One of the most amazing aspects of the Internet is its ability to bring people together who would never meet otherwise. My very first article about the Internet resulted in my being contacted by an African man who was then working for Hitachi in Japan.I met Agha Amin through an invitation to contribute to his blog, Low Intensity Conflict, somewhere in the middle of 2008. When I told him the photo at the top of his blog was too large (the aftermath of a suicide bomber) and took too long to download, he had it fixed by the next day. It intrigued me how humble, undefensive and open Agha was.
A retired Pakistan army officer, Major Amin was born in Karachi, Pakistan in September, 1961. Like me, he is a writer who graduated with a Fine Arts degree, though he's on the other side of the world, Forman Christian College of Lahore, 1980.
His favorite hobbies today include reading (favorite book War & Peace), music, scotch, trekking, walking, and squash. The following is an interview with this astute man from half a world away.
ennyman: What is the meaning of Low Intensity Conflict Review
Agha: Initially the idea was to discuss the low intensity conflict in Asia. However later a blog member Wil , a lady from the USA questioned the idea and I thought that the idea of the blog should be wider. This lady Wil also did the layout of the blog.
ennyman: When did you start this blog and what prompted you to do it?
Agha: The idea of starting the blog was to interact with people, put my writings on the blog and learn something from others with similar interests. I had learnt about blogging from BBC radio in Kabul in 2006. Actually, initially I had put all my essays on a Yahoo group which I started in October 2005 while i was in Kabul. Frankly I did not know what a blog was when I read some blogs while searching Google in November 2007.
ennyman: What is the biggest thing you have learned since starting this blog?
Agha: The biggest thing that I have learnt is that no knowledge is perfect at every stage in life. You are ignorant about many things and that learning is a lifelong process.
ennyman: When we think of Pakistan, we don’t readily picture school people playing hockey or squash. How widespread are these sports and what other sports are popular in Pakistan?
Agha: In Pakistan the popular sport is cricket which every type of people play. This is a passion, although I do not like it. The next most popular sports are hockey (British type) and football. I have played squash and some badminton. Then there are some more specialized sports like polo and golf. Polo and golf are very cheap for army officers as they can use the army golf clubs and horses. For all others these are expensive. Golf is very cheap for an army officer again, serving or retired , and he can play golf with something like 35 or 45 USD a month including the caddy who carries the kit. These sports are expensive however for civilians. However, polo is very cheap in northern areas including Hunza where every village has a team. There polo is a national sport.
ennyman: When did you begin writing and what kinds of writing do you do?
Agha: I started serious reading around 1973 at age of 12 and started writing around 1975. However as is normal in Pakistan new writers are always discouraged and not published. I wrote many research papers for my seniors in military academy which they published in their own name. My first writing was published as letters to editor in Pakistan army journal in December 1989. First article was published in Pakistan army journal in March 1991. First article in the more exclusive staff college journal Citadel was published in March 1994. Then I was editor of a monthly globe from August 2001 and also of defence journal from August 2001 till May 2002.
I also wrote for newspapers although the papers in Pakistan never pay you in between June 2001 and June 2004. I was also editor of The Journal of Afghanistan Studies in Kabul from June 2004 till September 2005.
ennyman: It all sounds very interesting. What kind of role did you play in the Afghan war against the Soviets in the 1980’s? I know Pakistan had its hands full with refugees.
Agha: During the Afghan war I was in a tank corps and not directly involved except training some Mujaheddin on Soviet BMP tactics as an instructor in tank school in 1990-81. My second cousin Salman was the main man in training these bastards.
ennyman: There are many who believe Osama Bin Laden is alive and well somewhere in Pakistan. Where do you believe he is? Do you think the United States will find him or do they have a different game plan?
Agha: I don't think that OBL is alive. If alive, he is in a main Pakistani or UAE city.
ennyman: The Mumbai tragedy certainly ratcheted up tensions between India and Pakistan again. What will it take to bring a lasting peace between these two nations?
Agha: The Mumbai affair will have long term effects on Indo Pak relations and negative ones.
ennyman: I see that you are a retired major, yet you are quite young. What do you plan to do with the rest of your life?
Agha: My plans are not clear. I want to relocate to some other country, however.
Thank you for your time and your ongoing efforts to bring illumination to issues that are often complex and hidden.
His favorite hobbies today include reading (favorite book War & Peace), music, scotch, trekking, walking, and squash. The following is an interview with this astute man from half a world away.
ennyman: What is the meaning of Low Intensity Conflict ReviewAgha: Initially the idea was to discuss the low intensity conflict in Asia. However later a blog member Wil , a lady from the USA questioned the idea and I thought that the idea of the blog should be wider. This lady Wil also did the layout of the blog.
ennyman: When did you start this blog and what prompted you to do it?
Agha: The idea of starting the blog was to interact with people, put my writings on the blog and learn something from others with similar interests. I had learnt about blogging from BBC radio in Kabul in 2006. Actually, initially I had put all my essays on a Yahoo group which I started in October 2005 while i was in Kabul. Frankly I did not know what a blog was when I read some blogs while searching Google in November 2007.
ennyman: What is the biggest thing you have learned since starting this blog?
Agha: The biggest thing that I have learnt is that no knowledge is perfect at every stage in life. You are ignorant about many things and that learning is a lifelong process.
ennyman: When we think of Pakistan, we don’t readily picture school people playing hockey or squash. How widespread are these sports and what other sports are popular in Pakistan?
Agha: In Pakistan the popular sport is cricket which every type of people play. This is a passion, although I do not like it. The next most popular sports are hockey (British type) and football. I have played squash and some badminton. Then there are some more specialized sports like polo and golf. Polo and golf are very cheap for army officers as they can use the army golf clubs and horses. For all others these are expensive. Golf is very cheap for an army officer again, serving or retired , and he can play golf with something like 35 or 45 USD a month including the caddy who carries the kit. These sports are expensive however for civilians. However, polo is very cheap in northern areas including Hunza where every village has a team. There polo is a national sport.
ennyman: When did you begin writing and what kinds of writing do you do?
Agha: I started serious reading around 1973 at age of 12 and started writing around 1975. However as is normal in Pakistan new writers are always discouraged and not published. I wrote many research papers for my seniors in military academy which they published in their own name. My first writing was published as letters to editor in Pakistan army journal in December 1989. First article was published in Pakistan army journal in March 1991. First article in the more exclusive staff college journal Citadel was published in March 1994. Then I was editor of a monthly globe from August 2001 and also of defence journal from August 2001 till May 2002.
I also wrote for newspapers although the papers in Pakistan never pay you in between June 2001 and June 2004. I was also editor of The Journal of Afghanistan Studies in Kabul from June 2004 till September 2005.
ennyman: It all sounds very interesting. What kind of role did you play in the Afghan war against the Soviets in the 1980’s? I know Pakistan had its hands full with refugees.Agha: During the Afghan war I was in a tank corps and not directly involved except training some Mujaheddin on Soviet BMP tactics as an instructor in tank school in 1990-81. My second cousin Salman was the main man in training these bastards.
ennyman: There are many who believe Osama Bin Laden is alive and well somewhere in Pakistan. Where do you believe he is? Do you think the United States will find him or do they have a different game plan?
Agha: I don't think that OBL is alive. If alive, he is in a main Pakistani or UAE city.
ennyman: The Mumbai tragedy certainly ratcheted up tensions between India and Pakistan again. What will it take to bring a lasting peace between these two nations?
Agha: The Mumbai affair will have long term effects on Indo Pak relations and negative ones.
ennyman: I see that you are a retired major, yet you are quite young. What do you plan to do with the rest of your life?
Agha: My plans are not clear. I want to relocate to some other country, however.
Thank you for your time and your ongoing efforts to bring illumination to issues that are often complex and hidden.
No comments:
Post a Comment