Abdullah must become a symbol of Afghan unity

[Toramana]

http://www.dw.de/abdullah-must-become-a-symbol-of-afghan-unity/a-17593874

Abdullah must become a symbol of Afghan unity

Abdullah remains a favorite in urban areas and in the Persian-speaking north of the country. But should he win the runoff election, he has the potential to divide the country, says DW's Florian Weigand.

http://www.dw.de/abdullah-must-become-a-symbol-of-afghan-unity/a-17593874

[tor_khan]

Culturally a Shomali Persian, but technically Pashtun by paternal blood. Is this what his backers (and let's face it, the international community) are hoping will bridge the gaps?

[Bengal_Tiger]

I think people should accept the winner of the elections regardless of whom it is.


1. This consolidates democracy.

2. This consoldiates the strengthening of the Afghan national government and the country itself.

3. Even if Abdullah Abdullah becomes president, despite the wishes of many on this forum, then I would not encourage a civil war.

Living with Abdullah Abdullah as head of government but not omnipotent dictator/Sultan/Padshah etc with Pashtuns in his government is a "lesser evil" than:

War and all it entails i.e.
- Losing loved ones
- Refugees
- People wounded, disfigured
- People with psychological disorders as a result of the war, losing family etc.


The worst that would happen is that Abdullah Abdullah would be the head of a government with many Pashtuns in it for 60 months (5 years) after which he would be replaced in new elections.

Let Afghanistan grow in those 60 months, let it grow stronger - regardless of who occupies the presidential seat - let the education system, civic system and other key aspects of social and national development gain strength and start to flourish.

[Herat]

Toramana, Abdullah is literally the political arm of the Northern Alliance and will not be accepted by Pashtuns for completely understandable/justified rationale, which means that he is pretty much a guaranteed recipe for civil war post-NATO withdrawal (i.e. the powers that be will probably not let him be, at least I hope).

I know many of you here see the Taliban as some kind of "ISI proxy" but the fact is that it will still be the main armed Pashtun militia, which means that a civil war will galvanize it as well as its influence over Pashtuns. And if they win a civil war (which will almost certainly be the case) then that will be Afghanistan back to where it was more than a decade ago. No matter how you look at it, Afghanistan needs to reconcile with the Taliban.

[khushal]

Culturally a Shomali Persian, but technically Pashtun by paternal blood. Is this what his backers (and let's face it, the international community) are hoping will bridge the gaps?

paternal by blood? where did you get this from?
I thought it was maternal.

[Toramana]

Toramana, Abdullah is literally the political arm of the Northern Alliance and will not be accepted by Pashtuns for completely understandable/justified rationale, which means that he is pretty much a guaranteed recipe for civil war post-NATO withdrawal (i.e. the powers that be will probably not let him be, at least I hope).

I know many of you here see the Taliban as some kind of "ISI proxy" but the fact is that it will still be the main armed Pashtun militia, which means that a civil war will galvanize it as well as its influence over Pashtuns. And if they win a civil war (which will almost certainly be the case) then that will be Afghanistan back to where it was more than a decade ago. No matter how you look at it, Afghanistan needs to reconcile with the Taliban.

Your views make sense. I hope things go smoothly and people accept the democratic decision of the people of Afghanistan no matter whom they chose as the president. Greater responsibility rests on the shoulder of Pashtun elite to persuade the rural Pashtun folk to accept the elections. Abdullah Abdullah also will have to show generosity towards Pashtuns in case he comes out as the final winner and should not do things that further alienates Pashtuns.

Actually, every ethnicity has suffered in the last few decades but Pashtuns have suffered the most. And that mostly at the hands of Westerners and their Cold War allies like Arad Shiekhs and Pakistan. Therefore there is a reason for Pashtun anxiety.

[tor_khan]

paternal by blood? where did you get this from?
I thought it was maternal.

[MENTION=1547]khushal[/MENTION]. I thought it was commonly held that Dr Abdullah's father was Pashtun

From BBC Pashto:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/pashto/afghanis..._profile.shtml

ښاغلی عبدالله ۵۵ کاله عمر لري، پلار يې پښتون او د کندهار ولایت دی، خو مور يې پنجشېری ده چې په فارسي ژبې غږېږي

BBC (English) also says the same - I'm sure that someone can dig out the link, but from the Independent:

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/wo...t-9208809.html

In a field otherwise made up of Pashtun candidates, Dr Abdullah, born to a Tajik mother and Pashtun father, is regarded as the candidate of choice for non-Pashtuns.

Tolafghan, in fact, take a very different view:

ډاکټر عبدالله عبدالله چې له مور او پلار دواړو څخه تاجک او د پنجشير ولايت اوسېدونکی دی اوس ځان ته پښتون او د کندهار اوسېدونکی وايي، ان دا چې په خپلو پوسټرونو کې يې له ځانه سره د ميرويس نيکه عکس هم چاپ کړی دی. دی غواړي په دې ډول د پښتنو له قبيلوي ذهنيت څخه سياسي ګټه واخلي

http://tolafghan.com/posts/14662


Given that view, the verdict is out and neither your understanding, nor mine would be correct.

[Al-Afghani]

Pashtuns will not accept anything less than a Pashtun leader, even though he is cruel and the Non Pashtun is kind and generous. The Pakistanis will have a field day convincing their tribals to fight in Afghanistan against the TajikUzbekHazaras.

[gadoonwal]

Abdullah was a spokesman for ethnic leader ahmad shah masoud and his N/A.
He is not the right person to unite the nation.
Lets not hope but his presence will harm the afghan unity.
He is the leader of northreners.
Afghanistan need a neutral person with no links to criminal past history.
One Babrak Karmal claimed that he is pashtun but in reality he was kashmiri tajik.This is politics and leaders are using ethnic links to get vote.
Abdullah is pure punjsheri.
Many tajiks have names like zalmay,zmaryalay.
He has no interest in pashtu.He was working on common dielct of farsi with iran.
Some people said he is the step son of kandahari man.
I do,nt believe this why would a kandahari,s son lead N/A.

Lets afghan unite and stop this ethnic war.
This will never end.

[Bost Bastan News]

Culturally a Shomali Persian, but technically Pashtun by paternal blood. Is this what his backers (and let's face it, the international community) are hoping will bridge the gaps?

He is only 1/4 Pashtun. His father belonged to ''Dikan'' (we use for fariswans) population of Kandahar and was a local Farsiwan. The only member in Abdullah´s family who could claim being a Pashtun was his Tokhi grand-mother. Abdullah cleverly using this rhetoric being from originally from south to gain votes from Pashtuns. In Kandahar and Helmand we have maybe 300 000-350 000 Farsiwans living. He never speak himself about his Pashtun origin. He always speaks about south. I know from good personal sources that Abdullah is intendedly started not to use so much the word Afghan. In one of his interviews he even said his mother-tongue is ''Farsi'' and he is proud of it.

[khushal]

@khushal. I thought it was commonly held that Dr Abdullah's father was Pashtun

I've heard the same as this Bost guy from people that have met Ax2, that the only Pashtun he has in him was his maternal grandmother. He has said himself in an interview that his father was born in Kabul. But he is playing this "father from Kandahar" or "origin from Kandahar" card to get accepted by Pashtuns as president much like Karmel was. But Ax2 is too much a Tajik nationalist to play it as well as Karmel.

Daegan meaning one who cooks on a "daeg" are the farsiwan that were cooks in Ahmed Shah Abdalis military. The descendants of those people are still called Daegan. People automatically assume that everyone from Kandahar are Pashtun. Just because his father or grandfather was from Kandahar does not automatically mean they are Pashtun.

[Kushan Prince]

I've heard the same as this Bost guy from people that have met Ax2, that the only Pashtun he has in him was his maternal grandmother. He has said himself in an interview that his father was born in Kabul. But he is playing this "father from Kandahar" or "origin from Kandahar" card to get accepted by Pashtuns as president much like Karmel was. But Ax2 is too much a Tajik nationalist to play it as well as Karmel.

Daegan meaning one who cooks on a "daeg" are the farsiwan that were cooks in Ahmed Shah Abdalis military. The descendants of those people are still called Daegan. People automatically assume that everyone from Kandahar are Pashtun. Just because his father or grandfather was from Kandahar does not automatically mean they are Pashtun.

Actually no, his father is INDEED a Pashtun from Kandahar, this article from 2009 says so as well. However this so called article says that he doesn't mention his mother being a tajik meaning he confronts more with his pashtun side.

Enter Abdullah, all things to all men. His official bio says that he was born in Kabul to a devout Muslim family and that his father (a former Pashtu politician) was from Kandahar, a Pashtun/former Taliban stronghold, where Abdullah needs votes. In an election year, the bio doesn't mention that his mother was a Tajik.

http://www.thenation.com/article/abdullah-abdullahs-unmentioned-history#

I heard from one of my family members that Atta has also claimed pashtun ancestry but i don't believe it. Also can you link us the interview where he says his father is from kabul? Also as far as i know, in Pashtun culture, if your father is Pakhtun then so are you.

[Kushan Prince]

Abdullah was a spokesman for ethnic leader ahmad shah masoud and his N/A.
He is not the right person to unite the nation.
Lets not hope but his presence will harm the afghan unity.
He is the leader of northreners.
Afghanistan need a neutral person with no links to criminal past history.
One Babrak Karmal claimed that he is pashtun but in reality he was kashmiri tajik.This is politics and leaders are using ethnic links to get vote.
Abdullah is pure punjsheri.
Many tajiks have names like zalmay,zmaryalay.
He has no interest in pashtu.He was working on common dielct of farsi with iran.
Some people said he is the step son of kandahari man.
I do,nt believe this why would a kandahari,s son lead N/A.

Lets afghan unite and stop this ethnic war.
This will never end.

Where are you getting all this nonsense from?

Abdullah is not from the north, he claims to be from Kandahar and he is not the leader of northern people. Since when were there tajiks in kashmir? Umm karmal was pashtun, the reason most afghans deny him is because he was an atheist and pro communist so we have to blame others for our corrupt leaders and claim he was this and that. Abdullah is NOT a panjsheri dude.

[Bost Bastan News]

I've heard the same as this Bost guy from people that have met Ax2, that the only Pashtun he has in him was his maternal grandmother. He has said himself in an interview that his father was born in Kabul. But he is playing this "father from Kandahar" or "origin from Kandahar" card to get accepted by Pashtuns as president much like Karmel was. But Ax2 is too much a Tajik nationalist to play it as well as Karmel.

Daegan meaning one who cooks on a "daeg" are the farsiwan that were cooks in Ahmed Shah Abdalis military. The descendants of those people are still called Daegan. People automatically assume that everyone from Kandahar are Pashtun. Just because his father or grandfather was from Kandahar does not automatically mean they are Pashtun.

Dikan means farmer or settled people. It has nothing to do with cooking :D

[Bost Bastan News]

Actually no, his father is INDEED a Pashtun from Kandahar, this article from 2009 says so as well. However this so called article says that he doesn't mention his mother being a tajik meaning he confronts more with his pashtun side.


http://www.thenation.com/article/abd...ioned-history#

I heard from one of my family members that Atta has also claimed pashtun ancestry but i don't believe it. Also can you link us the interview where he says his father is from kabul? Also as far as i know, in Pashtun culture, if your father is Pakhtun then so are you.

Wasn´t 2009 the year or presidential election as well and didn´t Mr. Abdullah used the same tactic in 2014 again? hahahaha Mr. Abdullah is power hungry. Mr. Atta has indeed Pashtun ancestry. His father is from Logar Mohamad Agha district. His mother is from Azra. You support Ghani. You must know that Birlik Turkistanis like Dostum use this always to weaken Mr. Atta´s position among his Farsiwans :D His wife is the cousine of Mr. Qanuni´s wife. Both hailing from Nangarhar.