Why did the NAP and JUi make Urdu the sole official language of NWFP

[Traveller]

A few months I read this article where I found this quote

As the NAP-JUI alliance solidified, the coalition agreed to a raft of conservative measures in the province and also declared Urdu and not Pashto the provincial language of the province. The NDP, successor to the NAP, would come to the weary conclusion after four decades of relentless crackdowns and persecution that it was best to play by the state’s rule book.

Why would NAP and JUI, two Pashtun parties, make Urdu the sole official language of NWFP(now KPK)? This actually made kind of angry as ANP loves to talk about supporting Pashtun interests when they committed a crime that has led to the decline of Pashto in Pakistan. Can someone please explain to me why they did this?

[toughpashtun]

A few months I read this article where I found this quote

Why would NAP and JUI, two Pashtun parties, make Urdu the sole official language of NWFP(now KPK)? This actually made kind of angry as ANP loves to talk about supporting Pashtun interests when they committed a crime that has led to the decline of Pashto in Pakistan. Can someone please explain to me why they did this?

I think this article has some historical inaccuracies.For instance , it says(not explicitly but you can deduce) that Pashto was widely taught until the JUI came to power in the 70s , which doesn't seem to be true. And that afterwards Pashto became limited to the madrassas. I don't think Pashto is taught in madrassas at all , in fact the Maulvis are proficient in Urdu compared to most other professions.
English has always been the official language.
Similarly in 2002 , when the coalition of religious parties(including JUI) came to power in KPK ,the government posts were filled by Maulanas who were not literate in English so the official language became Urdu.
NAP would probably have agreed to the official language being urdu because Pashto was not as well known and it would have been impractical.
I am sure that ANP members can read and write in Urdu and English , but probably not in Pashto(except for a few).

[Traveller]

I think this article has some historical inaccuracies.For instance , it says(not explicitly but you can deduce) that Pashto was widely taught until the JUI came to power in the 70s , which doesn't seem to be true.

I think it is true. My father was born in the late 60s and he says that the people a few years older than him had to take Pashto as a mandatory class. It was slowly taken out of the education system as he grew up.

[Traveller]

NAP would probably have agreed to the official language being urdu because Pashto was not as well known and it would have been impractical.

By that logic Urdu shouldn't have been the official language either as many Pashtuns did not speak it at the time(especially women). As for "impracticality," Afghans use Pashto as an official language and it seems to work just fine.
One argument I do understand though is that not everyone in KPK speaks Pashto and many speak Hindko, Chitrali, and other languages. There are two solutions to this that in my opinion are better than making Urdu the sole official language:
1) Make Hazara a separate province. This will allow Pashtuns to promote our language and culture without impeding on the culture and identity of Hindkowans. Chitral can also separate and form a province with other Dardic areas in Gilgit-Baltistan.
2) Keep KPK intact while making all languages in the province recognized provincial languages. This is probably the most realistic path to take although the only problem I have with it is that I want KPK to mainly represent Pashtun identity and this would kind of dilute that.

[Traveller]

I am sure that ANP members can read and write in Urdu and English , but probably not in Pashto(except for a few).

Yeah I know. It's kind of funny seeing nationalyan attacking other groups for not supporting Pashto language and then not being able to write Pashto LOL.

[salman47]

By that logic Urdu shouldn't have been the official language either as many Pashtuns did not speak it at the time(especially women). As for "impracticality," Afghans use Pashto as an official language and it seems to work just fine.
One argument I do understand though is that not everyone in KPK speaks Pashto and many speak Hindko, Chitrali, and other languages. There are two solutions to this that in my opinion are better than making Urdu the sole official language:
1) Make Hazara a separate province. This will allow Pashtuns to promote our language and culture without impeding on the culture and identity of Hindkowans. Chitral can also separate and form a province with other Dardic areas in Gilgit-Baltistan.
2) Keep KPK intact while making all languages in the province recognized provincial languages. This is probably the most realistic path to take although the only problem I have with it is that I want KPK to mainly represent Pashtun identity and this would kind of dilute that.

A little offtopic: Gilgit-Baltistan is not Dardic, but rather Sino-Tibetan majority.

[Traveller]

A little offtopic: Gilgit-Baltistan is not Dardic, but rather Sino-Tibetan majority.

I was talking about the Dardic areas of Gilgit-Baltistan, not all of Gilgit-Baltistan.

[toughpashtun]

By that logic Urdu shouldn't have been the official language either as many Pashtuns did not speak it at the time(especially women). As for "impracticality," Afghans use Pashto as an official language and it seems to work just fine.
One argument I do understand though is that not everyone in KPK speaks Pashto and many speak Hindko, Chitrali, and other languages. There are two solutions to this that in my opinion are better than making Urdu the sole official language:

There is a difference between the official language , which is used in government institutions , and the language spoken by the population.The educated class have always been more proficient in reading/writing Urdu than Pashto.My elders , who were born even before Pakistan was made , can read and write Urdu but not Pashto.If the govt officials cannot even read something , how can it be made an official language?
What the NAP/ANP should have done , considering that they claim to represent Pashtuns(which is not true imo) is to introduce Pashto in the curriculum so that in the future the Pashtun kids would be capable enough to use it as an official language.

[Traveller]

There is a difference between the official language , which is used in government institutions , and the language spoken by the population.The educated class have always been more proficient in reading/writing Urdu than Pashto.My elders , who were born even before Pakistan was made , can read and write Urdu but not Pashto.If the govt officials cannot even read something , how can it be made an official language?
What the NAP/ANP should have done , considering that they claim to represent Pashtuns(which is not true imo) is to introduce Pashto in the curriculum so that in the future the Pashtun kids would be capable enough to use it as an official language.

I agree. They should have made a plan to introduce Pashto as an official language instead of ignoring it out right.
Are you sure about your elders not being able to read Pashto? My grandfather's generation were 'Ulama and they wrote many of their books and articles on Islam in Pashto. My great-grandfather even wrote a tafseer of the Quran in Pashto(which some of my relatives have been trying to get published). Nowadays you rarely see any Islamic material in Pakistani Pukhtunkhwa in Pashto.

[toughpashtun]

I agree. They should have made a plan to introduce Pashto as an official language instead of ignoring it out right.
Are you sure about your elders not being able to read Pashto? My grandfather's generation were 'Ulama and they wrote many of their books and articles on Islam in Pashto. My great-grandfather even wrote a tafseer of the Quran in Pashto(which some of my relatives have been trying to get published). Nowadays you rarely see any Islamic material in Pakistani Pukhtunkhwa in Pashto.

The fact that you're from a scholarly family explains it.Your forefathers must have been educated in the local system of education i.e madrassas and hence learnt to read and write Pashto.
Before partition , the schools were operated by British and I don't believe that Pashto would be taught.
There might have been people in my family who were literate in Pashto , but the closest ones like my dad and uncles are not.
On the contrary , Farsi(persian) would be taught in schools during the early years of Pakistan.I don't know when exactly they removed it from the syllabus.