Afghanistan Asks Pakistan to Change Missile Names

Afghanistan is protesting Pakistan’s practice of naming its nuclear-capable missiles after Afghan heroes, Agence France-Presse reported today (see GSN, Feb. 17).

A letter from Kabul requests that Islamabad rename its nuclear-capable Ghauri and Abdali missiles, said Afghan Information and Culture Minister Sayed Makhdom Raheen. Mohammad Ghauri was a 12th-century conqueror of India from Afghanistan, while Ahmad Shah Abdali in the 18th century led invasions of India and founded the Pashtun dynasty.

Another Pakistani missile is named after Mahmud Ghaznavi, an invader of India who died in southern Afghanistan in 1030.

“Afghan kings and emperors such as Ghauri, Abdali and Ghaznavi spread art and civilization across the subcontinent. Their names should not be used for tools of war and killing,” Raheen said (Agence France-Presse/Yahoo!News, Feb. 23).

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