The Indus Heartland and Karakoram Country 21

successful attempt of Nanga Parbat occurred in 1953 by a combined German

and Austrian expedition.

8. The epicenter of the 2005 earthquake was in the town of Balakot, toward

the south of the mountain and lying in the proximity of Muzaffarabad, the

capital of Azad Kashmir.

9. The Line of Control (LOC) dividing Indian and Pakistani parts of Kashmir

passes to the south of most of these glaciers, although Siachin is contested

by both neighbors. More soldiers have been killed on Siachin by frostbite than

as a result of gun battles that have gone on since 1984. For details, see Robert

G. Wirsing, India, Pakistan and the Kashmir Dispute (London: Macmillan,

1994).

10. The Karakoram Highway is virtually built on glaciers at places such as

Passu and often requires rebuilding not just because of landslides but also

because of the glacial movements.

11. For a useful discussion on languages and ethnic identification, see Tariq

Rahman, Language and Politics in Pakistan (Karachi: Oxford University Press,

1996). Just making language as the only anchor for ethnic identity will be fallacious

as economy, politics, geography, and class all play their respective roles

in such a trajectory. See, Feroz Ahmed, Ethnicity and Politics in Pakistan (Karachi:

Oxford University Press, 1998).

12. The founder of Sikhism was born in Nankana Sahib, 26 miles outside

Lahore. Lahore has some temples dating from the Sikh period in the early

nineteenth century, whereas Hassan Abdal houses the Punja Sahib, the third

most sacred Sikh temple (Gurdawara). Lahore also boasts a few splendid

churches and cathedrals besides some other known monuments representing

traditional and modern architectural designs.

13. Plural of a Muhajir that literally means an immigrant.

14. For more on ethnic pluralism, especially in Sindh during the 1980s and

1990s, see Iftikhar H. Malik, State and Civil Society in Pakistan: Politics of Authority,

Ideology and Ethnicity (Oxford: St. Antony’s-Macmillan Series, 1997).

15. It is believed that there are more Baloch living in the Lyari area of Karachi

than in the entire province.

16. According to Sunni tradition, an imam is the one who leads prayers but

according to Shia views, an imam is a spiritual as well as an earthly leader

whose words are to be followed on all religious and civic matters. The Aga

Khanis are a smaller community of Shia Muslims, who are known for their

higher educational and financial achievements. “The Aga Khan” was the British

title for the leader of the Ismaili Shias, whose followers happen to be in

several regions; the Imam himself lives in Paris.

17. Tariq Rahman, Language, Education and Culture (Karachi: Oxford University

Press, 1999).

18. For many Western observers, these seminaries have become the home

of a militant culture. See, Peter W. Singer, Pakistan’s Madrasahs: Ensuring.