Pukhtoonkhwa and Pakistan

Pukhtoonkhwa and Pakistan
By : Col. Riaz Jafri (Retd)
Mr. Rahimullah Yusufzai has tried to defend the ANP’s demand in his article “The case for Pukhtoonkhwa” in The News 30 March 2010. He has heavily drawn upon the statistics of 1998 census to say that 73.9 percent of the people in the province speak Pushto. Firstly, it is a well known fact all over the world that the statistics can be highly deceptive as the data can be manipulated in many a way to show the required results. Secondly, even if we take the figure correct, do all those who speak Pushto also want the province to be renamed Pukhtoonkhwa?

The answer is a big NO. Interestingly, Mr.Yusufzai himself says in the article that there are many tribes like Jadoons, Tarins, Miankhels, Gandapurs, Kundis etc. who are non-Pushto speaking but would come to blows with anyone challenging their Pathanhood. But, yet he forgets conveniently that quite a few of them oppose the name Pukhtoonkhwa. A case in point – Saifullahs of Karak – thoroughbred Pathans but against the name Pukhtoonkhwa. That proves that not all Pukhtoons want the province to be renamed Pukhtoonkhwa. Laying of the claim, therefore, on the basis of the number of the people speaking Pushto instead of the Pukhtoons themselves is not tenable.Next, why must only a few ANPwalas be allowed to impose their wish and will upon the millions other? I don’t have the foggiest idea as to how the change in name will benefit the common man who is being crushed excruciatingly by the ever spiralling prices of the items of his daily use? Come to think of it, is the change of name his real priority? Okay, even then if at all it has to be changed, then to my mind the most democratic way will be to hold a referendum in the province. Let the people themselves choose the name from the mostly proposed names of (1) Pukhtoonkhwa, (2) Khyber, (3) Abassin, (4) Afghania, (5) Sarhad, etc. and that would be the final word. And, if the ANP still insists upon Pukhtoonkhwa then I smell the hidden rat of Pukhtoonistan in it.

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