PAKISTAN: A TALE OF TWO VALLEYS
Bumboret (Kalash Valley), 16 May (AKI) - (by Syed Saleem Shahzad) - Passing through the breathtaking landscape of mountains, springs, rivers and lush green fields in northern Pakistan you arrive in the valley known as Kalash. Some 1,500 years ago only a mountain divided the Kalash valley from the nearby Nooristan valley in Afghanistan. Today, on one side of the divide the Kalash people attract tourists with their unique culture and lifestyle in Pakistan's Hindu Kush mountain range, on the other the Nooristan valley has become a haven for Muslim insurgents, and according to sources, a haven for high profile al-Qaeda members.
The Kalash people proclaim with pride that they are the direct descendents of the army of Alexander the Great and have been living there since 327 BC when the mighty military commander passed through the region and left some of his army and people behind. Historians still argue over the legitimacy of the claim, but many list the similarities between Kalash and Greek culture including the common deities, architectural details, music and fair skin.
Standing in the Bumboret valley it's surprising to see how little things have changed for the Kalash people. The valley is also known as Kafirstan (where the Kafir or infidel lives), as many continue with their ancient faiths and traditions, living the way they've done for centuries, with the women dressed in their distinctive black costumes embroidered with characteristic bright yarns.
Just five kilometres from Bumboret are the various villages of the Afghan valley of Nooristan. The residents here are cousins of the Kalash people but they have embraced Islam and adhere to the purist Salafite school of thought.
The Nooristan valley is part of Afghanistan and marks the stronghold of Islamists who put up an intense resistance against the former Soviet occupation. Russian troops were never able to occupy Nooristan, even for a single day.
While Kalash people are still absorbed in their ancient life style and black dress, Nooristanis seek their identity in a global Islamic renaissance. Today Nooristan valley is the hotbed of anti-US movement and well-placed sources believe that many high profile Al-Qaeda members have taken refuge in Nooristan valley.
"Bazgal and Mudagal are the areas in Nooristan where the resistance carried out successful strikes against US convoys," said Abdullah a resident from the Nooristan region.
In 2004, US-led coalition forces were tipped off about the presence of some high profile al-Qaeda members holed up in Bazgal. Ayman al-Zawahiri, Osama bin Laden's right hand man, Abu Ikhlas al-Misri, an Arab man believed to be al-Qaeda's leader in the restive eastern Afghan province of Kunar and others were reported to be there.
US forces informed the Afghan National Army about the operation, as without their assistance reaching Bazgal was impossible as the entire Nooristan valley consists of on thick jungles, mountains and rivers.
The information was leaked and when the US forces cordoned off the suspected complex, it found that the place had been abandoned only just a few hours before.
Aside from the presence of insurgents, the two valleys also have different sources of revenue for their respective economies. When a Pakistani tourist comes back from the Kalash valley, the police scan their vehicles as Kalash valley is famed of its home-made brew, a prohibited drink in Pakistan. This is basis of the Kalash economy as both Pakistanis and foreigners buy alcohol in Kalash at cheap prices. Although, the government of Pakistan does nothing to stop Kalash bootleggers, it does try to prevent Pakistanis from buying the alcohol and bringing it into the nearby Chitral valley.
Alcohol is prohibited and unpopular in Peshdara in the eastern Kunar valley of Afghanistan which borders Nooristan. However they are less hostile towards opium poppies, which are cultivated and sold for more than 250 US dollars per kilogram. While the poppy cultivation is discouraged by the US-led coalition forces, local warlords such as Commander Najamuddin, Jahandad and Malik Zarin Khan supported the administration in Kabul and in return were allowed to grow poppies.
The warlords are forced to share their profits from the poppy cultivation with the Taliban who would otherwise destroy the crops. According to sources, the poppy cultivation forms the backbone of the insurgent economy in the Kunar-Nooristan valleys.
The Kalash people proclaim with pride that they are the direct descendents of the army of Alexander the Great and have been living there since 327 BC when the mighty military commander passed through the region and left some of his army and people behind. Historians still argue over the legitimacy of the claim, but many list the similarities between Kalash and Greek culture including the common deities, architectural details, music and fair skin.
Standing in the Bumboret valley it's surprising to see how little things have changed for the Kalash people. The valley is also known as Kafirstan (where the Kafir or infidel lives), as many continue with their ancient faiths and traditions, living the way they've done for centuries, with the women dressed in their distinctive black costumes embroidered with characteristic bright yarns.
Just five kilometres from Bumboret are the various villages of the Afghan valley of Nooristan. The residents here are cousins of the Kalash people but they have embraced Islam and adhere to the purist Salafite school of thought.
The Nooristan valley is part of Afghanistan and marks the stronghold of Islamists who put up an intense resistance against the former Soviet occupation. Russian troops were never able to occupy Nooristan, even for a single day.
While Kalash people are still absorbed in their ancient life style and black dress, Nooristanis seek their identity in a global Islamic renaissance. Today Nooristan valley is the hotbed of anti-US movement and well-placed sources believe that many high profile Al-Qaeda members have taken refuge in Nooristan valley.
"Bazgal and Mudagal are the areas in Nooristan where the resistance carried out successful strikes against US convoys," said Abdullah a resident from the Nooristan region.
In 2004, US-led coalition forces were tipped off about the presence of some high profile al-Qaeda members holed up in Bazgal. Ayman al-Zawahiri, Osama bin Laden's right hand man, Abu Ikhlas al-Misri, an Arab man believed to be al-Qaeda's leader in the restive eastern Afghan province of Kunar and others were reported to be there.
US forces informed the Afghan National Army about the operation, as without their assistance reaching Bazgal was impossible as the entire Nooristan valley consists of on thick jungles, mountains and rivers.
The information was leaked and when the US forces cordoned off the suspected complex, it found that the place had been abandoned only just a few hours before.
Aside from the presence of insurgents, the two valleys also have different sources of revenue for their respective economies. When a Pakistani tourist comes back from the Kalash valley, the police scan their vehicles as Kalash valley is famed of its home-made brew, a prohibited drink in Pakistan. This is basis of the Kalash economy as both Pakistanis and foreigners buy alcohol in Kalash at cheap prices. Although, the government of Pakistan does nothing to stop Kalash bootleggers, it does try to prevent Pakistanis from buying the alcohol and bringing it into the nearby Chitral valley.
Alcohol is prohibited and unpopular in Peshdara in the eastern Kunar valley of Afghanistan which borders Nooristan. However they are less hostile towards opium poppies, which are cultivated and sold for more than 250 US dollars per kilogram. While the poppy cultivation is discouraged by the US-led coalition forces, local warlords such as Commander Najamuddin, Jahandad and Malik Zarin Khan supported the administration in Kabul and in return were allowed to grow poppies.
The warlords are forced to share their profits from the poppy cultivation with the Taliban who would otherwise destroy the crops. According to sources, the poppy cultivation forms the backbone of the insurgent economy in the Kunar-Nooristan valleys.
posted by Marko at 5/16/2006 03:25:00 PM
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