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The disillusioned Pashtuns
From political rallies to funeral congregations, all have been blown up by the terrorists. The freedom of mourning over dead bodies can only be exercised with due caution in this unfortunate land
During his recent visit to Peshawar, the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), General Raheel Sharif, praised the Pashtuns for their sacrifices in the war against terror. However, these laurels of gallantry and heroism showered on the Pashtuns of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) is an understatement of the agony and ordeal they have been subjected to for the last decade. The monster of death and destruction, unleashed in this part of the country, has sapped all positive energies out of the people. The passionate and lively Pashtuns of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and FATA have been turned into mummies by the indescribable atrocities committed against them. The ripples created by these barbarities can be felt across the whole spectrum of social and cultural life. The hujras (drawing rooms) no longer echo with the music of Rabab and Mangi (traditional musical instruments). Singers and musicians have fled abroad or migrated to other parts of the country to avoid the wrath of the militants. The music from the barrels of guns resonates louder than the melody from the flute of the minstrel. The romanticism and warmth of folk poetry has been replaced with melancholy and mourning. Social and cultural vibrancy has been replaced by the silence of the graveyard.
This war has taken something from everyone and everything from someone here. Every centre of social life — the mosque, hujra, playground, cinema and even school — has witnessed bloodletting in this war against terror. From political rallies to funeral congregations, all have been blown up by the terrorists. The freedom of mourning over dead bodies can only be exercised with due caution in this unfortunate land. The political leaders who showed spine and stood up against this massacre were eliminated from the scene. This reign of terror unleashed in this part of the world has reduced Pashtun society to a soulless being. The rest of the country has suffered only the bad after-effects while the people of this area have been subjected to the incinerating heat of the nucleus of terror. The only overriding concern here is security and preservation of life.
This wretched land, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and FATA, has been subjected to the geostrategic machinations of imperialist powers from as early as the 19th century. The poor tribesmen of this region have long been treated like pawns in the power games of the great powers. During the Anglo-Russian rivalry — ‘the great game’ of the 19th century — the British Raj carved out a buffer zone on the western side of the Indus to protect the crown jewel of its empire, which was British India, against Tsarist Russia. With the departure of the British and independence of Pakistan, a new saga of trials and tribulations began for the people of this region. When the government of Pakistan decided to capture the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir through proxies, the tribesmen of FATA and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, armed with their muskets, provided them easy recruits. They stormed the Valley riding in their dilapidated buses to fight the war of liberation against the Maharaja’s forces. The penchant of the tribesmen for religion was quite skilfully exploited for the achievement of strategic objectives by the ruling elite of the new state.
The Soviet occupation of Afghanistan, once again turned this region into a battlefield between two superpowers: the Soviet Union and the US. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and FATA became a launching pad to dismantle the red fort. Militants from the world over were invited and trained here to fight against Soviet forces. With Saudi petro-dollars and US arms and ammunition, our security establishment erected a formidable jihadist infrastructure. To maintain a smooth flow of recruits, a vast network of madrassas (seminaries), espousing the Wahabiist version of Islam, was established in the tribal as well as settled areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. After 9/11, the militants — strategic assets of the Pakistani establishment — consolidated their foothold in the tribal areas and then extended their tentacles to the settled districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa as well under the watchful gaze of our security agencies. The social fabric of Pakhtun society was completely shattered and the political mullahs ascended into the social hierarchy. This holistic exercise in social re-engineering under the tutelage of our security establishment not only played havoc with the traditional power structure of society but eroded the writ of the state as well.
There is a simmering discontent among the Pashtuns of Khyber Pakhtukhwa and the tribal areas about the flawed policies of the state that promoted militancy and extremism through a well thought-out plan and strategy. The game of seesaw, played between the security forces and Taliban in this belt for the last one decade has exacerbated the disillusionment of the people with state institutions. Despite the recent dedicated efforts of the military leadership, the people of this region have still some misgivings about the outcome of this war against terror. The umpteen military operations and the resurgence of the militants after every military operation like the proverbial rise of the phoenix from the ashes have made the people sceptical about such endeavours. This prolonged conflict is fast eroding the confidence and trust of the people in the state institutions to provide security against unabated terrorism. The political leadership and security establishment should take cognizance of this growing disillusionment among the Pashtun population. Without regaining the trust of the local population, the security forces will find it hard to achieve a desirable outcome.
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