Man And Monkey

Wandering through the back streets of Peshawar, I came across this little man and his pet monkey. He was a beggar. What struck me was the comparative dignity and complacency he displayed. Perhaps because the standard of living is so low, Pakistani beggars do not suffer the stigma that they would in the west. Pakistanis are, by and large, open, warm, wonderful people with an almost universal impish sense of humor.
I have often thought of this picture as a metaphor for the way Pakistan views its relationship with Afghanistan.