Clergy and intelligence agencies are playing dirty game on the blood of innocent Pashtun

Clergy and intelligence agencies are playing dirty game on the blood of innocent PashtunBy Zar ali khan musazai
We strongly condemn the inhuman incident of car bomb in Peshawar city in which more than 100 innocent civilian mostly women and children martyred and more than 200 seriously wounded. Pashtun Democratic Council... consider it as a genocide of the Pashtun nation by the barbarian negative and anti-Pashtun forces which are bent upon to annihilate this nation but one has to understand that neither Changez khan nor Sikandar have ever succeeded to annihilate this nation. Those terrorists who are playing as agents of the conspirators who are sitting miles away from the pashtun area should try to understand that playing havoc with own nation is treachery. Today Pashtun ask the question as to who are doing this barbarism with them. The answer is simple that only and only Pakistani establishment, military, ISI and their partner militants (Terrorists) are responsible for this enmity against Pashtun. Pakistani religious clerics and religious parties are trying to hoodwink the people and international community about the real situations. In Pakistan mulla-military have formed an alliance to wipe out the pashtun. Mulla has been working for the nefarious designs of the ISI and establishment. ISI and Pakistan never ever want to see a prosperous, developed and peaceful democratic Afghanistan and for this purpose these two forces with the connivance of some hidden forces have joined hands to sabotage the development in the region. Today we hear religious parties in Pakistan asking Americans to go back to America from Afghanistan and at same time they denounce Lugar bill. American forces are sitting in more than 100 countries of the world but no where there happens any violence or opposition to American forces but here in Pakistan clergy is mobilizing people against the Americans and international community. It means that Pakistan through its clergy sees the dream to the capture Afghanistan after the departure of the Americans. All the nationalist and democratic Secular political and tribal Pashtun are being or have been assassinated by the notorious hands of the terrorists. The sole aim of self made insurgency in Pashtun region is the handi work of the intelligence agencies and it is quite foolish to believe that Americans and Indians are doing it. No one except the Pakistani intelligence agencies are responsible. This is just to befool the people and international community and divert the attention from the real players in region. Today we see that a particular religious party Jumati Islami, known as B-team of Pakistani intelligence agency ISI has been protesting Kerry Lugar bill. They both know that the bill in question is meant to develop the social sector in Pashtun areas including FATA and malakand, Swat etc. When this religious party was in government in Musharraf era then there was no hue and cry over such donations. But when Americans made their mind to spend the money on development and for the betterment of the People of Pashtun region then religious parties started hue and cry saying that now the dooms day will fall on them. This is once again a conspiracy against the pashtun and they do not love to see Pashtun be educated and prosperous. They are doing this nefarious job to keep the pashtun backward and ignorant; their sole aim is to use them against foreign forces in Afghanistan. Now international community including Americans should realize the gravity of situations and leave Pashtun be their friends. Americans do know where are the centers of terrorism? They are situated in Punjab. Then what are the hurdles which stop Americans and international community to hit the real centers of terrorism. Only fighting against Pashtun will not prove to be real solution. Unless and until the sources are targeted the problem will not be solved and this process will continue. Pashtin will be dying, American and NATO forces will be martyred in Afghanistan and the real conspirators will get dollars and lead a comfortable life. Oh, Americans and international community for God sake leave Pashtun to lead a peaceful life and go to the real places from where the terrorism originates, I mean Punjab and Islambad. Fault does not lie in Pashtun region rather it is in Islamabad. We once again condemn the attacks on innocent Pashtun and demand of international community to come behind terrorists and annihilate their nests in Punjab and befriend Pashtun which is the only and real solution if interested. We condole the death of all those Pashtun women, children and young who embraced martyrdom in suicide attacks in Peshawar and other parts of the Pashtunkhwa. The clothes of Pashtun women and children were hanging through the walls of high buildings and most of our women were made nude and naked but still Pashtun and international community both are slumbering in ignorance. We Pashtun know our enemy well and enemy is still busy making conspiracies against us.
(The Writer is Chairman Pashtun Democratic Council and can be reached at his email pashtundemocraticcouncil@gmail.comRead More

International Crisis Group Report on FATA

International Crisis Group Report on FATA

http://www.crisisgroup.org/library/documents/asia/south_asia/178_pakistan___countering_militancy_in_fata.pdf

Anti-Terrorism Ad

Iraqi Anti Terrorism Ad

Pashtun peace prophet goes global

Pashtun peace prophet goes global

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8311549.stm

Not Just Another Preacher / Zalan Momand

Not Just Another Preacher

Thursday, 15 October 2009
“There are two ways to national progress: one is the path of religion and the other is the road to patriotism. If we are on the road to ruin, it is because we have neither the true spirit of religion, nor the true spirit of patriotism, of love for our nation, nor have we developed any social consciousness.” (Baacha Khan)

In the early years of the previous century, Tagore and Kipling both had mentioned Pakhtun characters in their writings, and both had presented them as the fierce and ferocious men in their emotions and acts.[1] Numerous references with negative connotation to the violent and volatile nature of our nation can be found in various other compositions, as well. For instance, as Pyarelal in Thrown to the Wolves – his far famed work on the non-violent struggle of Baacha Khan -- has quoted the following from Fielding King-Hall’s Thirty Days of India,
“One Pathan was sitting on the ground listening intently to a radio broadcasting programme while his neighbor continued to chatter. The first man told the talker to shut up, but the later observed that he had as much right to speak as ‘that loud mouth over there’. The radio fan promptly switched off the human ‘loud speaker’ by sticking a knife into his ribs” [2]However, the most interesting accounts of Pakhtuns and Afghans’ natural traits can be found in the declassified secret reports and official correspondences preserved in the India Office Library in UK. We have seen a few glimpses of the same in Baacha Khan aur Khudaayi Khidmatgaari of Khan Abdul Wali Khan. One line that he has quoted is particularly interesting and holds relevance even today: it has been taken from a letter dated 10.11.30 by Lord Irvin to the then Secretary of State for India,“This corner of the earth is as troublesome as it is tiny and occupies a share of my attention and no doubt yours also out of all proportions to it’s size” [3]Ten years had passed to the adoption of non violence by Baacha Khan, and twenty to the launching of his movement for the social reform of his people, when this letter was written. Twenty one years from now will complete the century of this correspondence, and this corner of the earth continues to be as troublesome to the outer world, and it still occupies a huge share of world’s attention. The difference, however, is that in those early years the irritating matter for the western colonial rulers of our region was the non violence that our great leader Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan not only advocated and taught to his followers but personally practiced in the most aggressive manner; while today we are living in conditions where violence has been imposed on us.The non violent philosophies of passive resistance, pasificism, ahinsa, and most recently the theories of nonkilling by Glenn D Paige – all have more protagonists and preachers and fewer practitioners. The Pakhtun nation is very fortunate that the most enthusiastic practitioner and teacher of non violence was born among them. He came from a very affluent family, but his heart ached for the commoners. He chose to become one of them. He never confined himself to the stage or podium where he could pay only lip service to the cause he wanted his people to stand for. He always reached out to all of his people. In this context one incident narrated by Khan Abdul Wali Khan in his book Baacha Khan aur Khudaayi Khidmatgaari is particularly moving. At the start of his political career, Wali Khan was made to visit Karak area along with a thousand companions. The weather was hot and they had to go there on foot. The areas chosen for their visit were arenaceous, and it was the month of Ramadan, which means they had to be on the move in hot sands while fasting from early morning till late in the evening. Wali Khan says that he got blisters on his feet on the second day of the journey, and he would walk bare footed on the hot sands as he was unable to wear his shoes because of his blisters. The area was sparsely inhabited, and the villages were situated at long distances. One day, after a long and tiring journey, they reached a tiny village and stopped at a mosque where a charpai was lying close to a tree. Wali Khan writes that exhausted from the journey, he immediately lied down on the charpai. His companion in the journey was a close associate of Baacha Khan. He heard the groans of Wali Khan and told him that he distinctly remembers that once Baacha Khan had also visited the same village in the same weather and under the same conditions, and he had also stopped at the same mosque. Just when he sat down on the charpai, he saw rising smoke on the nearby hill. He asked the imam-e-masjid if there was another village up there. The imam replied in negative and told that there was only one house on the hill where a single man lived. Upon hearing this, Baacha Khan immediately got up and said to his companion that he wanted to go to the man on the hill. The imam tried to assure Baacha Khan that his message would be conveyed to the man when he would come down to attend the Jumma prayers. However, Baacha Khan still went up the hill to meet him saying that he did not want that man to feel neglected.[4] Such was his zeal for the propagation of his philosophy through personal interactions with his people. In rallies and in protest marches where the authorities would order to bludgeon and baton charge the protestors, he was always there to take the hits. Whenever there was a spate of arrests, he would be among first of the arrested. His arrests and incarceration were most humiliating and most painful ever borne by any leader of his stature. During the Quit India Movement, he was beaten hard before he was arrested and taken to Hari Pur Jail from a protest rally. He had received severe injuries; his ribs had been broken . The man, who preached and practiced non violence, was himself subjected to worst forms of violence. When he was first arrested, he was taken to the jail handcuffed and throughout the period of his confinement, he had fetters. There were no fetters to fit his legs. The pair they had chosen for him had wounded him badly. While they were putting it on him, the portion of his leg above the ankle had bled profusely. He was told that he would get accustomed to it soon.[6] The cell where he was kept stunk. The earthen sanitary pan there was full to the brim with feces. When he was taken there he immediately stepped out and told the officer that the stink was unbearable. The officer pushed him inside and locked the door. Not for a second was he allowed to go out of that cell. Food was pushed through the bars and the cells were guarded to prevent the visitors from communicating with him.[7] It was his personal examples that motivated his fellow Pakhtuns to make supreme sacrifices for the sake of their land. The events of 23rd April, 1930 are a proof of the selflessness of the Khudayi Khidmatgars. The following extracts from Young India sum up what the Pakhtuns had been subjected to that fateful day:
“A troop of English soldiers reached the spot and without any warning to the crowd began firing into the crowd in which a number of women and children were present. When those in front fell down, those behind came forward with their breast bared and exposed themselves to the fire. Some people got as many as 21 bullet wounds. [Still] all the people stood their ground without getting into panic…An old woman seeing her relatives and friends being wounded came forward [but] was shot and [she] fell wounded An old man with a four years old child on his shoulder unable to brook this brutal slaughter advanced asking the soldier to fire at him. He was taken at his word and he too fell down wounded. The crowd kept standing at the spot facing the soldiers and was fired at from time to time until there was heaps of wounded and dying lying about. The Anglo-Indian paper of Lahore, which represents the official view itself wrote to the effect that the people came forward one after another to face the firing and when they fell wounded they were dragged back and others came forward to be shot at. This state of things continued from 11 to 5’o clock in the evening. When the number of corpses became too many the Ambulance cars of the Government took them away.” [8]Eighteen years later and a year after Independence, the same scene was reenacted in Babara where the loyal members of the same organization, protesting the incarceration of the same leader received the same treatment.[9] The women holding Quran close to their chests and above their heads were an addition. However, the shoot orders this time were not given by colonial rulers. The new rulers were following in the footsteps of their colonial masters. They tried their best to conceal the truth and consequently the tragedy of Babara has been lost in history. Baacha Khan and his followers never hesitated from offering any sacrifice for the sake of liberty and independence. The tragedy, however, is that in response to their selfless efforts and sacrifices they were always placed under more and severer torture. The treatment meted out to them by the new state was evidence that post partition life for the Khudayi Khidmatgars was going to be very tough. The reasons were obvious. Khudayi Khidmatgars were allies of Congress before partition, and therefore, in the new state they were not going to be accepted as loyal citizens despite all their sincere assurances. In a letter written to the author of Thrown to the Wolves many years after the independence, Baacha Khan said: “Considerations of personal harm have never weighted with me. What saddens me is that while we shrank from no sacrifice for the sake of India’s independence, the Congress on attaining it forsook us. They gave themselves upto enjoyment while we were left to suffer alone. We are still dubbed ‘Hindus’. This was unbecoming of the Congress” [10]The plight of his people had compelled him to express his bitterness. This was the utterance of a man whose fear was that the sacrifices of the people who had answered his call and laid down their lives for the cause of Indian independence would go unsung.One striking characteristic of Baacha Khan was that despite being an affluent and practicing Muslim he never had any elitist and boastful manners that were so visible in some other contemporary Muslim leaders. He never considered religion as dogma that should be used and misused for political purposes. He studied religion and took his lessons from the early days of Islam when Muslims were subjected to worst persecution but they did not resort to armed retaliation. Baacha Khan knew well and also told his people that:“There are two ways to national progress: one is the path of religion and the other is the road to patriotism. If we are on the road to ruin, it is because we have neither the true spirit of religion, nor the true spirit of patriotism, of love for our nation, nor have we developed any social consciousness.” While the majority of the non congressional Muslim leaders were implicitly or explicitly emphasizing communal differences culminating into violence, Baacha Khan was vigorously trying to enable his people to get hold of their long forgotten divine weapon – patience. His message to his people was:“I am going to give you such a weapon that the police and the army will not be able to stand against it. It is the weapon of the Prophet (Peace be upon him), but you are not aware of it. That weapon is patience and righteousness. No power on earth can stand against it. When you go back to your villages, tell your brethren that there is an army of God and its weapon is patience. Endure all hardships. If you exercise patience, victory will be yours.” This is one message that needs to be spread in every nook and corner of the world. The duteous ones will surely take it.
References;
1-Rehmat in Tagore’s Kabuliwalah and Mahbub Ali in Ki pling’s Kim2-Pyarelal, Thrown To the Wolves – Abdul Ghaffar: Eastlight Book House, Calcutta, 1966. p273-Khan Abdul Wali Khan, Baacha Khan aur Khudaayi Khidmatgaari (taqseem-e-Hind ya taqseem-e-Musalman) in Urdu: Baacha Khan Research Center, Peshawar, 2009. p564-Khan Abdul Wali Khan, pp 177-1785-Farigh Bukhari, Tehrik-e-aazaadi aur Baacha Khan in Urdu: Fiction House, Lahore, 1991. p156 6-Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan, Zama Zhwand au jidd-o-jihd in Pashto: Kabul Dolati Matba’, Kabul 1981. p1467-Rajmohan Gandhi, Abdul Ghaffar: The Non Violent Badshah of the Pakhtuns: Penguin Books India, New Delhi, 2004. p628-Pyarelal, p 179-For details see Khudayi Khidmatgar Salar Karim Dad in Pashto by Salar Abdul Karim: Zia Sons Printers, Peshawar, 2006. pp82-8810-Pyarelal, p7611-S.R. Bakhshi, Abdul Ghaffar Khan – The Frontier Gandhi: Anmol Publications, New Delhi, 1992. pp122-12312-Eknath Easwaran, A Man To Match His Mountain: Badshah Khan, Non Violent Soldier of Islam: Nilgiri Press, California, 2nd Ed. 1985. p117

A Pashto Poem - by Ajmal Khattak

A Pashto Poem - by Ajmal Khattak
By Aziz Akhmad
The News,Wednesday, October 14, 2009
US-Pakistan politics aside, I enjoy my longish stays in the US, whenever I visit here, usually in the summers. One reason is the many opportunities this country provides for "the pursuit of happiness," which, in fact, is enshrined in the American Declaration of Independence as an "inalienable right of man [and woman]" along with life and liberty.

Before you jump to conclusions, I don't mean the happiness one usually associates with Western cities, and certainly not anything of prurient interest. I am talking about the happiness one derives from learning new things --- a new subject, a new language, an occupation, a skill, a sport, an interest or a hobby. You can pretty much do anything here if you set your mind on it. There are no barriers of age, gender or race, nor any social or other constraints. Of course, you have to pay the fees --- most of the time.

Early this summer, I signed up for a flying trapeze class --- almost --- in a facility located along the Hudson River, in lower Manhattan. We usually associate trapeze with circus, where acrobats swing out hanging on to a flying bar, do a few somersaults in the air, and then either land in the clutches of another catcher or fall on a safety net down below. It's a thrilling sight on a cloudless day against the backdrop of the Hudson River and Jersey skyline. The class is open to everyone, for fun and exercise. The only condition is age --- not less than eight years. There is no upper age limit. I easily qualified. But I chickened out at the last minute, though. Falling from high above, even though into a safety net, looked a bit hazardous. But the opportunity is there and the fee is affordable. I might muster enough courage to still join.

On a more serious side, a friend of mine, originally from Lebanon, a brilliant student in school and college, after doing his BS and MS in electrical engineering and physics from MIT in 1991, worked in investment banks and financial companies for over 16 years. This year, he had a change of heart and decided to become a doctor. He applied to Tufts medical college and was accepted. He is likely to graduate in 2013. By the time he finishes residency and becomes a practicing doctor, he will be 50. This is just one such example.

Circumstances compelled me to extend my stay here this year. Having more free time on my hands, I walked into the South Asian Studies Department at the University of Pennsylvania, an Ivy League university, to see what was available this semester. Going through the material posted on the bulletin boards, I was amazed at the variety of subjects. There were courses in studies on Imams Bukhari and Tirmizi; courses in Islamic history, Ottoman history and modern history of Afghanistan and Pakistan; language courses were offered in Arabic, Persian, Urdu, Hindi, Punjabi and Bengali, and in Urdu literature written about the Partition; there was a also a course on learning to play tabla and sitar. And, then I found a course in Pashto poetry. I chose to attend this class, more out of curiosity than anything else.

The class teacher is a young American from Maine who has spent considerable time in Afghanistan and Pakistan. He speaks Pashto fluently in Afghan accent, and knows the grammar and nuances of the language better than most educated Pakhtuns. A young woman from Baffa, district Mansehra, has joined him this year on a Fulbright scholarship, to assist him in teaching basic Pashto to beginners.

After attending the first two classes, and studying two poems, one by Ajmal Khattak and the other by Shafiullah Babarzai, an Afghan poet, I was hooked, and am determined to stick to the course till the end. It's a pity that I won't find such courses, say, in Qaid-e-Azam University in Islamabad. Nor could I find any good books on the subject in some of the biggest bookstores in Islamabad.

Ajmal Khattak's poem is more relevant today's Pakistan than, perhaps, it was when it was written, many years ago. It is titled Jannat, or Paradise. Here is the poem, as I translated and paraphrased it, of course with helpful inputs from my teacher:

I asked a mullah, what do you think is Paradise like?

He ran his fingers through his beard and said

"Fresh fruits and rivers of milk"

A talib (student) was sitting nearby

I asked him, what do you say?

He put aside the book of Zulekha he was reading, and said

"Beautiful women with (tattooed) green dots on their cheeks"

A shaikh stood nearby, rolling his tasbeeh (rosary)

He stroked his beard and said (questioning the talib):

"No, it's not like that!"

"Paradise is beautiful servant boys and heavenly music."

A khan raised his head from a lengthy sajda (prostration in prayer)

What is your opinion, Khan Sahib? I asked

He adjusted his turban and said

"The luxuriously furnished and perfumed mansions"

Nearby, a labourer stood in his tattered clothes

I asked him, do you know what Paradise is?

He wiped the sweat from his brow and said

"It's a full stomach and deep slumber"

A man, in dishevelled hair, passed by, lost in his thoughts

I asked, what do you say, philosopher?

Smoothing his hair, he said:

"It's nothing but dreams conjured up to please man"

(Confused) I looked down into my heart and then looked up into the blue sky; and heard a murmur in reply: "Paradise is your home where you are the master, and at liberty; and if you cannot attain the freedom, then sacrifice on the path to freedom, as an ideal, is Paradise. Be it hellfire or the gallows"

Who says Pakhtuns produce only poppy? They produce wonderful poetry, too.

Happiness, as I said in the beginning, is doing things that one enjoys doing, not necessarily for money but also for self-satisfaction, self-enhancement and self-actualisation. And the societies that provide such learning opportunities end up enriching themselves in the process.
The writer is a human resource consultant currently based in Philadelphia. Email: azizakhmad@gamil.com

Pakistan's Pashtuns, looking for statehood, may look to Taliban

Pakistan's Pashtuns, looking for statehood, may look to Taliban
The Taliban could expand their influence to more Pashtun areas by merging its pan-Islamic goals with the long-suppressed dream of a Pashtun state.
Source:http://www.csmonitor.com/2009/1008/p08s04-wosc.html

Peshawar, Pakistan - A long-dormant nationalism movement among ethnic Pashtuns shows signs of reawakening as Pakistan – at United States urging – has boosted military activity in their region and as political efforts for autonomy have stalled.

The most basic Pashtun demand, changing the name of the North West Frontier Province to Pakhtunkhwa ("Land of the Pashtuns"), was thwarted in September by dominant ethnic Punjabis. A new faction of Pashtun nationalists has protested in Peshawar, the capital of the NWFP. Leaders warn that younger cadres may abandon politics for arms.

Stemming widespread discontent among Pashtuns is important because they hold the keys to the war on terror. Their lands straddling the Afghan-Pakistani border are a haven for the Taliban and top Al Qaeda figures like Osama bin Laden.

Many Pashtuns are frustrated with the Islamic militants' presence and the military offensives they have brought – anger that secular leaders, who have traditionally led the push for autonomy, can channel against religious extremism.

But a peril also exists: Islamic militants may become the force seen as best able to deliver autonomy for Pashtun regions.

"The danger of the [largely Pashtun] Taliban overtly using Pashtun nationalism to justify an independent Pashtun state is small because they are operating with financial support of jihadi forces," says Selig Harrison, director of the Asia Program at the Center for International Policy in Washington and author of a recent report on Pashtun nationalism.

"But what could emerge, if the Taliban were to get control over large areas of the border districts in Afghanistan, is some sort of Islamic emirate which would in fact be a Pashtun state."

That could expand to more Pashtun areas by merging the appeal of pan-Islamic ideas and the long suppressed dream of a Pashtun state, he argues.

US troops in Afghanistan and the Pakistani military would then be fighting Pashtun pride on top of other passions fueling the insurgencies.

Two million Pashtuns flee Swat fighting

Since 2001, Pakistani, Afghan, and NATO troops have rushed into Pashtun lands. US drones fill the sky. This year has been especially rough for Pashtuns in Pakistan, with more than 2 million forced to flee military offensives in Swat and nearby areas.

"It's like a Pashtun genocide," says Ayeen Khan, of Swabi, NWFP, echoing a phrase heard across the region. "In different areas a lot of Pashtuns are being killed. They need someone to stop the killing."

Many who fled the fighting said they want neither the Taliban nor the Army in their lands. They say the Punjabi-dominated security agencies control both forces, with the Army periodically fighting the militants, then receding and letting the Taliban reimpose their terrorizing rule. Pashtun civilians say they are caught in the middle of this "double game."

Whether that remains the case is debated, but for years Pakistan's intelligence agencies supported the Taliban and other Islamic militants to counter secular Pashtun nationalists.

"After 9/11, Pakistan announced itself as an ally of the world, but actually they kept on continuing their policies," says Said Alam Mehsud, head of a newly revived nationalist group called the Pashtun Awareness Movement. "If this [Pashtun] nation is able to convey its actual feelings to the world and the world understands, we will not only be able to defeat terrorism, we can achieve those [nationalist] goals as well."

Pashtuns want an end to the Taliban, says Dr. Mehsud, but it should be Pashtuns who flush them out – not the Army backed by the US.

"The Punjabi military presence … in these Pashtun areas has been poison, because historically you had conflict between Pashtuns and Punjabis," Harrison says. The result has been Pashtuns becoming "politicized and radicalized."

After 9/11, Pakistan did try to compel Pashtun tribesmen to tackle militancy through traditional councils (jirgas) and tribal militias (lashkars). But both proved ineffective. Meanwhile, Pashtuns are making political demands that, if met, could perhaps win some goodwill.

Mehsud says 300 members of his Pashtun Awareness group this spring took to Peshawar's streets for Pashtun rights, such as creating a province for Pashtuns that includes NWFP and the neighboring Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) and allowing it to keep more of its resources.

Lack of respect in media

Some respect would be nice, too, he suggests. "They present our culture in films, TV, drama, writing as if these people are the most backward."

After almost two years in office, the predominantly Pashtun Awami National Party, which rules the NWFP and has ties to the government in Islamabad, has found that working within the system has not helped it win greater autonomy for Pashtuns.

Despite promises, President Asif Ali Zardari has not signed an order to allow democratic representation in FATA. Nor has a collective punishment law there been amended to exclude women and children. The military and intelligence establishment are blocking efforts to merge FATA into the NWFP, says Zulfiqar Ali, a Pakistani journalist.

Mr. Ali warns these setbacks mean the secular ANP may lose in the next elections – to Islamic parties that oppose NATO in Afghanistan.

The ANP leader tasked with FATA issues, Lateef Afridi, does not dispute that progress is slow. He worries the original generation of nationalists will be replaced by more volatile youths.

"There is a bit of thinking that the possibility of getting these rights through normal means is not there and therefore we have to adopt other means," including "the question of taking up arms," says Mr. Afridi.

But like many US experts, he doesn't think the Taliban will attract the youths. The militants have waged war on ANP workers and secularists.

Christine Fair, a regional expert at Georgetown University, says Islamabad ought to rename the province and share power and resources more equitably. "[The US] should be promoting constitutionalism, and the Constitution does call for devolution," she says.

Harrison urges more US action, including withholding aid until Pakistan merges FATA into the NWFP and allows the money to flow through the provincial government. He also argues the US should curb the use of drones. But Mehsud, Afridi, and some other secular Pashtuns feel the drones have helped pin down militants. "I openly support drone attacks," says Mehsud. "These are very well targeted."

Documentry Film on Bacha Khan will be shown in Marina Mall Abu Dhabi.

The Frontier Gandhi: Badshah Khan, A Torch for Peace
The Frontier Gandhi: Badshah Khan, A Torch of Peace

at 9th Middle East Internatioanal Film Festivel ABU DHABI
10/13/2009 6:45 PM
10/15/2009 3:30 PM


For many, Mahatma Gandhi embodies nonviolent protest, but few know the even more dramatic story of his South Asian compatriot, Badshah Khan, born into the fierce Pashtun warrior society of Pakistan's Northwest Frontier. At the same time as Gandhi in India, Khan founded a nonviolent resistance organization up to 300,000 people strong, culled from the region's myriad religious and ethnic groups, to oppose British colonial rule. Nominated twice for the Nobel Peace Prize, Khan died in 1988 at the age of 98, having influenced generations of thinkers, leaders, politicians, and citizens. Filmed across Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India (and in several frontier areas still considered "off-limits" to most foreigners), Frontier Gandhi illuminates the little-known story of this remarkable man through interviews with several surviving participants (all more than 100 years old) and politicians like Hamid Karzai and Pervez Musharraf. Indian acting legend Om Puri contributes interpretations of Khan's writings.

---Jason Sanders

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Director Bio:
T. C. McLuhan
T. C. (Teri) McLuhan is the daughter of famed media theorist Marshall McLuhan. A native of Canada now based in New York, she has had a notable career in her own right as a filmmaker and author specializing in ethnographies, intercultural studies, and mysticism. Her films include The Shadow Catcher (1974), a documentary about anthropologist and filmmaker Edward S. Curtis, and The Third Walker (1978).

A Crippled Revolutionary

Dr. Waris Khan
A Crippled Revolutionary

“Bring forth whatever lies in your hear”
(Allama Iqbal)
Dr. Fazal-ur-Rahim Marwat

Source : http://www.rscaf.com/mag/home%20studies%20027.htm



Writing biography is an art. Like other arts, it too needs adeptness and proficiency of language. The term biography is used for a comprehensive account of a person's life, and is regarded as a branch of history. Dyrden defined it as “the history of particular men's lives”.[i] As a literary form it has become increasingly popular since the second half of the 17th century.

Writing about one's own life in the form of autobiography is a fascinating task, because it is particularly difficult to speak the truth, or even to hear truth in our society. When Josh Malhi Abadi's "Yaddow Kee Barat"[ii] was published in 80's. There was uproar in our country, particularly in the religious circle. It was dubbed as anti-Islamic, vulgar and disgusting and demanded from government to ban it.

There is Chinese proverb: “It is natural that when you drink water, think of its source”.[iii] So it is but natural that one should know about Dr. Waris Khan his social milieu and his struggle before going through his book ‘Da Azadae Tehreek’ (Struggle for Independence).

Dr. Waris Khan has fully established his proficiency and competence in his biography ‘Da Azadae Tehreek’. His language is fluent and style of writing is impressive. He writes with ease, elegance and sensitivity. One finds no discrepancy in his mind, thoughts and writing. He builds up a picturesque picture to present an event, like a scene on the screen. His description of friends, fellows, persons, places and events is explicitly attractive, natural and alive. He has tried effectively to avoid exaggerations and self-praise. In between, he has quoted couplets and parts of Pashtu and Urdu verses, and anecdotes, to adorn description.

Dr. Waris Khan was not a medical doctor, nor was he a doctor of philosophy. His own disability, rural life without qualified doctors except some Unani Hakims and Saniasi forced him to look after his own health. Even Dr. Taizai was of the opinion that “in this way he [Waris] got knowledge of diseases and their treatment and he then used to help his ailing colleagues in absence of competent physicians. Thus he was called doctor”.[iv]

On 30th of June 1993, Dr. Waris Khan wrote a letter to Dr. Sher Zaman Taizai (the then editor of literary pages of the daily The Frontier Post, Peshawar) to clarify his position by writing: “Dear doctor Sahib! I was highly delighted to read your review on my book Da Azadae Tehreek in The Frontier Post of April 17, 1993. It speaks of your interest in, and knowledge of the subject. You have bridged the vast ocean. I am obliged to thank you that you selected my book for review. However, allow me to clarify a point. You have mentioned:”... In fact I have been a registered homeopath since 1965. My registration number is 8158. I am, therefore, entitled to be called a doctor. I may add that I have the honour to be affiliated with the movement of Khudai Khidmatgars, which does not allow quackery.[v]

Dr. Waris Khan has taken an alluring start in a single paragraph with winsome words: “The children tell stories to each other in the night. I was asked by one to tell him a story. I said to him that I would write true stories about my ancestors and myself. When you grow old, read them. I am now too old to remember every thing. Many events might have been forgotten. Memory exhausts in this age. But whatever I remember I would write it. Some events are just unforgettable. They remain intact in the faculty of the mind. Nevertheless, fresh events do not rest in memory. My story has such elements of events, which can not be forgotten. I dare start writing.”[vi]

Waris Khan was born at Ghaladher in 1914 and was attacked by polio at the age of 10 months. What this crippled man has recorded in the book might not appeal to the sound mind to be true. But many eyewitnesses to his struggles and active participation in the freedom movement under the leadership of Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan[vii] are still living.

Haji Ghazi Khan of Pabbi says that during the martial law of Ayub Khan, the Khudai Khidmatgars decided to court arrest in protest against the arrest of their leader. Khan A.Ghaffar Khan, who was in prison, nominated Ghazi Khan to carry on the movement. He used to go every day to the courts to receive volunteers from different places. These volunteers were garlanded and followed by processions. Before the arrest, they would address the gathering. One day, Ghazi Khan saw Dr Waris Khan, with garlands hanging around his neck on his chest, riding on the shoulders of another Khudai Khidmatgar. They exchanged greetings. Waris Khan had volunteered to court arrest. But Ghazi Khan did not approve his request due to his disability.[viii]

When Dr.Taizai accompanying the same Haji Ghazi Khan, called on Dr. Waris Khan at Rashakai (district Nowshera) in February 1993, he was sitting against the support of pillows. His old age and weak frame of body with crippled legs and hand had not been able to delude the charm and grace - of this man of character. His two sons served them with tea and biscuits. On their introduction, Waris Khan said: “I know you; I have read your novel”. He had forgotten the title but remembered the story. Such sharp was his mind and intellect at the age of 80. When Dr. Taizai mentioned to him his biography, he smiled and said: “This is our main weakness. We don't put our achievements in black and white. If someone takes the labour, it does not find the readers”.[ix] He was very right because in an illiterate society the preferences of our people are other than reading. His book has been published in June 1988 and this great son of Pakhtunkhawa died on April 23, 1996.

Haji Muhammad Asam of Akora Khattak in the preface of the book comments:

"...I had been a witness to all that has been recorded in this book. Dr. Waris Khan deserves Compliments for reanimation of our spirit with the past reminiscences. It was a time that we used to be tired of his stories and discussions. But then we could not imagine that these national struggles would constitute valuable part of our history. Now we are constrained to offer our heartiest tributes to Dr. Waris Khan for his wisdom and prudence... "[x]

Commenting on his style of writing, Haji Muhammad Asam wrote,

“Dr. Waris Khan has not introduced only his own- self but his whole family in a candid style. But still I would like to say something pithy about his political career”.[xi]

He further says: “The doctor was attacked by polio in his early age, and both the feet and one hand of this handsome and charming boy were paralysed. He had to walk on crutches. But his fair complexion and graceful features made him attractive. Sometimes, he would take ride on a bicycle. When he grew young, then he would ride a white or brown horse. I still remember that he used to wear a typical headdress; an embroidered cap with Peshawari turban around and the crest sticking out of it. When out on errand, the small children would like to have a look at him with awe.”[xii]

In his youth, Dr.Waris was inspired by the Pakhtun journal of Bacha Khan and Urdu newspapers Millap and Pratap[xiii] getting from his friend Baghat Ram.

My friend Dr. Professor Syed Wiqar Ali Shah Kaka Khel (Quad-i-Azam University Islamabad)[xiv] in his introduction to Dr. Waris book writes that when he called on Dr. Waris Khan on June 3, 1986, he was on the bed. Dr. Wiqar has drawn an excellent profile of Waris Khan, out of the detailed account given by the author in his book. His grand father Payo Khan had left his village Lahore in Tehsil (now district) Swabi, along with all his tenants, craftsmen and imam, and settled at Ghaladher in the same Tehsil. On his death his eldest son Buland Khan was recognised as the Malik. He was killed by dacoits who had raided the house. Buland Khan was succeeded by his son Waris Khan.

The book contains valuable information about the cultural, social and economic aspects of the Pakhtuns' life, their free nature, religious attachment, and fondness for music, ignorance and blood feuds, their weaknesses exploited by vested interests in favour of the British lords. The basic theme is the freedom movement of the Khudai Khidmatgars under the leadership of Bacha Khan in which Dr. Waris took an active part in spite of his disability. He has mentioned a number of other colleagues and non-Muslim friends, even those who later migrated to India.

Dr. Wiqar Ali Shah in the introduction of the book says that" Azadi (freedom) is an ordinary combination of five letters, but when considered, it becomes a very bright and attractive word. Today, nobody understands its meaning. The rulers of this generation do not conceive its meaning and charm, because it has come down to them without any struggle. It is but natural that any achievement without struggle does not carry its value. Those born in a free country would not know what struggle their ancestors had exerted for this cause, how much difficulty had they suffered and what they had sacrificed? And after that “this Laila has been brought to home”.[xv] Akbar Shah Mian of Badrashi (an eminent freedom fighter and writer) said: “Freedom is not an earthen toy which could be bought for a loaf of stale bread.”[xvi]

Many young, old, men and women had put at stake their lives and had abandoned comforts of life for the sake of prosperity of their nation. It is all due to their sacrifices that we breathe in a free atmosphere. Late Khadim Mohammad Akbar Khan (poet and Writer) has drawn a picture of this struggle in one line of a poem:

Years of bondage of the life of a slave, (Can’t be compared with) a moment of freedom, even on the brink of the grave.[xvii]

Dr. Wiqar tried to highlight the British rule and the Pakhtuns by writing: A cursory study of the history of the Indo-Pakistan (subcontinent) reveals that the British had ruled this land for over a century. During this whole length of period, if they were harassed, that was only at the hands of the Pakhtuns who did not yield to their filthy presence on this sacred soil. Sometime, they encountered them at Ambala,[xviii] and sometime on the peaks of Malakand. Sometime Umara Khan of Jandul[xix] fought against them, sometime the Mullah of Hadda.[xx] The struggles of 1897 had almost compelled them to recede. But it was sheer luck that favoured those [British] and restrained Pakhtuns from the goal at a gait distance. That ensued a series of coercive and vengeful actions perpetrated by the British rule against the Pakhtuns.

In 1901, this part of Pakhtunkhawa was separated from the Punjab in the name of the “North West Frontier Province”. But the torch lit by their progenitors was not let to extinguish. Very soon, other Mujahid arose; like Fazle Wahid alias Haji Sahib of Turangzai,[xxi] Mira Jan Kaka Khel, Maulana Uzair Gul,[xxii] Abdul Hameed Gul alias Fakhre Qaum Mian Sahib, and above all the towering personality of Abdul Ghaffar Khan, who continued the epic struggle.

Ironically other provinces of India were granted reforms in 1919 but Pakhtunkhwa was left in the dusky dark. There was no law here. Whatsoever the chief commissioner and his surrogates wanted became the law. The British had imposed the Frontier Crimes Regulations (FCR) under which many young Pakhtuns were executed in jails.

With the declaration of India as Darul-Harb (abode of war) by the Ulama in 1920, the Khilafatists launched the Hijrat Movement. According to various confirmed sources round about seventy thousand people migrated to Afghanistan. This also excited many Pukhtuns and in august 60,000 of them sold their homes and hearths and migrated to Afghanistan. The kind of oppression that was perpetrated against those refugees can not be imagined. But they moved with profound resolve and determination. Amir Amanullah Khan had also pledged that the government of Afghanistan would extend support to them because it was the most sacred cause of Islam.[xxiii]

The British government had managed to penetrate a great number of agents and informers among the refugees who indulged in subversive propaganda; that Amanullah Khan had promised to wage jihad against the British, but instead, he was now duping the migrants. Therefore the migrants should repatriate. Still, many anonymous graves on way between Kabul and Peshawar bear testimony to the hardships to which the returnees had been subjected. But most of the Indo- Pakistani scholars are perhaps ignorant of the fact that it was due to the Hijrat movement that new revolutionary ideas and tactics came to the British India from Moscow and Tashkent.[xxiv]

Henceforth the time takes a turn of significant changes. The Pakhtuns were waking up gradually. On return, Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan formed Anjuman‑i‑Islah‑i‑Afaghena[xxv] with a view to bringing about social revolution among the Pakhtuns, to divert them from internal feuds and tribal jingoism. Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan known as Bacha Khan made them understand the curse of slavery. His other companions in this mission were Qazi Attaullah, Mian Ahmad Shah, Abdul Akbar Khan Akbar, Khadim Mohammad Akbar, Haji Abdul Ghaffar, Mohammad Abbas Khan, Taj Mohammad Khan and Abdullah Shah. Under the aegis of this Anjuman they founded Azad schools. Amir Mukhtar Khan of Bannu dedicated his two sons Amir Mumtaz and Maqsood Jan to this cause; the latter was the first head teacher of the Azad Schools. They gave a start to these schools in a very difficult situation. In this connection, Bacha Khan says:

“We set out on village‑to‑village trips in those days to guide the people understand, develop affection, harmony, brotherhood and social consciousness among them, reactivate their feelings for education, eradicate evil traditions and outdated practices from the society, and muster support for national schools. And we reanimated the life and sensitivity of the people.”[xxvi]

This could not be tolerated by the British. They did not like those schools. Whosoever wanted to teach in those schools would first be scared, and then tempted to handsome salaries. When these tactics failed, then Bacha Khan was arrested and the schools were closed. But the time had changed. Many young people could arrange to receive dailies and periodicals from Punjab and other parts clandestinely, and their understanding was developing gradually.

In India, too, the freedom movement had got fresh vigour. The Congress had moved from its earlier demand for dominion status of a British colony. It raised the banner of complete freedom at the hands of Jawaharlal Lal Nehru at 00.30 hours on December 31, 1929 on the bank of Ravi in Lahore. It demanded the rule of India in the hands of the people of India. The meeting expressed opposition to the British rule. That resolution of the Congress was acclaimed throughout India.

In those days, another party of the youths, the Nawjawan Bharat Sabha emerged to wrest freedom of the country from the British. They pledged to offer any kind of sacrifice for this cause. This party was joined by Hindus, Sikh and Muslims alike. An activist of this party, named Bhagat Singh, assassinated the British DSP Sandruss of Lahore. He had placed a bomb in the train by which viceroy Lord Erwin was travelling to Delhi. The device exploded damaging one or two railcars but the viceroy escaped unhurt. Then he hurled a bomb in the central assembly hall causing injuries to many people. Bhagat Singh was arrested followed by arrests of many other revolutionaries. They were tried in Lahore Conspiracy case and executed.

Here, too, the revolutionaries of Pakhtunkhwa like Sanobar Hussain Kakajee and Maulana Abdul Rahim Popalzai[xxvii] formed a party in the name of the Nawjawanan‑i‑Sarhad, like the formed in India. It is worth mentioning here that Hari Kishan, son of Lala Gurdasmal of Ghala Dher (Mardan), like Bhagat Singh, had shot a fire at the governor of Punjab, Sir Jeffery, on December 23, 1930, on the occasion of the convocation of the Punjab University. The governor was hit on a hand and a police officer died on the spot. Hari Kishan was arrested and hanged like Bhagat Singh.

Bacha Khan, along with his companions, had attended the Lahore meeting of the Congress as observers. On that occasion, the Congress volunteers displayed military parade smartly which impressed the delegation from Pakhtunkhwa. They decided then and there to take a lesson from it. The Pakhtun leaders liked very much their organisation and display of the disciplined parade. On return, a meeting was arranged very soon at Utmanzai. Inter alia, it was also decided that a youth organisation should be formed and be called the Khudai Khidmatgars. They designed Khamta uniform for it. Bacha Khan, with a handful companions, toured the province and formed organisations at local level. Hundreds Pakhtun youths joined the Khudai Khidmatgars with the sole aim of awakening of the slumbering Pakhtuns. The Khudai Khidmatgars succeeded to a great extent in achieving the objective of bringing out the Pakhtun youths to serve the nation.

The people had already developed hatred against the British atrocities in Pakhtunkhwa. They got an opportunity in the civil disobedience movement of the All India Congress in order to express their hatred. By virtue of the activities of the Khudai Khidmatgars, political awakening was being galvanised rapidly among the Pakhtuns. They had developed the sense of discernment between the good and the bad. The Congress decided on violation of the Salt Act. The Peshawar Congress also followed under the leadership of Ali Gul Khan. They collected saline soil from Pabbi and a little salt was made of it. It was wrapped in small packets of papers and auctioned. The government ignored it. No arrest was made. The provincial Congress again decided to lay cordon around the bar houses, and invited Bacha Khan and his companions also.

It was the historic day of April 23, 1930, that the Congress leaders were arrested in Peshawar City. They included Agha Lal Badshah, Maulana Abdul Rahim Popalzai, Dr. Ghosh, Ali Gul Khan, Abdul Rahman Riya etc. Only two prominent figures, Ghulam Rabbani Sethi and Allah Bakhsh Barqi escaped arrest, having planned court arrest the next morning.

That day when Bacha Khan and his fellow companions, Mian Ahmad Shah, Abdul Akbar Khan Akbar and Sarfaraz Khan who were enroute to Peshawar, in response to the invitation from the Peshawar Congress were arrested at Nahaqi and taken back to Charsadda.

In Peshawar, many people gathered at the time of the arrest of Allah Bakhsh Sethi Barqi and Ghulam Rabbani Sethi and demanded removal handcuffs from their leaders so that they may go free to the Kabuli police station. They, thus, marched to the police station in a procession. The police informed the deputy commissioner on telephone due to fear and requested for security arrangements. The first armoured car drove in swiftly running over a Hindu youth was Wandhi Ram. It annoyed the people. At that time the people killed an Englishman riding on a motorbike and snatched his vehicle.

The rulers could not tolerate the courage exerted by their subject and opened indiscriminate fire for above five hours from 10 am to 5 pm. The toll of casualties, dead and wounded, exceeded thousands. Martial law was declared and the city was taken over by the army. The memorable event of this bloody occurrence was the refusal of Gharwal unit from firing at the unarmed people. Those disobedient troops were arrested, court‑martialled and sentenced to 10 to 20 years, some sent to black‑Waters (the Andaman Islands).

The Pakhtun poets wrote many poems and odes on the Qissa Khani massacre. Abdul Malik Fida says;

None might have shed so much chicken blood,

As the British had shed the innocents' blood.

Written in blood was the year of thirty,

Because, that day the blood was in plenty.

Of Qissa Khani Qasab Khana was made,

In its streets the human blood so said.[xxviii]

Another eminent writer and poet Mohammad Khanmir Hilali wrote:

April came with reminiscence of country's martyrs,

Handsome youths when put on country's altars

Chengiz Khan, by Ice Moonger, was thrashed,

The day when as Qasab Khana the Qissa Khani flashed.

A son was killed a woman widowed, a child made orphan,

And the homes were ruined by the Englishman.

The roses seen in the spring in garden,

Have the hues of the blood the youth had given.[xxix]

For the liberation of his motherland, Dr. Waris participated in almost all anti-British movements i.e. the Khudai-Khidmatgar Tehreek and Ghala Dehr Kisan movement and made contacts with revolutionaries and freedom fighters like Subash Chander Boss[xxx] etc. But his dream were shattered like others after independence in 1947 and he confessed in his book that those who struggled for the liberation of the country are still under suppression but those who were British stooges, traitors and serving the British empire became the rulers of Pakistan like Iskander Mirza who became the first President of Pakistan.

His book ends at the creation of Pakistan and the impact of the communal riots on the locality in which the author was living. It has been dedicated to anonymous soldiers of the freedom movement.






References and Notes


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[i] www.yenra.com/biography

[ii] Josh Malhi Abadi's original name was Shabir Hussain Khan. Born in 1894 in British India and died in Karachi in 1982. He was an eminent progressive Urdu poet and writer.

[iii] www.anglefire.com

[iv] The Frontier Post, Peshawar, dated, April 17, 1993.

[v] Letter of Dr.Waris Khan to Dr. Sher Zaman Taizai dated 30-6-1993. See also The Frontier Post, Peshawar, dated, July 10, 1993.

[vi] Dr.Waris Khan, Azadae Tehreek (Struggle for independence), Peshawar, 1988, P.7.

[vii] Khan Abdul Ghaffar, a renowned Pakhtun reformer and freedom fighter. For more detail see Abdul Ghaffar, Zama Zawand Aw Jadojuhed (My Life and Struggle), Daulati Matbua, Kabul, 1983.

[viii] Khan, op.cit., p.31

[ix] Interview with Dr. Taizai, Peshawar dated 10-11-1993.

[x] Khan, op.cit., p. 31

[xi] Ibid., p. 31

[xii] Ibid., p. 9

[xiii] Abdul Ghaffar Khan in May 1928 started a Pashtu journal the "Pakhtun", which was an organ and mouthpiece of his Khudai‑Khidmatgar Movement or as dubbed by the British the "Red Shirt Movement".

[xiv] Dr. Syed Wiqar Ali Shah Kaka Khel is Assistant Professor in Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad. He met with late Dr. Waris Khan and also wrote an introduction to his biography.

[xv] Khan, op.cit., p.9

[xvi] Mian Akbar Shah of Badrashi is one of those freedom fighters who first migrated to Afghanistan in the Hijrat movement and then to Soviet Central Asia. Later on he joind the Khudai Khidmatgar Movement of Khan A. Khan, Forward block of All India Congress etc. He wrote travelogue Da Azadai Talash (In search of Independence).

[xvii] Khan, op.cit., p. 15

[xviii] The battle of Ambela (1863) has been considered the second most important battle after the war of Independence (1857) in the history of the subcontinent. Da Swat Babaji, "Pashtu", monthly journal of the Pashtu Academy, University of Peshawar, Feb-March, 1982, p.49. Sir Olaf Caroe, The Pathans, Oxford University Press, Karachi, 1986, P.360

[xix] Umara Khan of Jandul was the chief of Jandul (Bajaur-Dir) attacked Chitral and besieged the British Resident Robertson in 1895.

[xx] Mullah Najm-ud-Din was the Pir (guide) of Haji of Turangzai, led several tribal uprisings against the British in the Mohmand area.

[xxi] Haji Fazal Wahid, commonly known as Haji Sahib of Turangzai (1858-1937) belonged to a religious family of village Turangzai, district Charsadda. He took part in the 1897 frontier uprisings. With Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan he established a number of Azad (independent) schools. In 1915, Haji left his homes for the tribal areas and settled among the Mohmands. There he preached Jehad against the British. He died on 15th December 1937.

[xxii] Maulana Uzair Gul, son of Mohammad Shahid Gul Kaka Khel was born in 1889 at Dargai. He was one of the active leaders of anti-British movement of Sheikh-ul-Hind Maulana Mahmood-ul-Hassan. Maulana Uzair Gul along with Maulana Mahmood-ul-Hassan and others was arrested by the British authorities and imprisoned in Malta. He died on November 16, 1989 and has left behind two sons (Abdul Rauf Zubair and Mohammad Zaheer) and three daughters.

[xxiii] The Hijrat Movement is one the significant events of Indo-Pakistan history. It developed out of internal and external political crosscurrents in the region including the Khilafat agitation in British India in 1920. Thousands and thousands of people migrated from India to Afghanistan. Contemporary writers and Muhajers have written many books and articles in Urdu, Pashtu and English with their own perspective and experience about this mass migration of the Indians. The second source which is comparatively objective is the British and Afghan government record. See James W. Spain, The Pathan Borderland, Mouton & Co., the Hague, 1963, p. 163. See also a letter of Dr. M. Naeem Qureshi, to Dr. Muhammad Anwar khan, Director, Area Study Centre, and University of Peshawar, dated November 6, 1985.

[xxiv] Those Pakhtuns who migrated to Kabul and later on to Soviet Central Asia and even Moscow brought with them new revolutionary ideas in politics, literature and dramas to their homeland.

[xxv] On 1st April 1921, the Anjuman-i-Islah-ul-Afaghana (the Society for the Reformation of Afghans) was formed with Ghaffar Khan as its President and Mian Ahmad Shah as Secretary. The stated objectives of the Anjuman included: promotion of unity amongst the Pakhtuns, the eradication of social evils, prevention of lavish spending on social events, encouragement of Pashto language and literature, and the creation of ‘real love’ for Islam among the Pakhtuns.

[xxvi] Sanobar Hussain Momand known as Hussain Kakajee was born in January 1897 at Kaga Wala village, Peshawar. He died on January 3, 1963. He was an eminent writer, freedom fighter with socialist leanings. Abdul Rahim Popalzai was born at Peshawar in 1980. He is one of those freedom fighters who were inspired by the philosophy of Shah Waliullah and the revolutionary tactics of Marxism - Leninism. He breathed his last at 02:00 PM on Wednesday, May 31, 1944.

[xxvii] Abdul Ghaffar, Zama Zawand Aw Jadojuhed, op.cit., pp 65-66.

[xxviii] The daily Frontier Post, Peshawar, March 28th, 1993.

[xxix] Ibid.

[xxx] Subash Chander Boss, a Bengali freedom fighter who raised Indian National Army (INA) against the British Raj in 1940s.

Reflections on Pakhtun Cause

Reflections on Pakhtun Cause
Pir Rokhan
Source:http://www.khyberwatch.com/forums


The days of using Afghanistan for strategic depth against India are gone. Afghanistan is and will remain to be a free and independent sovereign state despite of the malicious propaganda by the Punjabi media.

The sell-out Punjabised Pakhtuns on the payroll of ISI (Taliban) could not even divide it. The Non Pashtun Afghans are even against any division of the unitary Afghanistan which has been the graveyard for all those who tried to ruin and devastate it.As the Durand line is not acceptable to Pakhtuns hence the issue still remains between Pakistan and Afghanistan like the Kashmir issue.

The only way for the Pakhtuns to remain in Pakistan is to unite them within Pakistan in a united Pakhtunkhwa province consisting of NWFP, Northren areas, Attock Mianwali, Pakhtun belt of Baluchistan as demanded by the Pakhtun nationalist parties.

Provincial autonomy is the next step to make them really a part of Pakistan. This is the demand of all three provinces whose resources are being exploited by Punjab for the last 60 years plus. A true federation is the only way out for Pakistan.

Pakhtuns and other oppressed nations, if given their due share and rights in governance are not in favour of merging with Afghanistan unless the compulsive forces of history separate them.

The crux of the matter is that till Pakistan faces it natural death and continues to tread the way which leads to suicide, all the nations have to be given their due rights and share in power and atleast Pakhtuns are not in favour of getting separated from Pakistan.

It is life of dignity and honour which is what Pakhtuns demand which they don’t find in a rogue state like Pakistan which has become a symbol of dishonour, terrorism, fundamentalism, corruption and defacto rule of Punjabi army and the malicious intelligence agencies.

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Pakhtuns are more exploited ,humiliated and now killed along with a loss of language ,culture, identity ,history and glory than those who are "urbanized”.

We are already facing the music of Pakhtuns modernized and urbanized by PTV,ISPR and “Mutalia Pakistan” so much that they dont know who was Amir Karor, Mirwais Neka, Ahmed Shah baba,Abdul Ahad Momand, Khuhshal Khan Khattak, Abdul Samad Khan Achakzai, Bacha Khan, Sanober Husain, Hamza Shinwari etc etc.

The Pakistanised Pakhtuns now only know those British puppets who were used by them to create a banana republic for the cold war using the name of religion or those Punjabis who offered their services for safeguarding the interests of Punjab etc.

The rest of Pakistan is urbanized at the cost of those innocent ,poor, exploited Pakhtuns,Balochis and Sindhi labour class who have been living below poverty line in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan due to the autocratic rule of Punjabi army who have been scaring the people of Pakistan with Indian and Sikh army - a people who are originally their cousins in race.

There is no difference between the Punjabis, Sindhis of India and Pakistan. Both have the same blood,color, culture, history. It is just some Arabic sentences and rituals which the Muslim Sikhs have adopted without knowing their meaning.

Pakhtuns neither were part of Indian civilization (ofcourse there is no such thing as Pakistani civilization) nor are part of it.

Pakhtuns dont even recognize the version of Punjabi Islam (which justifies killing millions of Afghans and devastating their state to safeguard their interest covering it under the cover of Fortress of Islam).

Pakhtuns are Afghans and they by their very emotional and mental make up cannot consider submission to be wisdom.

Pakhtuns do not hate any nation due to their color ,creed or race but expect treatment on egalitarian basis.

The Pakhtuns who were made a part of Pakistan as a result of the fraudulent referendum which all Punjabised Pakhtuns refer to in their writings are still facing the music. It is good that Khudai Khidmatgaars boycotted the drama which stamped misery and deprivation on the fate of Pakhtuns in Pakistan once and for all.

Now just check what we have gained and what we have lost after being a part of Pakistan.

Are your ears deaf not to hear the cries and miseries of those IDPs whose parents, kids, sons and daughters are killed by Punjabi army and air force to prove their efficiency in meeting the two weeks deadline given by the US to Pakistan after which they were going to invade Pakistan???

Are you blind not to see the exploitation of our water and power resources by Punjab? Will you give an inch of your land to any person of your own lineage and kinship? Here the situation is Punjab has got all the waters of your rivers and diverted them to make their lands fertile and left us jobless to beg for petty jobs in the streets of Punjab?

Don’t you see the revenue from tobacco being used just to make that Pakistan prosperous which means Punjab only.

Does the failure of Gadoon amazai by Punjabi industrialists and beaureocracy not ring bells in your mind?

Don’t you know that this entire Taliban factor is an ISI drama? Don’t you know that it is a strategy to malign Pakhtuns and to show it a real drama to the world to get dollars?

Don’t you know that Fazlaullah's radio was established, maintained and safeguarded by army captains. Do you want the names?

Are you not aware of Sufi Mohammad? Don’t you know he is an ISI pet who was used by ISI through major Amir in nineties?

Pakhtuns used to stand for their kith and kins, rights and nation and now look what we are taught that submission is wisdom.

Intellectualising your slavery, Justifying the occupation of your resources by Punjab, Pacifying the natural retaliation against the usurping of my property my resources. And then preferring to be a slave and being proud of it and calling it wisdom. The wisdom which people like you acquire after seeing the colour of the dollar in Punjab.

I have propose that Pakhtuns have three options contrary to Baloch, who have no other option but to get separate and Pakhtuns should support them to get rid of Punjabi imperialism.

1) They can live in Pakistan (anyway it was an Afghan colony under Ahmed shah baba's Afghanistan) but under the condition that there should be a united province called Afghania or Pakhtunkhwa or Pakhtunistan with provincial autonomy.

If Pakistanis want to run Pakistan affairs it has to be based on equal share in the right to govern. Otherwise the Pakistanis and Punjabi stooges and stalwarts who consider Pakhtuns' demand for their legal and legitimate right to be against Pakistan and a risk to the integrity and solidarity of Pakistan should go to hell along with their Pakistan. If my demands for my rights mean the breakup of Pakistan then Pakistan should break up sooner than later.

2) The creation of a separate state like Balochistan, Karachi city state (on the lines of Singapore), Sindho Desh, Bengal etc.

3) The merger of Pakhtun land with Afghanistan.

I do not mind the first option. My point is that the international scenario now needs the unification of Pakhtunland and I don’t see the balls and brains in Pakistan to oppose that agenda.

Pakhtuns in Afghanistan are much better off then those in Pakistan. It is better to rule in hell than to serve in heaven as Milton had said.If your stereotypes col Imam and Col Zameer stop destroying the Pakhtun motherland as they have been destroying for the last 30 years then it will proposer. It is however a good omen that Taliban have turned against the Punjabi army and ISI and they are facing the music from their own brainchild. But this is what they say what you sow so shall you reap.