Khan was no hero.

• Position: Letters to the Editor

I was rather amused to read the hagiographic representation of Abdul Ghaffar Khan in your magazine ("A Pacifist Uncovered," by Amitabh Pal, February issue). As a Pakistani citizen, I take strong exception to certain comments that Pal made.

Khan was a Pashtun ethnonationalist whose legacy is the destabilization of Pakistan's North-West Frontier Province, which in no small way is responsible for the Taliban debacle.

Pakistan can do well to follow the constitutional and secular democratic vision of its founder, Barrister Mohammed Ali Jinnah, who at one time was known as the "Best Ambassador of Hindu-Muslim Unity" and who envisaged an amiable relationship between sovereign India and sovereign Pakistan.

Yasser Latif Hamdani New Brunswick, New Jersey As a Pakistani, I am intrigued by the vast exposure that Abdul Ghaffar Khan is getting from the media. However, I would disagree with Amitabh Pal when he said that Khan "has a lot to offer, not least to the leaders of India and Pakistan."

Undoubtedly, Gandhi's message of nonviolence and mutual reconciliation between belligerents like Pakistan and India has a lot to offer, but Khan has no politically valuable...