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Pashtuns might have a lot of handicaps currently but their handicaps are not particular to them only. It will be unjust to expect Pashtuns who have been the victims of state brutalization along with Balochis, Sindhis, Seraikis and Mahajirs to have a clear vision? I am not advocating any weakness in Pashtuns or any third world nation, however, a bit optimistically; Pashtuns at least have had their state since 1747. Their slow pace to grow as a nation is due to heavy indoctrination by Muslim clergy, foreign infiltration into their lands and lack of political vision in their leadership to retain, regain and maintain their empire. Pashtuns in Pakistan despite all the institutionalized Punjabisation and Urdufication have managed to be the second in the higher echelons of power after Punjabis. The most indigenous struggle for freedom from the British was none other than that of Pashtuns in the form of Khudai Khidmatgar movement. The only mistake they did was not to struggle for their independent state instead of winning a land for to strengthen Punjabi imperialism.
Having said that may I opine that it has been the absence of a true nationalistic ideological party not only in Pashtuns but also in other nations that they have been kept aloof from their glorious history and rich cultural traditions due to which they stand nowhere as the so called Islamic identity in its known versions is nothing but a fake abstraction to intellectualize the Arab imperialism in a sacred form. This use of religion even over shadowed the acumen in the teachings of the Muhammad who lead Arabs to achieve their national glory. The bright side of the picture is that as far as Pashtun belt in Pakistan is concerned I think the political consciousness is more than ever before and that is why we have an antithesis in the form of PKMAP of Mahmud Khan Achakzai to an already existing historic entity of ANP. In Afghanistan, though war and foreign agendas have been inflicted upon them by interventionists but there is a hidden surge of political consciousness about interests of the Afghan state among the youth, educated lot and even Diaspora who have tasted the bitterness of defacto secondary citizenship in other countries.
In conclusion the very clear options for Pashtuns in Pakistan are 1) Independent Pakhtunistan as a state or 2) Pakhtunistan consisting of current Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Attock, Mianwali, Pashtun belt of Baluchistan as a single province with provincial autonomy and free from the clutches of Punjab in Pakistan along with FATA as a semi autonomous province.The third option which the forces of history might enforce on the people of south Asia would be the change in the geographical boundaries resulting in the formation of Loy [greater] Afghanistan, Independent Kashmir [consisting of Pakistan administered and Indian administered parts], Khalistan /greater Punjab [consisting of eastern and western Punjab] , Karachi city state, Sindho desh including the Sindhis on Indian side [Rajhistan], North India [possibly Greater Maharashtra], the merger of West Bengal, Bihar ,Bangla desh and eastern states into one state and South India [Tamil Nado]. However the time for the emergence of new states on the map of south Asia is proportional to the pace of the great game.
Having said that may I opine that it has been the absence of a true nationalistic ideological party not only in Pashtuns but also in other nations that they have been kept aloof from their glorious history and rich cultural traditions due to which they stand nowhere as the so called Islamic identity in its known versions is nothing but a fake abstraction to intellectualize the Arab imperialism in a sacred form. This use of religion even over shadowed the acumen in the teachings of the Muhammad who lead Arabs to achieve their national glory. The bright side of the picture is that as far as Pashtun belt in Pakistan is concerned I think the political consciousness is more than ever before and that is why we have an antithesis in the form of PKMAP of Mahmud Khan Achakzai to an already existing historic entity of ANP. In Afghanistan, though war and foreign agendas have been inflicted upon them by interventionists but there is a hidden surge of political consciousness about interests of the Afghan state among the youth, educated lot and even Diaspora who have tasted the bitterness of defacto secondary citizenship in other countries.
In conclusion the very clear options for Pashtuns in Pakistan are 1) Independent Pakhtunistan as a state or 2) Pakhtunistan consisting of current Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Attock, Mianwali, Pashtun belt of Baluchistan as a single province with provincial autonomy and free from the clutches of Punjab in Pakistan along with FATA as a semi autonomous province.The third option which the forces of history might enforce on the people of south Asia would be the change in the geographical boundaries resulting in the formation of Loy [greater] Afghanistan, Independent Kashmir [consisting of Pakistan administered and Indian administered parts], Khalistan /greater Punjab [consisting of eastern and western Punjab] , Karachi city state, Sindho desh including the Sindhis on Indian side [Rajhistan], North India [possibly Greater Maharashtra], the merger of West Bengal, Bihar ,Bangla desh and eastern states into one state and South India [Tamil Nado]. However the time for the emergence of new states on the map of south Asia is proportional to the pace of the great game.