Pakistan has said it will not rename some of its missiles, despite objections from Kabul which says Afghan heroes’ names are being misused.
A spokeswoman in Islamabad said the two countries shared heroes as part of their common history and culture.
Afghan Information Minister Sayed Makhdum Rahin had asked Islamabad not to link Afghan rulers’ names with “tools of destruction and killing”.
The missiles are named after Muslim conquerors who defeated Hindu rulers.
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**She said the Muslim conquerors were heroes in both countries and naming missiles after them was not controversial.
The grave of one of the conquerors, Ghauri, was in Pakistan’s Punjab province and so to say they were solely Afghan heroes was not correct, Ms Aslam added.**
Mr Rahin said on Wednesday he had sent a letter to Islamabad asking for the missile names to be changed.
I think some Afghanis need to stop taking heroin sometime. Such stupid calls for renaming missiles from other countries could only be made when someone is in entranched state of mind.
These crack-heads are trying to "nationalize" the historical figures when their nation did not even exist at that time.
Right you are!
and how many pushtoons in pakistan are descended from these afghan warlords
by the same logic sher shah suri and the Lodhis are also afghani and not Indian rulers
In case the "Afghan" government did not know Pakistan is home upto 25 million Pashto-speakers, while Afghanistan has barely half that number at 13 milion. We have more right than them to call anything by Afghan/Pashto names any day, so they can stuff it.
Afghan govt is just spitting more and more acid into the fray.. They should be trying to improve relations not bring up these stupid differences... Nonissues!
AS an avid reader of your newspaper, I found an article and subsequent editorial on Afghanistan asking Pakistan to stop naming its missiles after Afghan heroes very interesting.
No country ever names missiles after its invaders. Also readers should note that the Indian missile “Prithvi” is so named because the word ‘Prithvi’ in Sanskrit means land. It is named after one of the four elements of life — the other three being fire, water and air — and has nothing to do with the Hindu king Prithviraj Chauhan.
Instead of naming missiles after invaders, why not name them after great Pakistani generals like 23 Division chief Gen Eftikhar who fought well in 1971 and overran Indian positions in Chhamb? Another example is Nishan-i-Haider recipient Captain Karnal Sher Khan who defended his positions at Kargil in 1999 against Indian attacks, and was even commended for his bravery by the Indian army chief.
As an Indian, I dare say that we salute such soldiers, even though they fought on the opposite side. Pakistan should honour those who gave their today for Pakistan’s tommorrow. Pakistani people should be proud of their history and name (if at all they want to) monuments and missiles after their home-bred heroes.
VIKRAM RATHORE
Toronto, Canada
(III)
IT would be a folly to believe that the Indian missile Prithvi is named after Prithvi Raj. It is named after the elements of nature. In fact, two other missiles ‘Agni’ (fire) and ‘Akash’ (sky) are also named after the elements.
Mr queer, let's hope both countries never launch these missiles against each other. Otherwise, the alphabets printed on the missile are going to be least of our concerns.
Friend, please do not expect a logical discourse from these hate-filled maharajs. Especially those who come to Pakistani forums. Their only purpose is to cause mischief.
