CRISES IN PUKHTUNKHWA AND THE WAY OUT

 

By: A Q Wazirzada

 

What has happened in Pukhtunkhwa after the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan

is well known to everyone. Today, the Pashtun lands are considered one of the most

dangerous in the world. Life……ordinary life as such has come to a halt. There is

death and destruction everywhere; extremist ideas are common, the Pashtuns are

split amongst themselves; there is generally a lot of confusion on what is happening

to the Pashtuns, who is responsible for it and what is the best solution out of this

crises. I will try to answer these questions…..

 

What is happening to the Pashtuns?

The Pashtuns today are in a turmoil. They have no friends and a lot of

enemies. Extremist ideas have taken grip of the Pashtun society. What you see

today in Pashtun lands is the worst possible manifestation of what is happening in

the Muslim societies all over the world. From Middle East to Indonesia the Muslims

are suffering and innocents are dying everywhere.

More disturbing than the death of the innocents is the death of conscious of

the Muslim society as a whole; the surrendering of a nation’s values; the servitude to

whoever is high and mighty; the relentless exploitation of human and material

resources by the few; the slide towards fundamentalism and extremism in religion;

the lack of a fair and moral justice system; the absence of tolerance and

accommodation and the lack of willpower to improve one’s predicament. These are

the grave sins which can inflict the society with the worst possible harm and can

make it very weak. When this happens; as is the case of the Muslims in the present

era; others take advantage of the weakness as the law of the jungle; might is right;

still prevails in this world.

Coming back to the Pashtuns…It must be noted that there has been centuries

of poverty, neglect and illiteracy in Pukhtunkhwa. The society was and still is

backward in every sphere of human development. This was and is an ideal ground

for nurturing extremism; especially religious extremism. To make the situation worse

there was the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979… that unfortunately led to the

introduction of Wahabi and Salafi ideas in Pukhtunkhwa. So, it can be said that the

ideal conditions for the fertilization and growth of extremist religious ideas were

already there and the incident of the Soviet invasion gave an opportunity to the

extremist form of Islam to use these conditions as its breeding grounds.

So what ensued was that the Pashtuns who were predominantly Hanafi

Muslims; and that are historically considered to be moderate and progressive started

being affected by Islamic fundamentalist movements; Wahabi and Salafi ideas from

Saudi Arabia and the Deobandi ideas that have originated from India. This in

combination with the poverty, illiteracy and neglect has become a lethal combination.

On top of all this there have been political crises in the Pashtun lands. There

is lack of cohesion among the political forces and the political parties have never

worked for improving the quality of life of the common man. You would agree with

me that nothing good can come out of something that is inherently decadent.

Just as unhygienic conditions will always give rise to disease; similarly

corruption, manipulation, exploitation and prosecution of the poor and

illiterate masses by a few individuals and families who have always had the

ultimate control of the fate of these individuals and have always denied them

their basic human rights can only lead to strengthening the reactionary and

extremist forces in the society.

In addition to the prevalent ills in the region in question there have been major

foreign interventions both military and ideological. The present crises has worsened

after the US invasion of Afghanistan. Unfortunately, this has led to labeling all

Pashtuns as Taliban and Al Qaida by the Western media. In Afghanistan; a Pashtun

majority country, the Pashtun power base has been shattered by the coalition, they

have been denied their rightful share in the government. Feeling isolated and

abandoned the populace will seek comfort in religion. Unfortunately, the guidance

that they get is from a theological structure of mainly illiterate Mullahs; large numbers

of whom are presently influenced by some retrogressive philosophies in Islam,

purely because they are not exposed to a wider debate and a broad spectrum of

literature on Islam.

 

Who is Responsible?

I would start here by explaining what is wrong with the Muslim Ummah as a

whole. There is the argument that Islam is a personal Religion and Politics and State

should be kept separate. The adherents of this point of view cite the numerous

upheavals, revolts and genocides committed in the name of Islam and the disastrous

effect it has had on the Muslims. They say that Islam is a message of peace and

love and should not be mixed with politics and the affairs of the state. The current

intellectual impotence of the Muslim Ummah and the failures of numerous States

advocating Islam as their system of governments stand testimony to this point of

view. Even after 1400 years the Muslim scholars have not been able to have a

general consensus on this issue.

The crises facing the Muslims are basically of an intellectual nature. The

intellectual depravity created by lack of broader dialogue on religious matters

amongst the Muslims led to the stagnation in evolutionary thought. The best of

religions and ideologies have suffered the same demise. Good examples are;

Zoarastanism, Judism, Christianity and Marixt Socialism. There is no need for the

external forces to trigger a downfall. It is only matter of time when the system is

eaten up from within and it just needs a minor push for it to collapse. Same is true for

human civilizations throughout history; they implode due to their own weaknesses

before any external power dares to wipe them out. The Islamic Empire was one such

Civilization.

The Pashtuns have very unique positive attributes. A Pashtun is born free and

his life quest is to remain free. Love of freedom is a sentiment that is very precious to

the Pashtuns and is rooted in the Pashtun psyche and culture. This fact has been

confirmed by many historians The religious extremists have taken advantage of this

sense of liberty and other attributes like sincerity, friendship, hospitality, innocence,

emotionality, purity of conduct strong character, sacrifice etc to propagate their

dangerous ideologies. Illiteracy and poverty have contributed to this and this in

combination has given rise to the Taliban brand of Pashtuns which has proved

detrimental to Pukhtunkhwa. Today, the whole region is engulfed in terrorism. The

majority of the Pashtuns may not agree with the Taliban version of Islam but find

themselves a hostage to it. Even secular political party like the ANP has succumbed

to it.

So, therefore we the Pashtuns have to assume responsibility of our

predicament and of our future. We should stop blaming external forces. The

foreign powers have their interests…as they work for the interests of their own

people. We have to realize what is wrong with us as Muslims and as Pashtuns,

as a Culture and as a Society and how can be learn from the errors and

blunders of the past.

The Pashtuns today stand at crossroads. At best there is confusion in the

approach that needs to be followed. The easiest approach is to blame someone.

Albeit, some blame does fall on each and every of the actors of the Afghan - USSR

war; blaming others only and not taking responsibility for one owns faults, errors and

mistakes will be a blunder and cannot be beneficial for the Pushtun cause.

I am happy that the present US government has put it on record that the US

takes responsibility for supporting the Mujahiddin Jihad that has somehow worked

as a double edged weapon for the people of Afghanistan. Mrs Clinton has clearly

accepted that the US activities during the Afghan war with USSR and subsequent

absenteeism of the US from the region immediately after the war is responsible for

the escalation to extremism and the resentment against the US in the region. A

similar acceptance of responsibility from the Pakistani government and the

establishment; of which the Military and the intelligence agencies are a part of; will

help in a long way to appease the Pashtuns. It is a fact that the Pakistani

government has increasingly utilized the help and support of religious extremist

elements as proxies in the Afghan war with USSR, in support of the insurgencies

against the Indian government in East Punjab and in occupied Kashmir. One good

thing that came out of it was the withdrawal of the Soviet forces from Afghanistan;

but during the process the Pakistani government has been supporting, arming and

financing unscrupulous elements; mainly religious extremist, mercenaries and

opportunist that would be sold out to the highest bidder and have no morals

whatsoever. Agreed the Pashtuns have suffered immensely in the process and are

still bearing the brunt of the ill consequences of ISI's adventurism.

That said; criticism of others without accepting one's own role and focusing on

one’s own weaknesses cannot help the Pashtuns to come out of this crises. Today,

the Pashtuns have very few or no friends. The recent movement for autonomy in

Baluchistan has pitched the Baluchis against their Pashtun brethren with whom they

have lived in peace forever. This is a dangerous situation and the Pashtuns need to

focus to recover themselves from the prevalent explosive situation. The MQM in

Karachi openly expressed their opposition to allowing the Swat IDPs in Karachi.

Armed gangs have been going around on a killing spree against the Pashtuns in

Karachi....surprise fires have gutted a number of Pashtun shanty town in Karachi. It

is said that all the ethnic groups in Karachi have militant groups that are armed to the

teeth. God forbid; a spark can lead to a bloodbath. Here maybe as a matter of

convenience the Punjabi groups are united with the Pashtuns against the MQM. The

largest urban group of the Pashtuns (about 6 million) are in Karachi. We need to

interact with the MQM to ameliorate the current situation.

Now, coming to the Punjab. The Punjab has always dominated the armed

services and the civil government. The Pashtuns have always found themselves less

represented in the public sector mainly because of lack of education in the Pashtun

regions; however, they are well represented in the Military. When we blame the

Pakistani Military we have to accept that the whole of the military rank and file of

which the Pashtuns are an integral part of cannot be blamed. The Army itself is now

suffering for the works of its minority group the ISI. The Punjabi clique in the

government; civil or military has been very proficient in keeping most of the coveted

positions in their control at the expense of other ethnic groups; but their main rivals

and competitors have been the Urdu speaking 'Muhajirs' and to a lesser extent the

Pashtuns who have never been seen as a major rival. This situation may not

necessarily signify a conspiracy against the Pashtuns; it only shows that the

Punjabis are very strongly clan conscious and consider it their duty to help their own

in service; while the Pashtuns are somehow not as cohesive. You may blame the

Punjabi dominated Military in not being sensitive to the Pashtun; and due to their

ignorance of the Pashtun culture they have mismanaged the entire problem,

however, blaming them for everything that has gone wrong with the Pashtuns so far

will not be the right approach and not be fair; considering that the Pashtuns have a

tradition of being fair.

Coming to Afghanistan...The Pashtuns, thanks to the activities of the Taliban

and trigger happy Pashtun Warlords, are hated by the ethnic Tajiks, not trusted by

the Uzbeks and again hated by the Hazaras and Nuristanis. This situation is not

healthy for Pashtuns at all. Just as we are conscious of the excesses committed to

us we need to be aware of the excesses committed by us. Now is the time to bury

the hatchet and show an olive branch to all the neighbors of Paktunkhwa.

 

How Can Pashtuns Come Out of this?

The current crises in Pukhtunkwa has been worsened by both Afghanistan

and Pakistan governments mismanaging the Pashtun issues. The Pashtuns need to

stand up and take charge of the issues facing them. They do not need foreign forces

to come and resolve the situation their way. It will not help us to cry over spilt milk; it

will not help us to blame others, it will not help us not to accept our own flaws; it will

not help us to isolate ourselves from the West. If we have learnt anything from the

past we should shed our intolerance and fatalism and open our minds to progressive

and sustainable ideas; as this is the only way to guarantee a bright future for our

progeny. The Pashtuns seems to have been left behind in every field of human

progress. They need to reinvent themselves and become compatible with the world.

Now is the time to put the past aside and look at the future.

Today, the Pukhunkhwa is attracting extremists from all over the world.

Whoever these people are, the Pashtuns need to be well aware of these

mercenaries and misguided people amongst them. We should no longer be

influenced and wooed by the extremist Wahabi and Salafi cult. They are giving a bad

name to the Pashtuns and bad name to Sunni Muslims. Ignorance, poverty and

isolation that breeds retogression are the Pashtun's biggest enemies. We need to be

progressive and open to new ideas that can bring the Pashtuns out of their isolation

and instep with the world.

The Pashtuns need to shun obscurantism and Islamic extremism on both

sides of the border. We need a broader dialogue on religion and shun the narrow

interpretation of the Quranic verses by the Taliban and our Wahabi and Deobandi

influenced clergy. It will involve mass education and can be undertaken with the help

of media. Well educated Pashtuns need to actively contribute to this endeavor.

The Pashtuns had always been moderate Muslims who have very strong

historical and cultural traditions. The Pashtun areas have only recently drifted

towards radicalism due to some local factors and some external interventions.

Specifically, poverty, illiteracy and lack of development have pushed the Pashtuns in

isolation and neglect. This has perpetuated fatalistic and obscurantist ideas. The

only way that can bring a meaningful and a lasting change in the life of the poor

people of Pakistan and Afghanistan in general and the Pashtuns in particular is

education. Mass and targeted education; especially education of the Pashtun

Women; who form 50% of the Pashtun Population; from the village level should be

on the highest priority for any permanent solution to the current crises.

Then there is the political dimension of the crises. The US and its allies upset

the political applecart in Afghanistan when it conquered the country. Further the US

has wrongly labeled all Pushtuns as Talibans and further wrongly labeled all Taliban

as Al Qaida. This is counter productive for the objectives of the US or its allies and

has further led to problems in the Pashtun areas of Pakistan. The Pashtuns have lost

their power base and there can be no lasting peace in that country till the Pashtuns

have a political comeback and claim back their rightful position in the power corridors

of that country. In Afghanistan the Tajik/Uzbek dominated government will never give

a fair deal to the traditional Pashtuns. Again our intelligentsia and academicians

need to speak and write about this anomaly at every forum and in all forms of media.

It is unfortunate that the coalition has decided to send another 40,000 troops

to Afghanistan. This is ill conceived as the military approach is not a solution for

anything. No further build up of foreign military is going to resolve the current

worsening situation in Afghanistan. The Pakistani Army can never occupy the tribal

areas till they win the hearts and minds of the Pashtuns and let them rule in their

areas. Therefore, it is important to that the coalition (including the government o

Pakistan) have a comprehensive holistic strategy rather than flexing their muscles

from time to time and not knowing who is the enemy, where is the enemy, how or

what is the best way to tackle the enemy.

For Afghanistan capacity building; that is building the capacity of the Afghan

Armed forces is the key approach out of this quagmire. A word of advice for the

Coalition and the Pakistan Military is that they should guard against using the words

'Winning' or 'Defeating' while referring to the military interventions in Afghanistan and

the Tribal leaders. This is very harmful and will only help the enemy...the radicalized

and Wahabist who will use this to incite the masses. The Pashtun 'Ghairat' has been

grossly underestimated by the outsiders. This includes the people from non Pastun

provinces in Pakistan...who while living in close proximity with there brethren have

failed to understand the Pashtun psychology. Unfortunately, this is one thing that the

best of the Coalition advisors and strategist are really missing out on....the use of

right language in Afghanistan.

The US and its allies and the Russian have a moral duty to build what they

have systematically destroyed. More funds need to be available for social and

institutional development. Money needs to be spent on health, education and infra

structure development. The aim should be to help in the development of an educated

and progressive Afghan nation and Pukhtunkhwa. This is the best rebuttal and the

best defense against retrogressive and obscurantist ideas.

Politically, the Pashtuns need to be strong and mend their fences with

their neighbors. We should not base the future planning for the Pashtuns on

resentment for other nationalities living amongst us and around us. We need

to put all the resentment behind us and focus on our own weaknesses that led

us to the present disaster and plan the future of the Nation with a new slate in

peace and harmony with all our provincial neighbors:

1. We need to have a workable relationship with the Punjabis even if the

past experience has been bitter

2. We need to mend our relationship with MQM. This has to be done on

the political level.

3. We need to find a way out for the crises in Baluchistan; again we need

to look for a political solution

This is the way forward...it is not complacency…it is political expediency.

There is no way the Pashtuns can live peacefully in their geographical environment

by continuing to fester their grudges, biases and prejudices with our neighbors.

Maturity demands that while we have a pragmatic view of our interests; it has to be

done in conformity with the interest of the neighbors of Pukhtunkhwa.

 

The writer is a journalist by profession and holds a Degree in Journalism from

Moscow. He used to be an active member of the Progressive Students Movement in

Pakistan.

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