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By Iqbal Khattak
For CentralAsiaOnline.com
2010-04-15
Young Pashtuns dance to a drumbeat in Peshawar. Such scenes were rare under Islamic militants who banned music and dance in Pakistan’s tribal areas and the North West Frontier Province. [Iqbal Khattak]
PESHAWAR -- Signs of the Pashtun nation’s rise against Islamic militancy are becoming more visible.
Young and old Pashtuns brushed aside security concerns and danced to a drumbeat outside a community hall April 6 to celebrate their culture – and the proposed renaming of the North West Frontier Province to Khyber-Pakhtoonkhwa.
“We have awakened to take on this challenge — Islamic militancyâ€, a jubilant young tribesman from North Waziristan told Central Asia Online after a group of young and old Pashtuns finished dancing. They were awaiting the start of a meeting convened to pass a declaration against terrorism on Pashtun lands. The declaration, which passed, was a show of solidarity, a sign of defiance, and the Pashtuns’ rejection of extremism.
The Pashtuns endured a decade of terror by militants who conducted kidnappings for ransom and public floggings. In addition, Pakistani Taliban militants linked to al-Qaeda and the Afghan Taliban banned girls’ education and women’s employment wherever they held sway.
Under the Taliban, thousands of Pashtuns in different tribal regions and the rest of the country were killed. The militants demolished Muslim and Christian houses of worship, and attacked the funerals of their foes. “The Pashtuns ... whisper that they and their culture are under attack from Islamic militantsâ€, Syed Alam Mehsud, a staunch anti-Taliban Amn Jirga activist, told Central Asia Online.
Analysts say this realisation is making the Pashtun community stronger against its enemy.
“No doubt, there is a rise of the Pashtun nation against militancyâ€, Pashtun researcher Khadim Hussain said. The Pashtun nation will uproot the militancy from its areas if the “government stands by†the Pashtuns, he added.
The government appears to be taking note. Its military offensives in Swat, Bajaur and South Waziristan have raised Pashtun morale. Ongoing military action in Orakzai tribal district since March 24 has taken the war to the militants’ home ground.
The government also is helping Pashtuns on the public relations front. To repair the Pashtuns’ image, which has become associated with terrorism, the government has released the teleplay “La Ta Zaar Sha†(“Love You to Deathâ€) and the video songbook “Drund Pashtun†(“Proud Pashtunâ€).
The teleplay revolves around a Pashtun family headed by Malik Dauran. Tragedy strikes the wealthy and respected patriarch when militants drive him from his home, his oldest son is killed in an explosion, his second son goes insane as a result, and his youngest son joins a militant group as a prospective suicide bomber before having a fateful meeting with his parents.
“Drund Pashtun†is a musical reminder of the culture and heritage behind Pashtun pride, which has suffered a blow from the tragedies that have befallen the community. It includes songs and lyrics by Muhammad Azam Azam, Saadullah Jan Burq, and Rehmat Shah Sail. The lyrics convey the need for love and tolerance in restoring peace.
The Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) Secretariat drew up the campaign to promote the Pashtuns’ image. “The idea was to convey a softer image of the Pashtuns, who are not all about guns and weaponsâ€, one FATA official said. “The premiere of the teleplay and video songbook will help the world know (their) real faceâ€.
Former Pakistan ambassador to Afghanistan Rustam Shah Mohmand attributed the problem of militancy on Pashtun lands — both in Pakistan and Afghanistan — to “lack of leadershipâ€. He told Central Asia Online such a problem “surfaces in areas where a nation lacks genuine leadershipâ€.
“This genocide (against the Pashtun nation) has to be stoppedâ€, he said. Pashtun society is resolute when aroused but tends to wait for a chagha - a loud call for support. Once a chagha comes, its targets find collective wrath descending on them. A case in point occurred in early 2007 in the Ahmedzai Wazir areas of South Waziristan.
“The Uzbek militants wrecked our lives, but nobody was ready to take up arms against themâ€, Hafiz Wazir, a Wana-based tribal journalist, told Central Asia Online. “However, once (Mullah Nazir) did it, the Ahmedzai Wazir tribes united behind him to flush out the Uzbeksâ€.
“The proposed renaming will give the Pashtuns their identityâ€, security and development scholar Khalid Aziz said. “In the absence of identity, a nation does not progress. This is the problem with the Pashtun nation at the momentâ€.
Source: http://www.centralasiaonline.com/coc...15/feature-02/
For CentralAsiaOnline.com
2010-04-15
Young Pashtuns dance to a drumbeat in Peshawar. Such scenes were rare under Islamic militants who banned music and dance in Pakistan’s tribal areas and the North West Frontier Province. [Iqbal Khattak]
PESHAWAR -- Signs of the Pashtun nation’s rise against Islamic militancy are becoming more visible.
Young and old Pashtuns brushed aside security concerns and danced to a drumbeat outside a community hall April 6 to celebrate their culture – and the proposed renaming of the North West Frontier Province to Khyber-Pakhtoonkhwa.
“We have awakened to take on this challenge — Islamic militancyâ€, a jubilant young tribesman from North Waziristan told Central Asia Online after a group of young and old Pashtuns finished dancing. They were awaiting the start of a meeting convened to pass a declaration against terrorism on Pashtun lands. The declaration, which passed, was a show of solidarity, a sign of defiance, and the Pashtuns’ rejection of extremism.
The Pashtuns endured a decade of terror by militants who conducted kidnappings for ransom and public floggings. In addition, Pakistani Taliban militants linked to al-Qaeda and the Afghan Taliban banned girls’ education and women’s employment wherever they held sway.
Under the Taliban, thousands of Pashtuns in different tribal regions and the rest of the country were killed. The militants demolished Muslim and Christian houses of worship, and attacked the funerals of their foes. “The Pashtuns ... whisper that they and their culture are under attack from Islamic militantsâ€, Syed Alam Mehsud, a staunch anti-Taliban Amn Jirga activist, told Central Asia Online.
Analysts say this realisation is making the Pashtun community stronger against its enemy.
“No doubt, there is a rise of the Pashtun nation against militancyâ€, Pashtun researcher Khadim Hussain said. The Pashtun nation will uproot the militancy from its areas if the “government stands by†the Pashtuns, he added.
The government appears to be taking note. Its military offensives in Swat, Bajaur and South Waziristan have raised Pashtun morale. Ongoing military action in Orakzai tribal district since March 24 has taken the war to the militants’ home ground.
The government also is helping Pashtuns on the public relations front. To repair the Pashtuns’ image, which has become associated with terrorism, the government has released the teleplay “La Ta Zaar Sha†(“Love You to Deathâ€) and the video songbook “Drund Pashtun†(“Proud Pashtunâ€).
The teleplay revolves around a Pashtun family headed by Malik Dauran. Tragedy strikes the wealthy and respected patriarch when militants drive him from his home, his oldest son is killed in an explosion, his second son goes insane as a result, and his youngest son joins a militant group as a prospective suicide bomber before having a fateful meeting with his parents.
“Drund Pashtun†is a musical reminder of the culture and heritage behind Pashtun pride, which has suffered a blow from the tragedies that have befallen the community. It includes songs and lyrics by Muhammad Azam Azam, Saadullah Jan Burq, and Rehmat Shah Sail. The lyrics convey the need for love and tolerance in restoring peace.
The Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) Secretariat drew up the campaign to promote the Pashtuns’ image. “The idea was to convey a softer image of the Pashtuns, who are not all about guns and weaponsâ€, one FATA official said. “The premiere of the teleplay and video songbook will help the world know (their) real faceâ€.
Former Pakistan ambassador to Afghanistan Rustam Shah Mohmand attributed the problem of militancy on Pashtun lands — both in Pakistan and Afghanistan — to “lack of leadershipâ€. He told Central Asia Online such a problem “surfaces in areas where a nation lacks genuine leadershipâ€.
“This genocide (against the Pashtun nation) has to be stoppedâ€, he said. Pashtun society is resolute when aroused but tends to wait for a chagha - a loud call for support. Once a chagha comes, its targets find collective wrath descending on them. A case in point occurred in early 2007 in the Ahmedzai Wazir areas of South Waziristan.
“The Uzbek militants wrecked our lives, but nobody was ready to take up arms against themâ€, Hafiz Wazir, a Wana-based tribal journalist, told Central Asia Online. “However, once (Mullah Nazir) did it, the Ahmedzai Wazir tribes united behind him to flush out the Uzbeksâ€.
“The proposed renaming will give the Pashtuns their identityâ€, security and development scholar Khalid Aziz said. “In the absence of identity, a nation does not progress. This is the problem with the Pashtun nation at the momentâ€.
Source: http://www.centralasiaonline.com/coc...15/feature-02/
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