Two-day Pashto conference set to kick off today

[Toramana]

Ashraf Ghani is assumed to be CIA/US man. Isn't he?

[randolph85]

it will end the war

it wont hurt but its not an end all to our problems. afghan pashtuns have been fighting each other for a very long time, and pakistani pashtuns are now fighting each other. combining the 2 doesnt automatically equal a peaceful political environment nor does it address more pressing issues such as poverty.

[randolph85]

Ashraf Ghani is assumed to be CIA/US man. Isn't he?

he is a favorite of washington but he is harmless and relatively unknown in afg. the afg govt should use him for his economic smarts, if they arent already.

[graveyardofempires]

it wont hurt but its not an end all to our problems. afghan pashtuns have been fighting each other for a very long time, and pakistani pashtuns are now fighting each other. combining the 2 doesnt automatically equal a peaceful political environment nor does it address more pressing issues such as poverty.

are you saying that that we can solve our problems withour having peace?
those fightings are also due to durrand line.

[gadoonwal]

Ashraf Ghani is assumed to be CIA/US man. Isn't he?

He has something good in his mind for pashtuns and for all the people of afghanistan.
If he was ,,cia,,agent etc according to you then he should be in the Presidential Palace today where father of carruptin and ex ,,isi,,agent (karzai) is today.
You make statments from your bedroom saiba.In his short time as a minister check his history how he manage the afghan ecenomy.
He never like karzai for his carruption.


you know why you and your lords (us etc) like carrupt leaders ?
So they can return the same money back into their acounts in US etc.
angreez da tawan soda na kawi bacha.

[Toramana]

it wont hurt but its not an end all to our problems. afghan pashtuns have been fighting each other for a very long time, and pakistani pashtuns are now fighting each other. combining the 2 doesnt automatically equal a peaceful political environment nor does it address more pressing issues such as poverty.

randolph85, I think the fighting is more between non-Pashtuns and Pashtuns at least to the extent of Afghanistan although the religious section gained ascedency as the rep of Pashtuns because moderate Pashtun leadership got eliminated...

And you think keeping the two divided is sure way to peace? Isn't the opposite true i.e., as long as Pashtuns are divided, there is little guarantee of peace....

I mean why are you adament on keeping them divided although from non-Pashtun perspective that may be a profitable options...

[Toramana]

http://amntv.org/index.php?option=co...id=42&Itemid=2

http://amntv.org/index.php?option=co...id=45&Itemid=2

http://amntv.org/index.php?option=co...id=44&Itemid=2

[Toramana]

http://www.thenews.com.pk/TodaysPrin...=4%2F30%2F2011

PESHAWAR: Pakhtun leaders and intellectuals from different parts of the country and abroad on Friday called for practical steps to restore peace in the region and bring an end to the uncertainty in the Pakhtun belt.

Addressing the World Pashto Peace Conference at Nishtar Hall, they said Pakhtuns on both sides of the Durand Line were made a scapegoat for the wrongs of others and unending suffering had been unleashed upon them.

The speakers said that Pakhtuns were peace loving while dubbing them terrorists and extremists was a grave injustice. They said that through a conspiracy a war had been imposed upon the Pakhtuns in a bid to keep them backward and usurp their resources.

In his speech, Chief Minister Ameer Haider Hoti said that Pakhtuns were peaceful people and wanted peace on their soil. He said terror could be defeated with unity, solidarity and education.

The chief minister said there was need for political reforms in Fata with consent of the tribal people. “We can solve our problems for which we don’t need any dictation. All the political parties should come forward for maintaining peace,” he added.

He said holding the conference at the critical juncture of the history of Pakhtuns was important as it reflected the message that the Pakhtuns were neither terrorist nor wanted terrorism. He said basic aim of the conference was bringing about peace, which was desire of every Pakhtun. He said that after Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979 and the events of 9/11, the situation in Afghanistan and Waziristan was totally ignored. “Had we tackled the problem in time, the situation today would have not been so complicated. Confession of these historical mistakes and its correction was inevitable,” he argued.

Hoti said peace in Afghanistan was linked with peace in Pakistan. He said no alien force had the right to decide the fate of Afghanistan. “For the peace in tribal belt, political and administrative reforms were inevitable in keeping with the will of tribal people. It is heartening that the people at large had become united to defeat terror,” he said.

The chief minister said that the present government had given its due status to the mother tongues and beside Pashto other regional languages had also been included in the syllabus. Earlier, he formally inaugurated the two-day conference, organised by World Pashto Congress, an association of Pakhtun writers, poets and Intellectuals. On his arrival, pigeons and balloons were released in the air.

Famous writers and intellectuals of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan besides Afghanistan, United Arab Emirates, Britain, United States, Russia, Germany and other countries are participating in the conference. Senior politician and ANP leader Muhammad Afzal Khan Lala said the current wave of terrorism had affected the whole region, but Pakhtun belt was the worst affected. He said peace in the region could not be ensured until Pakistan, India and Afghanistan stop interference in each other’s affairs.

The senior politician said all Pakhtuns irrespective of their political thoughts should join hands for peace and development. He said more than 2.8 million people had been killed in the war in Afghanistan and millions displaced and now this blood shed should be stopped.

He suggested holding a grand jirga of Pakhtuns having representation from all segments of the society to discuss ways and means for lasting peace in the region, especially in Pakhtun belt. The jirga could be held in Peshawar, Quetta or Kandahar, Kabul and Jalalabad, he added.

Other speakers included Information Minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain, Bakhtanay Khidmatgar from Afghanistan, Dr Khadim Hussain, Khawaja Muhammad Khan Hoti, Asad Afridi of PPP-Sherpao, Rahmat Salam Khattak from PML-N, Hamza Marwat, Aseer Mangal and Sagir Tanqeedi and JUI-F’s Jalil Jan

[randolph85]

randolph85, I think the fighting is more between non-Pashtuns and Pashtuns at least to the extent of Afghanistan although the religious section gained ascedency as the rep of Pashtuns because moderate Pashtun leadership got eliminated...

And you think keeping the two divided is sure way to peace? Isn't the opposite true i.e., as long as Pashtuns are divided, there is little guarantee of peace....

I mean why are you adament on keeping them divided although from non-Pashtun perspective that may be a profitable options...

i am not adament on keeping them divided, i would love to see a unification but i am not naive enough to think it will solve all the problems that pashtuns face like some people here. there are priorities which must be addressed in a timely manner. i think most pashtuns in afg and pak have other concerns on their minds than the durand line issue. poverty, education, health, economy, infrastructure... this is priority #1.

[Toramana]

Hundreds of Pashto scholars, writers, and poets from Afghanistan, Pakistan, the United Arab Emirates, and other countries gathered in Pakistan's northern city of Peshawar on April 29 for a two-day peace conference, RFE/RL's Radio Mashaal reports.

The conference, inaugurated by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Province Chief Minister
Amir Haidar Khan Hoti, is organized by the World Pashto Congress.

In his opening address, Hoti said there is still time for leaders to bring the situation in the northwestern Waziristan region -- which has been the scene of deadly violence in recent years -- under control.

If they fail, he said, the flames raging in Waziristan will spread to the rest of Pakistan. "The trouble appeared in Waziristan after the 9/11 [terrorist attacks against the United States]. If it had been brought under control at that time we would not witness the destruction that we are witnessing today," Hoti said.

Referring to the presence of militants in Waziristan and other tribal areas, Hoti said mistakes committed in the past can cause colossal harm if repeated in the future.

"On this occasion, the Pashtuns would like to give a message to Pakistan's [rulers] not to repeat the past mistakes [in Waziristan]. If they think the flames of the fire will be restricted to the KP, they are wrong, as they would not stop here," Hoti said.

Peshawar's Nishtar Hall, where the conference is taking place, was closed to cultural activities during the government of the Muttahidda Majlis-e-Amal religious alliance.

But it was reopened to the public by the present government in 2008 for concerts, theater performances, and poetry competitions.

http://www.rferl.org/content/pakista.../16798599.html

[Admin Khan]

Any live coverage?

[Toramana]

Admn Khan, will try to find something---so far could find nothing except the links that I already posted...

[Toramana]

Admin Khan, here is some coverage.

http://www.amntv.org/