simon long of @theeconomist says pak has pluses: demography, geography, geology, culture, democracy

feb 12th, 2012 CE

i rather like simon long. unlike his successor james astill, who was a pill of the first order, simon was a good india correspondent and attempted to be rather even handed. he wasn't the usual saheb-who-hangs-out-with-self-hating-JNU-jholawallahs-with-beards-both-girls-and-boys.

but he seems to be on another planet -- a common affliction for many when they talk about pakistan -- when he says pakistan's pluses are: demography, geography, geology, culture and democracy

http://www.economist.com/node/21546884 is the link to simon's 14-page essay. it is worth reading, but i must take exception with his five pluses (why am i reminded of panchasheela?)

demography? they are breeding like mad! the average pakistani woman has 6 kids or something, and they *have* to kill off these aggressive young men they grow into! hence the taliban and jihad. it gives the 'boys' something to do (and die)

geography? it is only interesting to the chinese to get a warm water port. but gwadar ain't it: the balochs will sooner or later revolt

geology? not clear there's that much under them thar hills

culture? is that arab culture as most paks claim, hilariously, that they are arabs or, as rushdie famously put it in shame, "the 5000 years of indian history they are trying to cover up with 50 years of Pakistan Standard Time"?

democracy? what they have is an army with a country as a fig-leaf. sort of like what's said about religion: "a cult with an army". pak is an army with a parliament.