Nisar Ahmad

The ordinary person forms opinions under the influence of electronic and social media. That is why it is better to stop blaming PTI’s ordinary workers or supporters. In 2005 or 2006 there was no social media, but when the state and the establishment were quietly promoting the Taliban in Swat, some religious figures began holding Quran lessons and preaching sessions using loudspeakers mounted on mosques. These activities were outside the legal framework. One example was the Panjpiri cleric from Binawria village who became locally popular and later emerged as an important figure among the Taliban. Around the same time, FM radio stations were set up in different areas, broadcasting twenty four hours a day. Small radios were imported from China in bulk, and soon they were everywhere, from streets and neighborhoods to people’s pockets. None of this could have happened without unofficial state support, and this entire environment created a new atmosphere whose consequences everyone has seen...

  There is a strong case for dividing Khyber Pakhtunkhwa into two separate regions based on current conditions and its historical background.  One part should be called Northern Pakhtunkhwa and the other Southern Pakhtunkhwa. Both regions have shared a Pakhtun identity through history, but in reality two very different and often contrasting communities live here. Their culture, language, tone, way of thinking, standards of right and wrong and overall way of life are all quite different from each other. In my view the dividing line between these two regions should either be the Kohat Tunnel or the boundary of Peshawar. Both points can reasonably serve as the marker that separates the two distinct zones.

A city’s story where boundaries are fading I remember that between 2000 and 2008, an unusual change came over Mingora. During those years the number of transgender people in the city increased, and at night dance gatherings began to take place in different hujras and hotels. After Maghrib and Isha, it became normal to see decorated rickshaws, large vehicles and street corners filled with such scenes. This was during Musharraf’s era. The media was promoting a kind of unrestrained liberalism and “enlightened moderation” that seemed aimed at pleasing the West and the United States to strengthen his rule. The major cities of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa were also affected and Mingora did not remain safe from this wave. It was a time that could be called liberal extremism, and in reaction, religious extremism also surged. Society became trapped between these two extremes and slipped into deeper disorder. During those years, dance CDs featuring Nargis, Deedar and other performers in Lahore were spre...