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| India-Pakistan |
| Circumcision no longer acid test to identify Indian spies |
| 2009-04-10 |
| ISLAMABAD: In the past, jubilant Pakistani authorities have announced that foreign (read Indian) agents were involved in explosions and attacks in the restive Swat region based on examination of the corpses of the killed attackers. But the “acid test” cops and officials used to determine whether any of the dead ones was Indian was to check whether the man had been circumcised. If not, they would summarily dub him Hindu and therefore an Indian agent. But as more such cases showed up, in places where there was not a ghost of a chance of any Indian involvement, doctors and officials began to worry about the methodology. It’s then that they stumbled on a little-known anthropological fact about Pashtun tribes in Waziristan, from where many of the Tehreek-e-Taliban or Pakistani Taliban come. It appears that many in the backward tribal areas of the country like Waziristan don’t undergo the mandatory circumcision that all Muslim males should undergo. The story took a rather comic turn when some of government’s own injured paramilitary soldiers, when examined, were found to be uncircumcised. This was especially true of wounded soldiers of the Frontier Constabulary from Waziristan, engaged in fighting Taliban militants. Kamran Khan, a legislator from Waziristan in Pakistan’s lower house of parliament, told the Times of India that many in the poor tribal areas fail to undergo circumcision because it is either not mandated in their tribal codes or because in many villages there are neither hospitals or even barbers, who perform most circumcisions in rural areas. ‘‘People are either circumcised in hospitals or barbers do the job. Neither we have hospitals in Waziristan nor institution of barbers,’’ Khan said, adding that poor people of Waziristan can’t afford to take their male children to other areas for circumcision. |
| Posted by:john frum |
| #10 It's like they got their intel from State Department! /sarc |
| Posted by: Charles 2009-04-10 21:50 |
| #9 Ah. So that's why they're called Foreign Hand™ now instead... |
| Posted by: tu3031 2009-04-10 21:26 |
| #8 Oh, yeah, good stuff..solid doctrine. I can see 'em all now at CSI islamabad... "That tallywhacker had a mole on it. And that mole is the key to it." "Call devision, have them send over a sketch artist. We'll put up wanted posters all over kashmir..big letters..'Have You Seen This Prick?' " "Great idea sarge! We won't let that prick slip through our fingers again!" |
| Posted by: swksvolFF 2009-04-10 21:10 |
| #7 Told you there was a reason why the Talibs shouldn't kill all the barbers ... |
| Posted by: Steve White 2009-04-10 20:06 |
| #6 Circumcision by acid? Ouch! |
| Posted by: Barbara Skolaut 2009-04-10 19:37 |
| #5 *rimshot* Eric Jablow, ladies and gentlemen, he's here all week - try the |
| Posted by: Frank G 2009-04-10 19:19 |
| #4 Perhaps Israel should export mohels as a gesture of goodwill. They work for tips. |
| Posted by: Eric Jablow 2009-04-10 19:01 |
| #3 avoid Supercuts |
| Posted by: Frank G 2009-04-10 18:30 |
| #2 That's why they were doing this at the Lahore Police Academy |
| Posted by: john frum 2009-04-10 18:19 |
| #1 Neither we have hospitals in Waziristan nor institution of barbers You don't need that - just a knife. Lorena Bobbit can give you lessons. |
| Posted by: Glenmore 2009-04-10 18:15 |