Friday, 20 March 2009

• Photos of Pakistan's exotics: Pathans, Shias & Sufis

  Thanks for Rozina for posting this on her blog.
  
  http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2009/02/scenes_from_pakistan.html
  
  

  February 18, 2009

  Scenes from Pakistan

  The government of Pakistan announced on Monday that it would accept Islamic Sharia Law to be implemented in its Swat Valley region, as part of a truce with local Taliban leaders. Militants had been demanding Sharia law, attacking opponents, burning scores of girls' schools and banning many forms of entertainment. Gun battles between Pakistani security forces and militants have killed hundreds, while up to a third of the valley's 1.5 million people have fled. A nuclear power with a growing economy, Pakistan's government is still struggling for control of the country, coping with internal clashes and terrorism, that can bleed over and involve neighbors and allies, including militant attacks in India, and excursions into Afghanistan - inviting U.S. military operations that follow the attackers back into Pakistan. Collected here are 40 recent photos from Pakistan, with a special acknowledgement to the artistry of AP Photographer Emilio Morenatti. (40 photos total)

  

  
  

  Imran Zargul, 71, from the Pakistani tribal region of Bajur waits for donated food during a distribution at the Jalozai refugee camp near Peshawar, Pakistan, Friday, Feb. 13, 2009. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

  

  
  

  5

  Shiite Muslim worshippers celebrate the end of Ashura by pounding their hands on their chest during a procession in Islamabad , Pakistan, on Sunday, Feb. 15, 2009. The holiday of Ashura is a time when Shiites remember the death in A.D. 680 of Imam Hussein, a grandson of the Prophet Muhammad, the event that led to the split in Islam between Shiites and Sunni Muslims. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti) #

  

  
  

  6

  A Pakistani vendor waits for customers as he holds heart-shaped balloons on a street in Islamabad on February 14, 2009. Valentine's Day has gained popularity in Muslim-dominated Pakistan recently. (Farooq Naeem/AFP/Getty Images) #

  

  
  

  9

  A Pakistani man waits for customers at his photo studio decorated with film stars in Peshawar, Pakistan, Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2009. Entertainers in northwest Pakistan have been kidnapped and killed by Taliban-led militants, while others have fled, quit or watched work opportunities dwindle. Criminal gangs seeking to extort money are believed to have gotten in on the act as overall security deteriorates. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti) #

  

  
  

  10

  Afghan refugees weave carpet at the Kochi refugee camp on the outskirts of Karachi, Pakistan February 12, 2009. There are two million Afghans now in Pakistan, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees said. (REUTERS/Athar Hussain) #

  

  11

  Afghan refugee children play in the Kochi refugee camp on the outskirts of Karachi February 12, 2009. (REUTERS/Athar Hussain) #

  

  12

  Thousands of local residents hold a rally against the ongoing Pakistani military operations, demanding peace in the region, in Barikot near Mingora, in Pakistan's troubled Swat Valley on Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2009. Pakistan's military has vowed to reinvigorate its efforts in Swat, a formerly peaceful region where Taliban militants have gained ground during 18 months of fighting. (AP Photo/Sherin Zada) #

  

  
  

  13

  A Pakistani man waits next to his tools to be hired as a day laborer in a street in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2009. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti) #

  

  14

  Muslim devotees light oil lamps at the shrine of Muslim saint Data Ganj Bakhsh in Lahore February 14, 2009. Thousands of devotees from all over the country were expected to attend the three-day festival to mark the anniversary of the death of the saint. (REUTERS/Mohsin Raza) #

  

  
  

  16

  Hands reach up for free food handouts at the shrine of the Muslim saint Data Ganj Bakhsh in Lahore February 15, 2009. (REUTERS/Mohsin Raza) #

  

  
  

  20

  A devotee smokes hashish at the shrine of Muslim saint Data Ganj Bakhsh in Lahore February 16, 2009. (REUTERS/Mohsin Raza) #

  

  
  

  27

  A Pakistani barber cuts the hair of a boy in a barber shop on the outskirts of Islamabad, Pakistan, Friday, Jan. 31, 2009. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti) #

  

  
  

  29

  A Pakistani man peels corncobs in a vegetables market in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, Sunday, Jan. 25, 2009. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti) 

  

  
  

  35

  An Afghan soldier stands guard at the border with Pakistan near Nawapass village, Kunar province, in eastern Afghanistan February 6, 2009. (REUTERS/Oleg Popov) #

  

  
  

  36

  A Shiite Muslim worshipper flagellates himself with knives to celebrate the end of Ashura during a procession in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, on Monday, Feb. 16, 2009. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti) #

  

  
  

  38

  People walk past a boy playing marbles in the street in Rawalpindi , Pakistan, Monday, Feb. 16, 2009. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti) #

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