Tribal Pakhtuns should be given treatemnt of Red indians: Javed ghamdi (paki scholar)

[Smarty]

Javed Ghamdi is a religous scholar from Punjab. In his programme "ghamdi key saath", while discussing beheading of FC by Taliban incident, he said that this is not islam but violent tribal culture of pakhtuns, upbringing of tribals is such that even a 6 year old boy would behead a grown up. He compared them with red indians and said that we should do with them what civilized nation did with red indians.

I am surprised that this went un-noticed and not even a single paki pathan condemned it. Paki media and literature is sprouting non-sense against pakhtuns since 1947 but ever since the TTP phenomena has emerged, the stereotyping of pakhtuuns in this way has reached to new levels. A politician of pindi shiekh raseeed had to request his punjabis to stop their racism against pakhtuns due to taliban factor.

Tribals formed their aman lashkars against Taliban on their own or were sponsored by state, but the fact remains that large number of them died in their fights against Taliban. None of them beheaded taliban. These tribals are not even mentioned let alone praised by paki media, intelligentsia and army. Instead their paki army is advertised as heroes who are fighting against savages on frontier. Paki pathans need to realize that its time they revert back to pashtun identity, they are not compatible with indic pakis.
Ghamidi Ke Saath, Feb 21, 2014 - YouTube

[Smarty]

Javed Ahmad Ghamidi is one of those people who are respected by both supporters and opponents – and deservedly so. These days, when Islam is being associated with beheadings and bomb blasts, it is because of scholars like Dr Javed Ghamidi that one cannot just present negative generalisations about Islamic teachings.

However, while saving Islam from negative generalisations, Dr Ghamidi himself has resorted to generalisations about tribal Pakhtuns that are as racist and as unreasonable as some of those made about Muslims.

In his show, ‘Ghamidi kay Saath’, aired on Samaa TV on February 21, Dr Ghamidi was asked why the Taliban behead their opponents.

In his response, Dr Ghamidi pointed out two main reasons: 1)Wrong interpretation of Islamic injunctions; and 2) Tribal norms and upbringing.

While absolving Islamic injunctions for being wrongly interpreted, Ghamidi Sahib puts the rest of the blame upon tribal norms and culture. This is done not even considering the possibility that by beheading prisoners, the Taliban might not only be violating Islamic norms of conduct but also tribal ones.

To elaborate his point, Dr Ghamidi tells the non-tribal host of the programme that while the two of them might not even consider slaughtering a chicken, thanks to a non-tribal “parwarish aur tarbiat” (upbringing), in tribal society however, even a six-year-old qabaili (tribal) child would have no qualms about slaughtering a grown up man.

As per Dr Ghamidi, gore and violence comes naturally to Pashtun tribals as these are “mamooli batain” (normal things) for this lot. And it didn’t stop at that; a caller declared all tribal Pakhtuns to be mercenaries who have been historically up for grabs for the highest bidder. Dr Ghamidi’s response to this racist and ignorant assertion was at best confusing.

Generalisations such as these should come across as shocking in any civilised society, but I guess Pakistani society by and large has not evolved to a point where individuals are judged according to their actions rather than their domicile certificates. Pick up any cell phone in Pakistan and it is likely to have a text message joke about Pakhtun stupidity that has resulted in some outlandish behaviour, be it sexual or violent.

Leveraging this readily believable understanding about Pakhtuns, many scholars, TV anchors as well as politicians have gotten away with blatantly racist statements, and they rarely get called out for it. 

But then generalisations based on ethnicity have never stood up to rational scrutiny, whether they are done against Punjabis, the ‘Urdu-speaking’ community, Arabs or any other ethnicity. Like it or not, but there is no inferiority or superiority gene in anyone’s DNA – the Second World War should have taught us that. People from a similar cultural background can have a completely different outlook towards life; urban Punjab for instance claims the Honourable Chief Justice Javed Iqbal, and also the serial killer Javed Iqbal.

Dr Ghamidi’s assertion lacks any evidence to support his claim about this inherently violent behaviour among Pakhtun tribals, as he merely quotes theories about tribals in general and anecdotes about Pakhtun tribals in particular that are dated back to the mujahideen of the 1980s.

However, it should be known that the history of Fata goes beyond the 1980s. One should consider why tribal Fata boasts bigger Sikh communities than non-tribal western Punjab? What exactly were six-year-old Afridis and Orakazais up to in 1947 when Sikhs were being lynched in their homes in Sheikhupura, Lyallpur and Gujranwala?

If six-year-old children are okay with beheading grown up men in the name of Islam, then for sure the same could be done in the name of settling tribal feuds as well. I was wondering if Dr Ghamidi or anyone else for that matter could come up with instances where Pakhtun tribes had made mounds out of the heads of their rivals?

There must be some evidence out there to have convinced Dr Ghamidi to be so certain in associating violence with tribal upbringing? If running feuds is enough of a reason, then how different are the inter-generational feuds in Waziristan from those in Gujranwala?

Interestingly, there are tribal lashkars fighting against the Taliban, but I am yet to hear of a beheading that was carried out by anti-Taliban tribals. If it was the normal thing to do among tribals, and the fact that the Taliban are beheading members of these very lashkars, then how come these anti-Taliban tribals are not resorting to beheadings as well? 

Can the Punjabi Taliban also claim domiciles of Fata? If not then what exactly explains their unquenchable thirst for Shia blood?

It is a valid question to ask why the Taliban are overwhelmingly Pakhtun, but then it is also wrong to ignore the ‘strategic’ reasons behind it. Fata has served as a parking lot for Pakistan's ‘strategic assets’: an area assigned to the production of cannon fodder to fight our proxy wars.

Billions of dollars have been funnelled into Fata to not only turn civilians into soldiers but also to numb down the tribal spirit in order to make way for the ‘ummah’. As a result, Taliban Mehsuds have teamed up with Taliban Uzbeks to kill and oppress non-Taliban Mehsuds – an act which is sacrilegious under tribal norms, but is according to Taliban Shariah. Taliban rule in Fata comes at the expense of the tribal way of life, and in no way compliments it. 

Taliban norms of fighting are comparable to those of jihadis from Somalia to Syria and all the way to Chechnya, as they are all linked through a common interpretation of Islam. These norms are as shocking to the feuding families of Waziristan as they would be to the feuding families of Gujranwala. 

As for the legendary ‘warrior’ abilities of the ‘violent’ tribal Pakhtuns, one only has to visit any IDP camp to see how ‘comfortable’ these people are with wars. In their thousands, grown up Pakhtun men have fled for safety and are queuing up for food and water just like war-weary men would in any other part of the world. That warrior spirit and that fabled thirst for revenge, which is so clearly visible from the comforts of drawing rooms and TV studios, is certainly missing in these camps.

The majority of the Taliban might be tribal Pakhtuns, but a majority of tribal Pakhtuns are not Taliban. Anyone and everyone who resorts to these racist generalisations about Pakhtun tribals needs to prove it with evidence.

The writer is a freelance contributor. He blogs at iopyne.wordpress.com and tweets @iopyne.

Email: iopyne@gmail.com

http://www.thenews.com.pk/Todays-News-9-234736-Stereotyping-Fata

[Smarty]

@Admin Khan, @Bengal_Tiger @Kushan Prince, @gadoonwal, @afghan, @MostafaM, @khushal, @Badlun, @Khostai @randolph85, @tor_khan, @hallo, @Yousafzai Pakhtun, @loy_afghanistan

[afghan]

well thats their media and their land. Pashtun don't understand how they are treated. But the worse point is He is talking about tribal culture but has no idea or purposely ignoring the true nature of tribal system. What does he mean by treating pashtun like native indian? Kill them? or send all of the tribal young kids to panjab to bring them up as civilized people?
There is no one to answer this man.

[Tjanaparh]

well thats their media and their land. Pashtun don't understand how they are treated. But the worse point is He is talking about tribal culture but has no idea or purposely ignoring the true nature of tribal system. What does he mean by treating pashtun like native indian? Kill them? or send all of the tribal young kids to panjab to bring them up as civilized people?
There is no one to answer this man.

Perhaps kill those who are strong by spirit and body.
Violently take away children and "educate".
And those who do not want to submit close in a reservation an make them addict to something.

Actually seemslike that exactly is done. No plan by whom, but it looks that the plan is to divide Pashtuns most possible and make them kill eachother.

Afterwards somebody says that love for your people is a western invented concept

[Admin Khan]

It's a known fact that in Pakistan, Pashtuns are second class citizens and treated and viewed as chowkidar Jahils. Being called Akharuth, or bring incredibly surprised at your eduction is normal in places like Karachi or Lahore.

Pashtuns are already considered red Indians in Karachi. At one point, if you were speaking Pashto in a MQM district, they would cut off the ears of Pashtuns. To be fair though, Pashtuns would retaliate as well, especially on Sohrab Goth.

[Smarty]

One caller says that its culture of tribals to kill people for money. They should be declared rebels and should be given the treatment which is for rebels. Ghamidi agrees with him and explains how civilization of karachi ,lahore and newyork is different from tribal culture of afghanistan and FATA. Then he says that tribal people are every where like that, you have to either assimilate them into civilization or finish them by force like america did with red indians.

This harami has equated beheading with pashtun culture and is blaming pakhtuns for violence. He is saying in the programme "that in our civilized areas of punjab and karachi, we cant even slaughter chicken, but in tribal areas people, even their kids, are butchering humans as if they are chicken, since old times". He went on explaining that beheading and mutilating deads is norm and culture of tribal pakhtuns.

Now punjabis are lecturing us on islam.

[Tjanaparh]

Tribal people of any origin are the biggest enemy of civilization, because tribal people are free and their organization is free. I may agree that tribal people are often warriors, but wouldn't they be the world had allready enslaved them.
People who are have are free are hated by empires and civilizations.

I'd like to recomend to read the book of Julius Caesar about the Gallian wars. What you will see, basically these are also the strategies today.

[khushal]

One must realize what Pakistan did. Pakistani leaders declared jihad in Afghansitan while at the same time supported those that the jihad was waged against. The invader came through paksitani territory therefore bypassing its own territory as the frontline for the jihad they are declaring and turned Afghansitan and the tribal belt as the frontline.

Ghamdi is not a scholar, because if he was, he would understand the reaction of the tribal people is Pakistan's own making. Also, scholars would know that the red indian was the victim of powerful forces therefore this piece of shyt understands nothing.

[khushal]

One caller says that its culture of tribals to kill people for money. They should be declared rebels and should be given the treatment which is for rebels. Ghamidi agrees with him and explains how civilization of karachi ,lahore and newyork is different from tribal culture of afghanistan and FATA. Then he says that tribal people are every where like that, you have to either assimilate them into civilization or finish them by force like america did with red indians.

This harami has equated beheading with pashtun culture and is blaming pakhtuns for violence. He is saying in the programme "that in our civilized areas of punjab and karachi, we cant even slaughter chicken, but in tribal areas people, even their kids, are butchering humans as if they are chicken, since old times". He went on explaining that beheading and mutilating deads is norm and culture of tribal pakhtuns.

Now punjabis are lecturing us on islam.

there were no beheadings before the American invasion of Afghanistan and the paksitani invasion of fata.

[Azmal]

Make no mistake..Pakistan is greatest enemy of Pashtuns..worst then changiz khan!

[MostafaM]

What do people like De Bannu Bazingar, Shadibaz, Pakwatan etc think of this?
[MENTION=10678]Da Bannu Mazdigar[/MENTION] [MENTION=1585]Shehbaz Khan[/MENTION]

[Khostai]

This is your beloved country why should we care, in bitter times when we were the most in need of help they send us terrorist and sided with Punjabis against their own brothers, and now Punjbies want to do this how surprising, and this Paki Pathas also wanted that Pshtun areas of Afghanistan should also join thme lol.

[Karachi]

The biggest problem is that Pakistani establishment has misused the tribals areas since the beginning. They have never let the area develop on purpose, this has been their policy. The injunction of war, terrorism in the area has certainly been the fault of Pakistani establishment/ISI, who have used the tribal people for their benefit, whenever there was war. Even in 1948, it was tribal people from Fata who took (Azad Kashmir) from Indians. Pakistani ISI policy has made the whole region turn in to a War zone and they are the only ones too blame.

[Karachi]

It's a known fact that in Pakistan, Pashtuns are second class citizens and treated and viewed as chowkidar Jahils. Being called Akharuth, or bring incredibly surprised at your eduction is normal in places like Karachi or Lahore.

Pashtuns are already considered red Indians in Karachi. At one point, if you were speaking Pashto in a MQM district, they would cut off the ears of Pashtuns. To be fair though, Pashtuns would retaliate as well, especially on Sohrab Goth.

True Admin, I hope things change. In Karachi it is the MQM people who are against pashtuns, not your average Urdu speaker. MQM is a terrorist/street gang party, who even most decent Urduspeakers are scared off. What happened was, when Indian muslims were migrating to Pakistan, many Mafia/Street Gang type people also migrated with them, this is what MQM is essentially. This is why they also have links to the Mumbai under mafia and people like Dawood Ibrahim

As for the perception of Pashtuns, I personally think this is a recent scenario which was created after formation of Pakistan, because in India, Pashtuns are regarded as honorable people, I really dont know why this perception changed in Pakistan. It may have to do with Pakistanis being very race/ethnic group conscious, basically mostly associating with their own, rather then inter mingling and understanding other ethnicities and their cultures.