China hands over 14 JF-17 two seater fighters to Pakistan.

[red750]

The link on Facebook went to a youtube "Breaking News" video dated 30/12/2020 in Pakistani language.

 

[facthunter]

Partitioning India has had ongoing consequences and not solved much. You can contrast one system with the other and governance of Pakistan does not seem to be progressing that well. Imran Kahn (the cricketer) doesn't seem to be getting far at trying to get stability. Alignments are forming all over the world. Are we heading for the "BIG Madness" Bunfight that will destroy us all? Nev

[onetrack]

The partitioning of Pakistan came about as a decision by the British, simply because the Muslims and the Hindus were well on the way to civil war in India, pre the partition. They still hate each others guts, but at least they can do it from different countries now.

The Muslims refuse to acknowledge our democratic style of sectarian Govts, both in India and any Western countries - they believe that Islam is religion and Govt all rolled up into one.

Those Pakistani Muslims are really quite crazy, you only have to see the way they go ballistic in groups of tens of thousands, if any Westerner burns a Koran, or otherwise insults Islam. They are permanently one short fuse away from blowing up.

[Marty_d]

That may be true, but both India and Pakistan are nuclear powers and neither has (so far) dropped the big one on the other.

I think that when it comes to government-level people, pragmatism will overcome pure dogma.  The old cold war theory of Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD), although a horrific and risky premise, holds especially true here.  Unless you're a full on true believer (and my theory is that most people in any government aren't) then the thought that any nuclear attack on the other guy is going to bring about total destruction of your own country is a sobering proposition.

Border skirmishes and the occasional durka-durka's shooting up a hotel are one thing, going to all-out war is another thing entirely.

[Jerry_Atrick]

@onetrack - my understanding was that India and Pakistan split very soon after India obtained independence - and that Ghandi was intent on keeping them together. The news we get from Pakistan is the horrific stuff that goes on and to be frank, is allowed to go on. I dodged a bullet in having work send me to Karachi. But a close colleague was sent there for a pre-sales demo and consulting.. and when he came back, he mentioned that it was a lot better than the media portrays. As with most poorer and third world countries, most of the crazy stuff happens in the rural and remote areas.. where education is poor and the authorities have little care of. Having said that, he wasn't in a hurry to return any time, soon.

 

The Indians and the Pakistanis do hate each other.. with a vengance. I was on a client site in Abu Dhabi and installing some kit. There was an Indian and a Pakistani - one was a manager and the other his subbordinate - I can't recall which was which. Well, I handed the subordinate a 3.5" disk with hand written instructions of how to install the monitoring software on a PC. I tested the server was working fine but for some reason, the subordinate became visibly nervous.. As I was walking over to see what was wrong, the manager leaned over and asked what was happening.. His subordinate was quivering and said the software install wasn't working. This was rapidly met wth a slap to the back of the head - not a joiking one - but with almost his whole force - pushing the subordinates head forward to almost hitting the monitor (an old CRT one).

 

"What the F! Why difd you do that?" I yelled at the asshole. He gave one of those gallic shrugs - "He is paid to do his job - if he doesn't do it, this is what happend!".

 

I was ropable...  "You can't do that... you d!phead!".. and I rushed over and asked what the subordinate did.. Almost now stuttering, he said "I followed your instructions.." I took a look at them and you have probably guessed, I omitted a vital step. I made this known to his manager abd asked would he like to take a pop at me.. He backed away a bit..

 

Now, I am only 5'6" and apart from adding a bit to my grith in my latter years, I am not built like a bick poop-house, nor am I an intimidating nor imposing personality, But I walked up to this sad excuse of a person and virtually nose to nose said in a very calm and soft voice - just lound enough for the subordinate to hear me - "If I see or hear of this behavior again, I will effin punch you in the face so hard, you'ss be breathing from the back of your head... and I know you can't touch a pinkie..."

 

A pinkie is what white expats were called... And there is (or was) a pecking order - locals, pinkies, and the rest... If anyone from "the rest" touvhed a pinkie, they were in big touble..

 

When I got back to my temporary office (I was only there for 2 weeks), I spoke to my Egyptian chaperone who was aboslutely lovely, and nonchalantly, she told me it was normal behaviour...

 

That (and a couple of other thigns I observed)  in a progressive and western-ish Arab nation is why I will never return... unless I am broke beyond belief.