New chief of TTP is a gujjar

[afghan]

I have never understood who gurjars are, apparently they make up 20% of pakistan's population, yet in my life I have never met a person who is a gurjar. They also make a big population of NW India and even exist in North East Afghanistan. who are they exactly? what language do they speak?

GUJJARS-THE SPEAKERS OF GOJRI LANGUAGE
The Gujjars appeared on horizon of India in fifth century A.D .History reveals that they have been a brave Tribe of Central Asia .The colourful Culture that spread from Gurjistan (Georgia) to Gujarat in India is still alive despite receiving so many jolts at the hands of time.
The Early History of India says that the Gujjars were early immigrants to t he Indian Sub-continent. Possibly "allied in blood" to the Huns. The Huns were divided into two major groups, White Huns and the Red Hunas. The later invaded Europe while the White Huns went down in to the Oxus Valley and attacked the Kishan Kingdom of Kabul and then poured into India.
The first reference to a separate Gujjar Kingdom is around fifth century AD. There is mention of a Gujjar Kingdom in Rajasthan with Bhilmal as the Capital.
In his book "Geography of Jammu & Kashmir State" Researcher says that before their arrival in the sub-continent they were the inhabitants of Georgia (Gurjia) a territory situated between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea in the Soviet Union. They left that area and migrated through central Asia , Iraq, Iran and Afghanistan , crossed the Khyber Pass and entered the Sub-continent of India. In the Sub-continent, making a southward march through Baluchistan,- they reached Gujrat,
The name 'Gujarat' is said to have been derived from the Prakrit Gujjar Ratta or Gujjar Rashtra - the land of Gujjars - a tribe that entered India with the Huns in ancient time and wandering through Punjab and Rajasthan, settled in western India .
Most probably in the 5th and 6th century A.D. While in Gujrat they were plagued by a series of serious droughts so they moved out of the plains area and entered the green pastures of the Siwaliks and the Himalayas. Having their place of origin as Georgia and moving towards the Sub-continent of India they named several settlements after their name, e.g. Gujar ( Central Asia), Juzrs (Gurjara), Gujrabad, Gujru, Gujristan, Gujrabas, Gujdar-Kotta, Gujar-Garh, Gujarkhan, Gujranwala in Iran , Afghanistan, Turkmenia, Pakistan and India. Cunningham (1970) is, however, of the opinion that the Gujjars are the descendents of Kusham and Yachi Tribes which are considered to be the tribes of Eastern Tartars (U.S.S.R.).

[Badlun]

I have met few Gujjars in Kunar , Noristan Afghanistan, Punjab, Kashmir, Hazara and Swat/Shangla as well as Buner and Dir of Pakistan. All of them are dark skinned and their main profession is either animal husbandry or agriculture.

In Swat and Afghanistan they are very humble and down to earth people and belong to low class in social stratification but in Punjab they are big landlords, wealthy people and belong to middle or upper class. Many Punjabi movies are made having names like Gujjar and with Gujjar heroes. In Swat the lowest class amongst Gujjars is called shpoon or shpoonki.

Twenty percent of Punjab may be Gujjar. Punjabi as such is not an ethnic group like Pashtun as it comprises Gujjars, Rajputs, Buts etc

Gujri language is a totally different language if you listen to it in Swat region but in Punjab it is similar to Potohari, Hindko and Punjabi. I have started learning it but could not complete it. But now I understand the Punjabi version but not totally the Swati version.

Many Gujjars do not speak Gujri but have adopted the languages where they reside. It is so far not a written language as Gujjars are not nationalists and spread over many regions and countries. If nationalism arises in Gujjars , their language, history, culture and customs will be highlighted further. In past even there were Gujar rule especially in India.

[Badlun]

[MENTION=1068]gadoonwal[/MENTION]
What a surprize when I saw this that Sherpao is a Gujjar

Gujjar Dignitaries

Aftab Ahmad Sherpao آفتاب احمد خان شیرپائو Aftab Ahmad Khan Sherpao born 20 August 1944) is the head of Pakistan Peoples Party (Sherpao) and was the 35th Federal Interior Minister of Pakistan. Prior to this assignment he was working as the Federal Minister for Water and Power (WAPDA), Minister for Kashmir Affairs and Northern Areas and States & Frontier Regions (KANA & SAFRON) and Minister for Interprovincial Coordination. Sherpao has also served as the 14th and 18th Chief Minister of the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan.
Hayat Mohammad Khan Sherpao حيات محمد خان شير پاؤ

Hayat Muhammad Khan Sherpao was a founding member of the Pakistan Peoples Party, former Federal Minister and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Governor and Senior Minister. Sherpao held important executive offices, including served as the Interior minister and hold numbers provincial ministries of the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Province. Hayat Sherpao, was a notable left-wing intellectual and socialist, serving as the fifteenth Governor of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Province of Pakistan, as well as vice-chairman of Pakistan Peoples Party. Co-founding the Pakistan People's Party with Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto in 1967, Sherpao took the responsibility to governed the Kyber Province in a difficult times when the country had lost the East-Pakistan as a result of 1971 Winter war with rival India, and when the Pashtun nationalism was at its peak point, calling for the independence from Pakistan. As governor, he oversaw the re-constitution of provisional assembly, stabilizing the law and order situation in tribal belt, and overseeing the success of covert operations in Afghanistan Soviet Socialist Republic in 1975. His governorship and Sherpao himself tackled and faced intense communist opposition led by AsfandyiarVali, and was assassinated in a targeted bomb explosion on the campus of Peshawar University in 1975.


Sikandar Hayat Khan Sherpo MPA K.P (2002–07, 2007–12) Charsadda
Gujjar (South Asian tribe) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[afghan]

[MENTION=1068]gadoonwal[/MENTION]
What a surprize when I saw this that Sherpao is a Gujjar

Gujjar Dignitaries

Aftab Ahmad Sherpao آفتاب احمد خان شیرپائو Aftab Ahmad Khan Sherpao born 20 August 1944) is the head of Pakistan Peoples Party (Sherpao) and was the 35th Federal Interior Minister of Pakistan. Prior to this assignment he was working as the Federal Minister for Water and Power (WAPDA), Minister for Kashmir Affairs and Northern Areas and States & Frontier Regions (KANA & SAFRON) and Minister for Interprovincial Coordination. Sherpao has also served as the 14th and 18th Chief Minister of the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan.
Hayat Mohammad Khan Sherpao حيات محمد خان شير پاؤ

Hayat Muhammad Khan Sherpao was a founding member of the Pakistan Peoples Party, former Federal Minister and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Governor and Senior Minister. Sherpao held important executive offices, including served as the Interior minister and hold numbers provincial ministries of the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Province. Hayat Sherpao, was a notable left-wing intellectual and socialist, serving as the fifteenth Governor of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Province of Pakistan, as well as vice-chairman of Pakistan Peoples Party. Co-founding the Pakistan People's Party with Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto in 1967, Sherpao took the responsibility to governed the Kyber Province in a difficult times when the country had lost the East-Pakistan as a result of 1971 Winter war with rival India, and when the Pashtun nationalism was at its peak point, calling for the independence from Pakistan. As governor, he oversaw the re-constitution of provisional assembly, stabilizing the law and order situation in tribal belt, and overseeing the success of covert operations in Afghanistan Soviet Socialist Republic in 1975. His governorship and Sherpao himself tackled and faced intense communist opposition led by AsfandyiarVali, and was assassinated in a targeted bomb explosion on the campus of Peshawar University in 1975.


Sikandar Hayat Khan Sherpo MPA K.P (2002–07, 2007–12) Charsadda
Gujjar (South Asian tribe) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

sherpao family aren't gujjars its a lie.

Aftab's family tree and cross-marriages in other influential families has given him a unique edge over his political opponents. Aftab's family has for long been a prominent and influential family in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The family belongs to the Mohammadzai tribe which has for long been a dominant tribe amongst the Pashtuns. His father Khan Bahadur Ghulam Haider Khan Sherpao was a key figure in the Pakistan freedom movement and an influential political leader. From his mothers side, Aftab is the grandson of Haji Muhammad Sohbat Khan of Prang, another influential Pashtun from the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
His elder brother Hayat Muhammad Khan Sherpao was a founding member of the Pakistan Peoples Party, former Federal Minister and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor and Senior Minister. Aftab himself is the son-in-law of the brother of Sardar Abdur Rab Nishtar, one of the pioneers of the Pakistan freedom movement. His eldest son, Sikandar Hayat Khan Sherpao, has already jumped into Provincial Politics and has been elected to the Provincial Assembly of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa twice.

[Pakwatan]

In my village there was a huge fight between my family and the Gujjars living there in Punjab. It started when one of their rickshaw drivers insulted one of our elders. There was a lot of bloodshed, with three of them being stabbed to death and and two of them shot. I still have 2 cousins serving time in jail for it.

Just a little story since we are on the topic of Gujjars.

[Tiger Khan]

Fazlullah, a self-styled mullah from Pakistan’s Swat Valley known by the moniker Mullah Radio, is the new Tehreek-e-Taliban chief. The details of Fazlullah’s life are generally known, as is his rather innovative use of pirate FM radio in the run-up to two military operations in Swat: in 2007 and, the more decisive one, in 2009.

How did he get to the top of the heap that is the Pakistan Taliban?

This question is important for two reasons. One, Fazlullah, a Gujjar from Swat, is not a Pakhtun by blood, let alone a highlander Pakhtun from the tribal areas. For him to replace a Mehsud, especially when the Tehreek-e-Taliban core comprises—broadly, though not exclusively—Mehsud tribe highlanders, is unusual. Two, while he headed his own faction of the Taliban, he was not close to the killed Pakistani Taliban chief Hakimullah Mehsud. That would have been Khan Said (not Syed) a.k.a. Sajna, another Mehsud. Sajna could not make it, even though he was a claimant in the Taliban game of thrones.

Those who know the Pakhtun understand the importance of tribal affiliations. While the Pakistani Taliban claim to speak on behalf of the unicorn called the Muslim Ummah, and while it provides its umbrella to the Punjabi Taliban and fighters from Chechnya, Uzbekistan, China, and the Middle East, some basic traits of tribal asabiya are still maintained. As tribalism goes, even by Pakhtun standards, the Mehsud take their pride in being sui generis to another level.

The second broad tribal fault-line is between the highlanders and the lowlanders, with the former considering themselves martially superior, a sense conveyed by the motto of the Frontier Corps’ Shawal Rifles: “Da Ghroonu Zalmee” (“We are the Highlanders,” or “Men from the Hills”). While the British ultimately recruited the highlanders, they never managed to subjugate them.
The third broad fault-line is between the southern Pakhtuns and the northerners. The southerners have always considered themselves superior to the northerners. Finally, even within the northern tribes, northerners in the federally-administered tribal areas would not have accepted someone from the lower Swat Valley as their leader.

Yet, Fazlullah has been declared the leader, albeit with deliberations spread over some days in which initial reports said that Sajna had been chosen leader. Later, these reports were refuted and it emerged that an acting leader, Asmatullah Shaheen, had been put in place until the issue could finally be decided.

A further kink in this selection is Fazlullah’s lack of proximity to the Taliban rank and file. Unlike Hakimullah Mehsud and those close to him, he doesn’t operate from North Waziristan. (Mehsud et. al. had relocated to North Waziristan after the Pakistan military took control of the Mehsud triangle in South Waziristan.) Fazlullah, since the second operation in Malakand (lower Dir, upper and lower Swat Valley, Buner, and parts of Shangla), is based in Afghanistan. While he stages attacks from Kunar, his sanctuary is said to be west of Kunar, in the velayat of Nuristan. How would he manage relatively more central control over Pakistani Taliban operations given the difficulty of communication, especially electronic communication?

There can be only two reasons for his selection. One, he is considered very hardline. Two, he will not interfere with the operations of the multiple groups that form part of the Taliban franchise.

Lest we forget, given short memories, Fazlullah was opposed to talking to the government from the word go. He voiced his opposition much before Hakimullah Mehsud got droned. In fact, in a brazen attack meant to derail the prospects for talks, his men killed the Swat Garrison Officer Commanding, Maj. Gen. Sanaullah Niazi. Of course, he wasn’t counting on the pusillanimity of the Pakistani government, which, despite that attack, wanted to go ahead with the talks.
Second, Fazlullah is close to some of the Punjabi Taliban groups that also provided fighting cadres to him during the second military operation in 2009. This includes Jundallah, the group responsible for the attack on the All Saints Church in Peshawar.

Fazlullah’s selection is thus likely to lead to two related outcomes: he will not talk, and he will allow the groups that form the franchise a greater degree of freedom in their operations. Does this mean the Taliban, under Hakimullah Mehsud, were more amenable to talking?

No. The objective for which they played has already been achieved. They wanted to ensure that the Pakistan Army stayed away from North Waziristan this year. The fighting season is almost over and the next window will come in late March to April. On April 5, 2014, Afghanistan will hold the first round of its presidential elections. The withdrawal of NATO forces in Afghanistan will have begun. While it made sense to not go into North Waziristan until the spring of 2011, the operation should not have been delayed after that.

Next spring, even if the Pakistan military goes into North Waziristan, the Pakistani Taliban will have strategic depth in the Loya Paktia region of Afghanistan, which will provide it the fallback position. The Afghan National Directorate of Security is currently providing funding and sanctuaries to Fazlullah and his men. That has not changed even though Kunar, since July, has a new governor, Shujaul Mulk Jalala, who is less enamored of Fazlullah than his predecessor was. It remains to be seen if the Pakistani Taliban groups side with the Afghan Army and police in their fight against the Afghan Taliban.

Much of this will be determined by local politics, and also by who Fazlullah will see as the winner. The situation is far from linear. Fazlullah, while in Nuristan, is also linked to the Salafi Taliban who operate independently of the Quetta Shura. His wounded men are treated in Jalalabad. His trump is that the Afghan Taliban cannot operate against him because the Pakistani Taliban can make life difficult for the Afghan Taliban east of the border in Pakistan’s tribal areas. Similarly, like other Pakistani Taliban groups, Fazlullah’s is also close to the remaining Al Qaeda elements. Furthermore, a number of alliances exist because of local conditions, tribal affiliations and other pressures.

What are Islamabad’s options? The first should be evident. It must exploit the fault-lines that exist within the Pakistani Taliban franchise. If, as reports indicate, Sajna is actually interested in talking, it will be worthwhile to explore that option. We did this with the late Maulvi Nazir who put the squeeze on the Mehsuds and also fought the Uzbeks out of the Wazir areas in South Waziristan. To a lesser extent, but no less importantly, the deal with Hafiz Gul Bahadur has also worked. These two deals were instrumental in launching Operation Rah-e-Nijaat against the Taliban in the Mehsud triangle.

The other prong of this strategy, given Fazlullah’s links with Afghan intelligence, is to signal to the Afghan Taliban the nature of the threat to Pakistan and who is mounting it. Pakistan should use its leverage, both in terms of carrots and sticks, to put the heat on Fazlullah. This won’t be easy given the Pakistani Taliban’s likely retaliation, but could be made to work if Islamabad can utilize the fissures within the franchise.

Finally, it is crucial for the government to place the evidence of Fazlullah’s anti-state activities and his sources of funding before the public. There is no point in sitting over that information without making use of it. This war is not just about fire-fighting. It is also a conflict between competing narratives.


Fazlullah: From the Mehsuds to a Gujjar ‹ Newsweek Pakistan

he is not a gujjar.. He is Youosafzai.. (Although a Bast**erd) People of swat look don upon gujjars and would never follow a gujjar.. and most of the population in swat is Yousafzai.. Moreover, people in Buner, Shangla, Torghar, Malakand, Dir are all Yousafzai as well .. so they wouldnt really follow aa gujjar.. (I have no issues with gujjar,, but a gujjar in that area would never gain political clout)

[Smarty]

he is not a gujjar.. He is Youosafzai.. (Although a Bast**erd) People of swat look don upon gujjars and would never follow a gujjar.. and most of the population in swat is Yousafzai.. Moreover, people in Buner, Shangla, Torghar, Malakand, Dir are all Yousafzai as well .. so they wouldnt really follow aa gujjar.. (I have no issues with gujjar,, but a gujjar in that area would never gain political clout)

I remember analysts in 2007-2009 were saying that rise of taliban in swat is also class struggle between landowner/feudal pashtuns and artisans/karigars who are considered non-pashtuns. Taliban were mostly from poor and under-privileged classes of swat.

You should know that in feudal set up of swat not all inhabitants are yousafzais/pashtuns, infact social structure of entire KPK is different (with few exceptions) from FATA and Afghanistan. study this book

http://www.pashtunforums.com/english-books/24841.htm

[Shamlawar Khurasani]

Those so-called Pashto names are not Pashto in most cases. They are either Hindi/Punjabi or Farsi.

Inger is derived from Ahin-gar which is farsi. Metal=ahin, gar=worker. Tarkarn is Punjabi.

[Shamlawar Khurasani]

If Fazlullah really is a non-Pashtun this only proves that TTP is not an ethnic movement but rather ideological. As much as Pakis want it to be ethnic, it is not. Its about Islam and not nationalism.

[Tiger Khan]

I remember analysts in 2007-2009 were saying that rise of taliban in swat is also class struggle between landowner/feudal pashtuns and artisans/karigars who are considered non-pashtuns. Taliban were mostly from poor and under-privileged classes of swat.

You should know that in feudal set up of swat not all inhabitants are yousafzais/pashtuns, infact social structure of entire KPK is different (with few exceptions) from FATA and Afghanistan. study this book

http://www.pashtunforums.com/english-books/24841.htm

Dude. I know their are gujjars in Swat but Majority are Yousafzai.. Moreover, In swat and most people in KPK, Gujjars are looked down upon.. therefore, they can not acpect much following.. Also the list you added is confusing .. it is mixing ethnic groups with professions.. Zargar can be a pashtun, syed or gujjar.. you see what i mean..

[Smarty]

Dude. I know their are gujjars in Swat but Majority are Yousafzai.. Moreover, In swat and most people in KPK, Gujjars are looked down upon.. therefore, they can not acpect much following.. Also the list you added is confusing .. it is mixing ethnic groups with professions.. Zargar can be a pashtun, syed or gujjar.. you see what i mean..

You have little understanding of framework of pashtun society.....artisans/karigars , mullahs and daman etc are not considered pasahtuns even though they are pashto speakers. In old times pashtuns refrained from these professions and allowed non-pashtuns to settle as serfs among them and carry out those professions for them.

[afghan]

If Fazlullah really is a non-Pashtun this only proves that TTP is not an ethnic movement but rather ideological. As much as Pakis want it to be ethnic, it is not. Its about Islam and not nationalism.

You do seem very ignorant. Even prophet Muhammad was from noble, powerfull and respected tribe. So he was able to preach. He was also protected by his powerful relatives. Why would God have some one as a prophet not respected or listened to.

[Shamlawar Khurasani]

You do seem very ignorant. Even prophet Muhammad was from noble, powerfull and respected tribe. So he was able to preach. He was also protected by his powerful relatives. Why would God have some one as a prophet not respected or listened to.

You are the last person who should be judging who is and who is not ignorant and who is and who is not noble.

[afghan]

You are the last person who should be judging who is and who is not ignorant and who is and who is not noble.

i guess you are the one to judge people, who is gay and who isnt. who is kafir who isnt.

[Badlun]

sherpao family aren't gujjars its a lie.

Aftab's family tree and cross-marriages in other influential families has given him a unique edge over his political opponents. Aftab's family has for long been a prominent and influential family in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The family belongs to the Mohammadzai tribe which has for long been a dominant tribe amongst the Pashtuns. His father Khan Bahadur Ghulam Haider Khan Sherpao was a key figure in the Pakistan freedom movement and an influential political leader. From his mothers side, Aftab is the grandson of Haji Muhammad Sohbat Khan of Prang, another influential Pashtun from the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
His elder brother Hayat Muhammad Khan Sherpao was a founding member of the Pakistan Peoples Party, former Federal Minister and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor and Senior Minister. Aftab himself is the son-in-law of the brother of Sardar Abdur Rab Nishtar, one of the pioneers of the Pakistan freedom movement. His eldest son, Sikandar Hayat Khan Sherpao, has already jumped into Provincial Politics and has been elected to the Provincial Assembly of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa twice.

If Sherpaos are not Gujjars but Muhammadzais then why some one like Gadoonwal does not bring this article of Wikipedia in their notice so that they correct it otherwise whole world will take them as Gujjars and not Pashtuns.

One curiosity that why Pashtuns of Swat and the region do not usually write Yousafzai with their names and why people of Charsadda do not write Muhamamdzai with their names?