Not much left for feeding or educating the largely illetrate populace. No wonder Islam is so big there.

Me! Me! Me!

You could be black, but that is limited because blogging is not a big thing amongst the black community.

No they’re too busy getting down with the music whilst swinging through trees eating bananas, amirite.

Does this blog have moderating? Surely personal attacks are not politics, pickled or otherwise.

Internet access to the black man!

A legacy of centralised colonial structures not helped by partition and Kashmir (actually Mountbatten should be more famous for suprressing Vietnamese independence in 1945 by releasing Japanese POWs to police the place till the post Vichy French could reclaim Saigon from Ho Chi Minh’s US backed partisans – eight years before Dien Bien Phu, Quiet Americans, VC, Da Nang and all that )

Rumbold – the answer is mainly facade – I suggest if people want to make comparasions we should investigate the SIPRI database for some facts. ( I pick some below – usual caveats, the US military basically outspends the next ten powers all put together and is a big proportion of discretionary US Federal spending – but China and Russia have much cheaper manpower still etc.. )

US dollars c.2006 (% of GNP accordig to Sipri)

Pakistan 4.5bn US (3.2%)
India 24bn USD (2.7%)
Bangladesh 0.7bn USD (1%)
Sri Lanka 0.8bn USD (2.9%)
Germany 35bn USD (2.2%)
UK 55bn GBP ….

http://www.fauji.org.pk/Webforms/Home.aspx?Id=142

These guys are big players in the economy, from cereals to cements, if generals are making money, it’s via this. The Pakistani armed forces are the only institute in the country renowned for it’s professionalism and lack of nepotism, hence corruption is unlikely or very low level.

Secondly the notion that the Military is Punjabi dominated is false. Punjab happens to have the largest population too. That is reflected within the army but not to the level it is portrayed at.

Let’s not let one troll ruin a decent topic, if you want to talk about Kashmir talk about it in some other topic. The BBC recently did a decent article, Kashmir and Football, look it up.

As for money in the pockets of generals, it’s not through the budget, as Pakistan has one of the worlds largest militaries and one of the smaller budgets, however where you can see room for money making is Fauji industries.

Although he has in fact got a wealth of knowledge in the Pakistani defence topic and could contribute really well to a debate on military spending in Pakistan, he won’t.

He’s too busy berating white people (who fund a large chunk of the spending) and black people for not blogging enough (no evidence whatsoever).

The Pakistani military is a Punjabi dominated non-professional politicised institution with the blood of millions on it’s hands eg. Bengalis in 1971 and Balochis during the 70’s. It is temperamentally more suited to crushing internal insurgencies than successfully fighting a conventional war. If not for 500,000 Punjabi bayonets, it is arguable whether Pakistan as currently constituted would exist. The same is true for India but to a lesser extent.

As for Kashmiris, my observation from the large UK community is that Mirpuri Kashmiris from the Pakistani occupied area are more religious and Pro acceding to Pakistan. The majority on the Indian occupied side want full independence from both countries and are more cultural.

Secondly, nuclear weapons and successful arms industries are something to be produ of, particularly when your customers include NATO, Israel and the USA, some of the worlds leading arms suppliers, yet despite that Israel has purchased Dhruv helicopters from India, Holland has been a regular purchaser of ammunition from Pakistan and the USA ordered the Beagle UAV(Border Eagle)to monitor the Mexican border from Pakistan. How many other nations can boast weapons production of the quality that the greatest war mongers of the times purchase from them?

You can say what you like about the Indian economy but the facts are that increased Indian spending and development has contributed to the economic downfall of the western economies and rising Inflation, today India is exploiting resources and your kind are starving, 60 years ago it was the other way around.

Hari Singh could have ceded mars to India, it wouldn’t matter, Jinnah never agreed to it, nor did the people of Kashmir. History is history, the present is what matters and we are fighting for our freedom, who’s going to stop us?

When Pakistan was threatened Pakistan decided it was best to side with you. Now that you are stuck isn’t it interesting how Pakistan has striking “peace deals” and attacks within Afghanistan are intensifying?

Enjoy reaping what you sowed. I only have sympathy for the sons of the poor families who are being forced to fight the war of the business tycoons.

regardless of that both Pakistan and India have managed to create nuclear weapons and have fledgling arms industries who are involved in exporting weapons to other countries.

And that’s something to be proud of?

Furthermore much to India’s credit they have become an economic powerhouse.

Not really, a fiscal elite have become an economic force, while the overwhelming majority of the population lives in utter poverty.

I as a Kashmiri can inform you the only part of Kashmir occupied is the Indian side

Hari Singh ceded to India under terms that both Jinnah and Nerhu agreed to. End of.

the only obsession we have with Afghanistan is keeping the white man out of it

That’s odd, I could have sworn that Pakistan is the American headed coalition’s staunchest ally in the region, helping prop up the puppet Karzai and quelling the Afghani freedom movement.

regardless of that both Pakistan and India have managed to create nuclear weapons and have fledgling arms industries who are involved in exporting weapons to other countries. Pakistan with collaberation with China has produced it’s own fighter jet and India is well on it’s way to producing one too. Furthermore much to India’s credit they have become an economic powerhouse.

I as a Kashmiri can inform you the only part of Kashmir occupied is the Indian side and the only obsession we have with Afghanistan is keeping the white man out of it as you are the plague that has been the root of all the worlds ills.

My point was that we haven’t invested heavily enough in private weapons companies who could create huge machines of war to keep your kind at bay, hence we have to invest in things like that as a state, therefore it is not in our interest to reveal a penny by penny account of our military spending.

Furthermore in our quest to keep your kind away, we have historically worked with a black budget in terms of military spending, the Taliban didn’t fund itself and giving weapons to Chechen and Bosnian fighters isn’t cheap either.

Neither are the current activities in Helmand province which irk you so much.

That’s because you invest all your cash in weaponary and an unhealthy obsession with controlling Afghanistan and occupying Kashmir, rather than education.

If you did, you wouldn’t be such a thick nation which is bound to act on the orders of the Great Shaitan.