[ksaj]

I think it is we who decided it is a racist word. I was a guest instructor in a university class in Islamabad, and people there used that word quite casually. It surprised me how often I heard it, but also that it was never treated in a negative manner. An important differentiator is that they weren't using it as a label to call each other maliciously, but more to denote that something is from Pakistan.

Perhaps at least in this case, intent has everything to do with its interpretation. I still don't use the word because that nuance is too easily missed.

Probably both cultures (which apparently are directly related, in terms of overlapping histories) are aware of words like this, and not likely to confuse them for ill intent. A little like how Canadian Anglophone children make fun of the French word for 'seal', but Francophones who also use the English swear word that it sounds like clearly know when you're swearing, versus when you're talking about a seal.