Dr Hoodbhoy, being a physicist by training, may know his atoms, but it seems he is not as familiar with his Afghans.
KARACHI: Regarding Dr Pervez Hoodbhoy’s article, “What Pakistan needs to do in Afghanistan” (March 19), I would just like to point out what I believe is a historical inaccuracy. While the writer is correct in saying that Afghan president Mohammad Daud Khan revived the Pashtunistan bogeyman, he did not retreat from his stance due to Ahmed Shah Massoud’s Panjsheri rebellion. Ahmed Shah Massoud, in fact, took up arms against the communist People’s Democratic Party of Afghanistan, which assassinated Daud in the 1978 Saur revolution. Massoud’s rebellion began a year later in 1979. For all his abilities, Massoud is obviously incapable of fighting someone who was already dead. Dr Hoodbhoy, being a physicist by training, may know his atoms, but it seems he is not as familiar with his Afghans.
Ali Malik
Published in The Express Tribune, March 22nd, 2012.
