Pashtunistan

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Pashtunistan (Pashto, Persian: پشتونستان) or Pakhtunistan (Pashto, Persian, Urdu: پختونستان), is the idea of an historic homeland that was divided in 1893 by the Durand Line, a border between British India and Afghanistan.[1]. The Pashtuns are the largest ethnic group in Afghanistan. Pashto is the main Language spoken by 75 to 80% of people. They are concentrated mainly in the south and east. In Pakistan the Pashtuns are found in the North-West region. The Pakistani part of Pashtunistan comprises an area that runs from Chitral in the north (where Pashtuns are a minority, with Khowar people being the majority) to Sibi in the southwest and intentionally includes the ethnically mixed region of Balochistan. The Pashtun majority areas in western Pakistan include the North-West Frontier Province (NWFP), Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), Mianwali District and the northern portion of Balochistan. The main language spoken in the Pashtunistan region is Pashto, but a small number of Persian-speaking Afghans can also be found where Afghan refugees are temporarily staying. Pakistan has more than double the number of Pashtuns compared to Afghanistan. After the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979, over 5 million refugees, mostly Pashtuns, migrated to Pakistan. These refugees are not included in the official count of Pashtuns in Pakistan as they are not Pakistani citizens but are only remaining temporarily until December 2009. [2] In May 2008, it was reported that there are 2 million Afghan refugees, mostly Pashtuns, that still remain in Pakistan[3].

Contents

[edit] Pashtunistan in history

Flag of Pashtunistan
Flag of Pashtunistan

The area was called Pukhtunkhwa (Pukhtun Quarter, according to H. W. Bellew) or Paktika (according to Herodotus) and mentioned by many Pashto poets in their verses as Pakhtunkhwa since the 11th century.

In fact the famous couplet of Ahmad Shah Abdali speaks of the association the people have with the region,

Da Dili takht herauma cheh rayad krhm, Zma da khkule Pukhtunkhwa da ghre saroona.

Translation: "I forget the throne of Delhi when I recall, The mountain peaks of my beautiful Pukhtunkhwa."

Despite sharing a common language and believing in a common ancestry, Pashtuns have rarely been united and did not achieve unity until the 18th century. Another early Pashtun nationalist was the Pashtun "warrior-poet" Khushal Khan Khattak who was imprisoned by the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb for trying to incite the Pashtuns to rebel against the rule of the Mughals. The first Afghan empire (see Durrani Empire) of Ahmad Shah Durrani, which was established in 1747 and encompassed the Pashtun areas, united the Pashtuns until conflicts with the encroaching British Empire and the Ranjit Singh's Sikh kingdom both of whom were beaten back by the Pashtuns, led to the eventual dismemberment of the old Durrani Empire.

Following the decline of the Durrani Empire, the Pashtun domains began to shrink as they lost control of the regions now in Pakistan to the Sikhs, Balochis, and ultimately the British. The British arrived in the middle of the 19th century, and the Pashtunistan region became an area of importance for both the British and the Russians. The Anglo-Afghan wars were fought as part of the overall imperialistic Great Game that was waged between the Russian Empire and the British, and the Afghans found their territories greatly diminished as a result of border adjustments made as a result of British peace terms. During the reign of the Afghan "Iron" Amir Abdur Rahman, in the late 19th century, the Afghans gave up nearly half of the Pashtun territories to the British. The British finalized the agreement as part of their permanent political border with Afghanistan[citation needed].

In 1905, the North-West Frontier Province was created and roughly corresponded to Pashtun majority regions within the British domain and seemed to indicate the permanence of the border from the British point of view. The Federally Administered Tribal Areas was created to further placate the Pashtun tribesmen who never fully accepted British rule and were prone to rebellions, while Peshawar was directly administered as part of a British protectorate state with full integration into the federal rule of law.

During World War I, the Afghan government was contacted by the Ottoman Turkey and Germany, through the Niedermayer-Hentig Mission, to join the Central Allies on behalf of the Caliph in a Jihad; some revolutionaries and Afghan leaders including a brother of the Amir named Nasrullah Khan were in favour of the delegation and wanted the Amir declare Jihad.

That delegation included Kazim Bey, a Turk minister and special envoy of the last Sultan of Turkish Usmania dynasty — Muhammad V (known as Mohammad Khamis).

Kazim Bey carried a farman from the Khalifa in Persian. It was addressed to “the residents of Pathanistan.” It said that when the British were defeated, "His Majesty the Khalifa, in agreement with allied States, will acquire guarantee for independence of the united state of Pathanistan and will provide every kind of assistance to it. Thereafter, I will not allow any interference in the country of Pathanistan." (Ahmad Chagharzai; 1989; PP: 138-139). However the efforts failed and the Afghan Amir Habibullah Khan maintained Afghanistan's neutrality throughout World War I (for more information see [4]).

The Khudai Khidmatgar were a non-violent group and Ghaffar Khan openly claimed to have been inspired by Mahatma Gandhi. While the Red Shirts were willing to work with the Indian National Congress from a political point of view, some Pashtuns desired independence from both India and the newly created state of Pakistan following the departure of the British. When the decision for partition was announced, it included the condition of a referendum being held in the North West Frontier Province because it was ruled by the Khudai Khidmatgar backed Congress government of Dr. Khan Sahib. On 21st June 1947, Khudai Khidmatgar leaders met under the presidency of Amir Mohammad Khan at Bannu as realisation that the referendum was inevitable the participants declared that Pukhtuns did not accept India or Pakistan and announced a boycott of the referendum, this move was in contrast to the widespread sentiments of the people inhabiting the province who by and large were supportive of Mohammed Ali Jinnah's movement for a new nation. British concessions to Muslim separatism emboldened other religious and ethnic minorities to ask for independent states. The fiercely tribalist Pashtuns of the North-West Frontier province, wary of Jiannah, asked for Pathanistan. However, this effort failed and the voters chose Pakistan by a margin of 9 to 1 in 1947. A loya jirga in the Tribal Areas garnered a similar result as most preferred to become part of Pakistan. A move that even surprised Afghanistan which had always tried to exert its influence into the Tribal Areas. Subsequent to independence and Pakistan's creation in August 1947 the Khudai Khidmatgar leaders reconvened at Sardaryab on 3 and 4 September 1947 and passed a resolution that accepted Pakistan's creation and they would leave in Pakistan as its bona fide citizens and would refrain from making any sort of disturbance and difficulty for the new state.

Afghanistan before the Durand agreement of 1893.
Afghanistan before the Durand agreement of 1893.

Despite some improvement provincially the Pashtunistan issue was inherited by the new state of Pakistan and would cause diplomatic problems with Afghanistan. Afghanistan was the only country in the world that voted against Pakistan's inclusion in the U.N. Assembly. While both countries showed a willingness to discuss the Durand Line, a brief period of calm was shattered in 1949 following a tribal uprising supported by Afghanistan on the Pakistani side of the border. The Afghan government responded to the incident with a declaration that it found the Durand Line agreement of 1893 to be null and void and this prompted some measure of hostile relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan. However there was a clear divide within the Afghan government on how to handle the issue. On June 13, 1948, Shah Wali Khan, the Afghan envoy to Pakistan, at a party in his honor by the Aligarh Old Boys' Association, declared: "Our King has already stated, and I, as the representative of Afghanistan, declare that Afghanistan has no claims on frontier territory, and even if there were any, they have been given up in favor of Pakistan. Anything contrary to this which may have appeared in the Press in the past or may appear in the future should not be given credence at all and should be considered just a canard."

Around the same time, the official Kabul daily, Anis, supported by Kabul Radio, demanded that the territory between the Durand Line and the Indus River should be amalgamated with Afghanistan. Again a statement supporting the views expressed by his Ambassador was soon issued by the Counselor of the Afghan Embassy in Karachi. This led to an unusual situation in which Kabul Radio challenged the authority of the Afghan envoy to speak for his own government.

In July 1949, the Afghan Parliament declared that "it does not recognize the imaginary Durand or any similar Line." Kabul Radio and the Afghan Press intensified their propaganda, inciting the tribesmen living on the Pakistan side of the Durand Line to revolt in the name of 'Pakhtoonistan'.

Afghan backed insurgents crossed the Durand Line from Afghanistan to openly combat the Pakistani military between 1950 to 1955 and diplomatic relations were briefly severed during this tense period. Relations were resumed in 1951, but the issue remained unresolved. A constant propaganda war was waged between the two governments while there was evidence to suggest that the Afghan government intentionally or unintentionally was encouraging secessionist activities in Pakistan, besides Afghanistan many Congress party leaders felt a sense of obligation to their former compatriots in the Khudai Khidmatgar movement[5].

As the Cold War progressed, Pakistan formally joined the Baghdad pact and CENTO because of its underlying security needs in relation to larger India. The Soviets had established closer ties to Afghanistan in 1955 and during a state visit by Soviet Premier Nikolay A. Bulganin, the USSR declared that it supported the right to self-determination of Pashtunistan.

However despite the controversy, Afghanistan and Pashtun nationalists did not exploit Pakistan's vulnerability during the nation's 1965 and 1971 wars with India.

In the 1970s, the roles between Pakistan and Afghanistan reversed despite the Pakistan government's fresh crackdown on the Baloch and Pashtun Nationalist's by the government of Zulfiqar Bhutto. The Pakistan government decided to retaliate against the Afghan governments Pakhtunistan policy by supporting Islamist opponents of the Afghan government[6] including future Mujahidin leaders Gulbadin Hekmatyar and Ahmed Shah Masood. This operation was remarkably successful and by 1977 the Afghan government of Sardar Daud was willing to settle all outstanding issues in exchange for a lifting of the ban on the National Awami Party and a commitment towards provincial autonomy for Pashtuns.

The Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan and civil war in Afghanistan sidelined the issue which remains a cause championed by small pockets of Pashtun nationalists in Afghanistan, but with diminished support.

[edit] Social issues and concepts surrounding Pashtunistan

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Prominent 20th century proponents of the Pashtunistan cause have included the late Khan Wali Khan and Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan. Ghaffar Khan stated in the Pakistan Constituent Assembly in 1948 that he simply wanted "the renaming of his province as Pakhtoonistan. Like Sindh, Punjab, etc." Another name mentioned is Afghania whereas the 'A' in Choudhary Rahmat Ali Khan's theory stands for Pakistan's second letter in the Now or Never Pamphlet. However this name has failed to capture political support of any group in the province.

Khan Abdul Wali Khan, who founded his own faction of the National Awami Party, is remembered for having eloquently replied to a Pakistani critic of the Pashtunistan cause, who asked him if he considered himself a Pakistani Muslim first or a Pashtun, by stating that: "I have been a Pashtun for six thousand years, a Muslim for thirteen hundred years, and a Pakistani for twenty-five." This has become an often repeated sentence by Pashtun nationalists and even other Nationalist leaders in Pakistan.

While some Pashtun intellectuals continue to champion the Pashtunistan cause, independent Pashtun tribes have expressed an identity that is often relegated to their cultural affiliation. In addition, urban Pashtuns in Afghanistan have undergone considerable "Persianization" as part of a country where Persian remains an important universal language, while in urban Pashtuns in Pakistan have gone through some "Urduization" and tend to be bilingual in the national language of Pakistan's schools, as well as the languages of adjacent provinces. Contact between Afghan and Pakistani Pashtuns was re-established during the Soviet invasion and subsequent civil war in Afghanistan as millions of Afghan refugees poured in to Pakistan's border regions. This served to re-establish cultural ties; in fact, many Afghans settled and married into the population of Pakistan. Ironically, as time passed the initial whole-hearted welcome changed into antagonism amongst the majority of the Pakistani Pashtuns, who began to look upon the Afghans as exploitative and competing for the same resources, jobs and lucrative business trade existing throughout Pakistan. Many Pashtuns felt that the Afghans were hijacking their established identity and position within Pakistani society and made every effort to distinguish themselves as being distinct from them. Furthermore, Pashtuns in Pakistan were considerably better off economically and socially than their Afghani counterparts, particularly in the fields of education and government bureaucracy. They held considerable clout in the government of Pakistan, its bureaucracy and more importantly its powerful army. This kind of Pashtun influence doubles in Afghanistan where where the traditional ruling families have always been derived of the Pashtun stock. Given the current rebuilding status of Afghanistan and increasing Pashtun demographics and power within Pakistan itself, the Pashtunistan issue has become dormant in recent years.

Pashtuns practice Pashtunwali, the indigenous culture of the Pashtuns, and this pre-Islamic identity remains significant for many Pashtuns and is one of the factors that have kept the Pashtunistan issue alive. Although the Pashtuns are separated by the Durand Line between Pakistan and Afghanistan, many Pashtuns, especially tribesmen from the FATA area, tend to ignore the border and cross back and forth with relative disregard.

[edit] Variations of the Pashtunistan claim

There are several different types of claims with regard to the Pashtunistan issue, they sometimes overlap but can be distinctively defined:

[edit] Afghanistan's claim

Afghanistan makes its core claim on the Pashtun areas on the grounds that Afghanistan is the original home of all Pashtuns. According to historic sources Pukhtun/Afghan tribes did not appear in Peshawar Valley until after 800 AD, when the Islamic conquest of this area took place. (Tarikh-e-Farishtah; H. G. Raverty, Notes on Afghanistan; Peshawar District Gazetteer 1897-98). As such the original Pashtun tribes migrated from Southern Afghanistan and all Pashtuns acknowledge their origin from that region.

The Afghan governments claim can be based on two different concepts

  • One is the claim aiming for the restoration of the Afghan Empire as formed by Ahmad Shah Abdali as it was prior to the capture of certain areas by Ranjit Singh in the early 19th century. This swathe of territory includes Kashmir, much of Pakistani Punjab (up to Jhelum river) in particular Multan and the Pashtun areas of Balochistan especially Quetta. This claim while not formally declared is often mentioned by Afghans. The territory in question also stakes claim to Balochistan which was not formally a part of the Afghan Empire but did however did pay tribute to it during the time of Ahmad Shah Abdali. Critics claim, that Ahmed Shah Abdali's empire varied at different points in time, including all of Pakistan (Panjab, SIndh, Kashmir) at one point. Some Afghans state that if the claim can extent to a return of the Afghan Empire, then all of Pakistan should be consolidated into Afghanistan. Proponents of this view are of the belief that an initial confederation between Pakistan and Afghanistan would prove beneficial to both countries while removing the political antagonism that often exists between them and also resolving the issue of Pushtun re-unification.[7]
  • The Second claim is based on purely Pashtun inhabited territory which includes the restoration of NWFP, FATA and the Pashtun belt of Balochistan. This overlaps with the first claim as some proponents also include Balochistan in this claim. This claim has some legal basis as the Afghan government cites three International documents as basis for it, one of which is the limited validity of the Durand Line agreement signed between the British Empire and the Afghan government. The Durand border agreement demarcated the area between Pakistan and Afghanistan. Afghanistan unsuccessfully argued that the agreement should have been valid for only 100 years. Later, international tribunal and courts found that the Durand Treaty never specified any time frame and that Pakistan was the true heir and successor state of these regions which where handed over to the Colonial British.

The agreements cited by the Afghan government as proof of their claim over the Pashtun tribes are: a) Article 11 of the Anglo-Afghan Treaty of 1921 which states: the two contracting parties, being mutually satisfied themselves each regarding the goodwill of the other and especially regarding their benevolent intentions towards the tribes residing close to their respective boundaries, hereby undertake to inform each other of any future military operations which may appear necessary for the maintenance of order among the Frontier tribes residing within their respective spheres before the commencement of such operations. b) Supplementary letter to the Anglo-Afghan treaty of 1921: As the conditions of the Frontier tribes of the two governments are of interest to the Government of Afghanistan. I inform you that the British government entertains feelings of goodwill towards all the Frontier tribes and has every intention of treating them generously, provided they abstain from outrages against the people of India (Caroe 1981).

[edit] Advocates of Independent Pashtunistan

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Some Pashtun Nationalists believe the Pashtun people are within their rights to form their own State. They believe that either NWFP and FATA on its own or NWFP, along with FATA or the Pashtun belt of Pakistan, NWFP, Balochistan and FATA should be granted independence from Pakistan forming a new State possibly separate from Pakistan called Pashtunistan/Pakhtunistan. They base this on the claim that the 1947 referendum was illegitimate because (i) The option of independence or joining Afghanistan was not given. (ii) The legitimacy of it is doubtful as it was not based on adult franchise but of a limited electoral college of approximately half a million and still polled barely 51% (iii) The NWFP provincial Assembly in 1947 was the only provincial Assembly deprived of the right to decide which choice it would have preferred. As such the decision to join Pakistan was illegal.

In the early 1950s, the Soviet Union through Afghanistan supported Pushtun ambitions for the creation of an independent Pushtunistan (also called Pakhtunistan) in the border areas of West Pakistan. Several border clashes and ruptures of diplomatic relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan ensued. The movement was never able to gain popular support considering that Pashtuns in Pakistan were always better off than their counterparts in Afghanistan. Furthermore, an independent pashtunistan would likely suffer economic and political hardship as Pashtuns in Pakistan have successfully integrated and have a disproportionately high representation in the government, bureaucracy, military and more importantly business. Critics claim, that advocates of Pashtunistan will likely worsen the economic status of the community. Pashtuns also dominate the vital transport trade in Pakistan along with many other commercial and business ventures in many of it urban cities not located in the Pashtunkwa regions.[8]

[edit] Advocates of Pashtunistan within Pakistan & the renaming NWFP Pakhtunkhwa

Pashtun nationalism in the form of the previous theories is quite weak at present, the Pashtun presence within Pakistan's ruling establishment is quite significant, they are represented in the Armed forces, civil service, political system and in business both nationally and provincially. There is support, however, to rename NWFP as Pakhtunkhwa (translates as Pashtun corner). Begum Nasim Wali Khan (the wife of Khan Abdul Wali Khan) declared in an interview: "I want an identity.. I want the name to change so that Pathans may be identified on the map of Pakistan... [Pakhtunkhwa was] the 3000 year old name of this area: the name used by Ahmed Shah Abdali who said he forgot everything including the throne of Delhi but not Pakthunkhwa".

In fact the renaming issue is an emotive one which often crosses party lines. While not all supporters of a renaming agree on the name Pakhtunkhwa, some prefer Pashtunistan/Pakhtunistan, still others prefer the name ‘’Abasin’’, or ‘’Afghania’’, which they base on the word A in Pakistan which as explained by the man who named Pakistan, Choudhary Rahmat Ali in his book, Pakistan: The Fatherland of Pak Nation (Ali 1940) "North West Frontier Province - is semantically non-descript and socially wrongful. It is non-descript because it merely indicates their geographical situation as a province of old 'British India' [which no longer exists]. It is wrongful because it suppresses the social entity of these people. In fact, it suppresses that entity so completely that when composing the name 'Pakistan' for our homelands, I had to call the North West Frontier Province the Afghan Province."

The belief in NWFP that the Pashtuns get an unfair deal from the Pakistani government which is based on the failure to honor Hydro royalty agreements, refusal to allow the renaming of the province, refusal to grant provincial autonomy, perceived discrimination by other ethnic groups (to be more precise Pashtun Nationalists often target Punjabis) towards Pashtuns, and their language and culture, and the fact that the after the Baloch many of the regions of poverty in Pakistan are in the Pashtun belts.

Many of these claims have no basis and are often used to unfairly direct domestic politics onto other provinces. Official statistics reveal that the North West Frontier province in fact has the lowest percentage(s) of poverty in the whole country. In fact, the province of Panjab, Sindh and Balochistan have higher levels of poverty than are found in any region of the North West Frontier Province. NWFP province has achieved a consistently positive growth and development since the independence of Pakistan, and its influence and share of the government has increased. The representation of people from the NWFP province in the government, military, police, bureaucracy and business is higher percentage wise than any other ethnic group in Pakistan.

[edit] Pakistani Pashtun claim

Still other ethnic Pashtuns support the status quo in regards to Pashtun influence in Pakistan and consider the Pashtunistan movement dead. They point out various Pashtun leaders, scientists (e.g. Dr. AQ Khan), intellectuals and cricketers (e.g. Imran Khan) who have contributed to Pakistan and the level of influence ethnic Pashtuns enjoy in Pakistan. They also point out the influence of Pashtuns in the creation of Pakistan. For example, of the 4 co-signatories of the pamphlet "Now or Never" calling for an independent Pakistan, 3 were ethnic Pashtuns from the Khyber Union. The Khyber Union was also instrumental in the creation of Pakistan.

Considering the fact that Pashtuns live in every province of Pakistan, and that the Pakistan Army - the most influential body in Pakistan - is made up of 30% Pashtuns, many Pashtuns feel they have considerable influence in Pakistan and see it as their homeland. These pro-Pakistan Pashtuns claim to be the majority and point to democratic elections in Northwest Frontier Province as proof of this. They are highly sensitive to the idea of Pashtun separatism or Pashtunistan.

Other Pashtuns residing in Pakistan, feel the issue of Pashtunistan is exploitative and meant to disrupt relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan. They point to continuous and tacit support for the issue emanating from foreign countries such as during the war in Afghanistan in which the Soviet Union financially funded several campaigns to promote Pashtunistan. More recently, India is encouraging dissent and propaganda by fostering negative perceptions between Afghanistan and Pakistan in its continued attempts to extend its influence into the region and undermine Pakistan. Some among these Pakistani Pashtuns consider the two countries as part of a single unit and advocate the formation of a confederation. Such a confederation, they argue, would resolve the issue of Pashtunistan and improve the prospects of both Afghanistan and Pakistan as a competitive country internationally.

[edit] Criticism of the Pashtunistan concept

Pakistani opponents of the Pashtunistan issue challenge the central tenet of the Afghan argument that Afghanistan is the natural home for Pashtuns. Pakistan's rulers like Field Marshal Ayub Khan, who himself was a Pashtun believed there was a difference between the Pakhtunistan advocated by Ghaffar Khan and the Pukhtunistan of Afghanistan.

Critics challenge the argument that Pashtuns are discriminated favourably in Pakistan's power matrix. They cite the facts that there are more than double the number of Pashtuns in Pakistan than in Afghanistan so in fact Pakistan is their natural home. In addition, critics argue Pashtuns in Pakistan, are well represented in Pakistan's power structure, particularly the Army. They have served at all levels of the Federal government, in sports and other fields. They are also well represented as far as in the business community.

According to some estimates there are 30 million Pashtuns in Pakistan while 12.5 million in Afghanistan. Over 60% of all Pushtuns live in Pakistan, this includes Pakistani Pashtuns and about three to four million Pashtun refugees from Afghanistan. Furthermore, Pashtuns have one of the highest birth rates in Pakistan, and their representation in the country is expected to increase considerably over the next few decades further increasing their representation in the country. Pashtuns in Pakistan have also migrated heavily to other provinces within Pakistan with the city of Karachi in the province of Sindh now having the largest urban population of Pashtuns in the world (estimated at four million). There are also sizeable pashtun populations in Lahore (one to two million) and in Islamabad/Rawalpindi. Pashtuns virtually dominate the transport industry in Pakistan and are actively involved in business and trade throughout the country but particularly in areas outside of the traditional Pukhtunkwa areas. Critics also point to the low social status of Pashtuns in Afghanistan and their low rate of representation and literacy. They claim that Pashtuns in Afghanistan are treated poorly and are discriminated against by the more urban, educated Tajik and Persian speaking populations. In Afghanistan, it if often impossible for a pashtun to increase his social standing without emerging himself into the more influential Dari culture originating from the north.

[edit] Pakistan Afghanistan Confederation

Many foresee the eventual unification of Pakistan and Afghanistan in their entirety. Both countries have diverse populations with strong Pashtun(Afghan) minorities. Many scholars point to the fact that stability in one country is directly tied to events in the other. Both countries in fact, already share strong trade, economic, cultural, linguistic, religious, political and historical ties. They have been united in the past on several different occasions. Afghan and in particular Tajik traders and scholars regularly travelled to the Indus in ancient times and plied their trade. Scholars point out that its not a matter of if the two countries unite, but rather of when they unite as the two countries histories seem inextricably intertwined. Such a union, would prove beneficial in many aspects. The Afghan (Pashtun) ethnic groups would finally be united but be balanced by a myriad of ethnic groups. Traditionally, when Afghans were united in a nation of their own, they have often been bogged down in internal warfare and tribal feuds. However, when part of a multi ethnic state, they have often flourished. The economic potential of such a confederation would be enormous and help propel both countries forward economically particularly for Afghanistan, but Pakistan would also benefit considerably. Such a move would also stabilize the region as a whole. Often what one country lacks, the other has, eg. Pakistan has a surplus of food while Afghanistan has shortages of foodstuffs. Afghanistan has an abundance of untapped natural resources and offers strategic depth while Pakistan often lacks them. The two countries where united as recently as the 18th century under the Afghan Empire founded by Ahmed Shah Durrani, an Afghan born in Multan, in the province of Panjab in modern day Pakistan.[9]

[edit] Demographics of the Pashtun population

According to Demographics of Afghanistan, Pashtuns constitute 42% of Afghanistan's population Afghanistan's 2005 population was 29,928,987. The 42% of total population of Afghanistan, 29,928,987 is 12,570,000.

According to Demographics of Pakistan, Pashtuns constitute over 15.42% of Pakistan's population. Pakistan's population in 2005 was 162,400,000. The 15.42% of total population of Pakistan, 162,400,000 is 25,042,080.

Afghanistan

Total Population:29,928,987
Pashtun Population:12,570,000

Pakistan

Total Population:162,400,000
Pashtun Population:25,042,000

Total Pashtun Population: 37,612,000

[edit] Language & Economic argument

Another argument against Pashtuns remaining as part of Pakistan is that the Pakistani Government have in fact little interest in the promotion of Pashtun culture, they cite the widespread usage of Urdu and its use as the only national language of Pakistan. While there is considerable resentment towards the use of Urdu, this resentment is shared by most of Pakistan's province including a sizeable number of Panjabis who also do not have official patronage of their language. With the exception of Urdu (Language of the Mohajir) and Sindhi (which was introduced as a provincial language in the 1970s after much protests and ethnic tension against mohajir's), no other indigenous ethnic group of Pakistan has official patronage of their maternal tongues. However, Population wise, the Punjab province at 47% dominates many aspects of social, political, and economic society. Critics point out that in Afghanistan, though not always the case, but at current, both Dari and Pashto are official languages that are taught to students. Pashto culture is a main aspect of Afghan culture particularly in the south and east. Many Pashtuns and in fact non Pashtun Pakistani's support the official patronage of Pashto language and culture (and that of other indigenous groups of Pakistan like Balochi, Saraiki, Punjabi, Hindko, Khowar, Shina, Persian etc..) by the government and believe that that state should do more to promote these native languages at least at the elementary level.

[edit] Durand line agreement has lapsed

Accuracy dispute
 This article or section appears to contradict itself. Please help fix this problem.

The Afghan government after the independence the Pakistan government cite the fact that according international law the Durand line between Pakistan and Afghanistan is valid and the agreement has not lapsed. Pakistan argues that the Durrand Line Agreement never specified 100 years. Currently, Afghanistan was the only UN member nation that refused to recognize the validity of the Durrand Line.

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

[edit] References

  1. ^ [1]Pakistan: Analyst Discusses Controversial 'Pashtunistan' Proposal
  2. ^ http://www.irinnews.org/Report
  3. ^ Two million Afghans still living in Pakistan: UN
  4. ^ http://khyberwatch.com/
  5. ^ http://www.icdc.com
  6. ^ http://www.defencejournal.com/2001/apr/babar.htm
  7. ^ The Inevitable Pak-Afghan Union. Pakistan Times (2004-02-19). Retrieved on 2007-12-07.
  8. ^ http://www.yespakistan.com/hdf/Mardan/pathans.asp
  9. ^ http://pakistantimes.net/2004/02/19/guest1.htm

[edit] Further reading

  • Ahmed, Feroz (1998) Ethnicity and politics in Pakistan. Karachi. Oxford University Press.
  • Ahmad, M.(1989) Pukhtunkhwa Kiyun Nahin by Mubarak Chagharzai; PP: 138-139
  • Amin, Tahir (1988) -National Language Movements of Pakistan. Islamabad Institute of Policy Studies.
  • Buzan, Barry and Rizvi, Gowher (1986), South Asian Insecurity and the Great Powers, London: Macmillan, p. 73.
  • Caroe, Olaf (1983) The Pathans with an Epilogue on Russia. Oxford University Press. page 464,465
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