in a way that makes America look good and the Taliban look bad. He misses the whole point – this is happening in context and he’s missing the context. He’s just annoyed that political protest songs aren’t being done the same way Americans would do it.

… or are they? Ellick says at one point, “Those who sing about terrorism are taking an indirect approach” – well… isn’t that what you DO when you sing? Did any of the classic folk songs of the 60s say “Vietnam?” No, they were poetic… indirect. And how can they call out the Taliban in mass market pop? If an American rapper puts out a song that went “Where were you when Bush knocked down the towers,” he’s blacklisted. It’s not gonna happen, people. You don’t openly critique the political powers that be by name in your songs if you want to keep writing songs.

No, I think there’s just a bit of bristling at the anti-American thing and the typical self-righteous deflecting of that uncomfortableness to another topic. Ellick is basically saying “How can you criticize America when you have the Taliban in your own country? Why aren’t you addressing that?” An argument similar to “Why should India have a space program when so many live in poverty?”

I have so much more I could say about this, but I’ve rambled long enough. Any thoughts?

Funny you should say that. 58 years earlier this is the “Text of Memorandum submitted by 14 Muslim leaders of India to Dr. Frank P. Graham, United Nations Representative 14 August, 1951″

“This merely illustrates what we have said above, that the concept of Pakistan was vague, obscure, and never clearly defined, nor its likely consequences foreseen by the Muslim League, even when some of these should have been obvious.” http://www.kashmir-information.com/LegalDocs/MuslimLeaders.html

The more things change the more they stay the same.

One could hope for the best and prepare for the worst. Sadly I think right now the worst is more likely if young educated fans really believe the West and not the Taliban is Pakistan’s problem. From the NYT’s link posted at top: “Tuning Out the Taliban Pakistani pop musicians are propelling anti-American messages. The lyrics reflect widespread views among their young educated fans who say Pakistan’s problem is the West, not the Taliban.”

It has been at least twelve years since the Clinton administration started warning Pakistan about the Taliban and the problems they’ll end up with, according to Rashid’s book. Who in Pakistan is listening to that old warning even today despite the situation for everyone being a whole lot worse than it was in the 1990s? It is easier to blame everyone else than to look one’s self in the mirror and acknowledge the actions they took that got them where they are now. That takes effort and an overhaul of a lot of entrenched institutions and modalities of thinking. It is up to the Pakistani people from all walks of life to improve their situation before their country implodes. Though they may blame the West, I think Pakistan would have imploded already if it were not for the billions from the US. If all money stopped flowing into Pakistan from the West today, it probably would not be long before Pakistan does implode. Despite some Pakistani’s paranoid thinking a lot of countries do not want that level of chaos in the region that their implosion would result in. That would be a bad, very bad situation. A stable Pakistan not involved in any way with any terrorists for any cause is much better for the region.

The country’s only hope is to implode and have something better re-built from its ashes. Don’t count on the masses of Pakistanis waking up out of their slumber otherwise.

It would be like dividing Lebanon between a Muslim and Christian commonwealth. Lebanese Muslims know their nation is not the same without the presence of Christians.

Partition is a legacy of the British colonial experiment on the subcontinent.

As an Afghan, I am critical of Pakistan for obvious reasons. No Afghan can deny the legacy of Pakistani interference in our “watan” (homeland), we Afghans are also to blame for the tribal prejudices that divide us, etc. We are the victims of the Cold War, and I’m glad as an American politicians in DC are realizing that India and the US have more in common than Pakistan.

India has its share of problems, but India is not threatened with the possibility of implosion. Pakistanis must awake from their slumber, and face their problems head on.