Archives
Funeral feasts for the priests
Do be sure
To be secure of fate
Before you embrace
The subtle curvature
Of time and space.
– Nadeem Rahman in History
Uncle Sam is more engaged with Southasia today than ever before. Before taking even routine decisions, Hamid Karzai looks towards Washington for a nod of approval. General Musharraf swears his loyalty at every opportunity—he went to the extent of dismantling a Pakistani idol, and his own "hero", Abdul Qadeer Khan—to remain in the good books of the Pentagon. Together, Karzai and Musharraf have taken it upon themselves to let Americans have a free run of the Hindukush region on the pretext of a combined hunt for Osama bin Laden.