Nazia Nazar
Mir Jafar and Mir Sadiq have become extant symbols of treachery in history for being instrumental in handing over their homelands – Bengal and Deccan- to foreign rule. The traitors and betrayers of a cause or community or country or nation are hated even after their death, and people revile them and their tombs, after hundreds of years of their death. Even their descendants, generation after generation, carry the tag of a family of betrayers and traitors. Having lost its credibility after arrest of Mohsin Dawar and Ali Wazir, PTM is a dead horse. Post-Pulwama and especially afer PAF blunted Indian tree strike thousands of tribal Pakistanis from former FATA and KP rallied for Pakistan and offered their services for war against Indian aggression. Same phenomenon with more vigor was witnessed with people from across Pakistan volunteering to join army for liberation of Indian Occupied Kashmir.
Our enemies in India and on the western borders know the glorious history of pround and ghairatmand tribal people of erstwhile FATA and KP, who had liberated Azad Kashmir from the jaws of India in 1948. In the heart of their hearts, they know that history may be repeated this time round. Pashuns from across Pakistan have been integral part of our Defence Forces and have rendered enormous sacrifices to defend the motherland. From a soldier to a General, Pashtun officers and ranks have a glorious history. It is because of PTM’s pathetic narrative that even pro-PTM media stated that the balance sheet of PTM after one year of rallies and protests was not as impressive as it promised to be. Although it had been able to mainstream the Pashtun issue in Pakistan, its anti-establishment thrust made it a soft target for media and patriotic Pakistanis.
After Naqeebullah Mehsud, a young Pashtun from Waziristan in Karachi was killed on January 13, 2018, there were protests by the Pashtuns. However, the issue was capitalized by the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM), which organized protest rallies in most of the major cities including Quetta, Peshawar, Lahore, Swat, Karachi, Dera Ismail Khan, Swabi and Bannu. Over a period of time, the agenda of PTM expanded beyond demanding the justice for Naqeebullah Mehsud, its demands range from inquiring into the extra-judicial killing and enforced disappearance of Pashtun people to the clearance of landmines and the removal of security check posts in North Waziristan. Now they are openly accusing the military of Pashtun persecution. By rubbing in the negative role of the Pakistan Army in the region, the PTM wittingly or unwittingly let the movement lose steam a few months later. The slogan and use of the term, Yeh jo dehshat gardi hai, iss ke peechhay wardi hai (‘Behind this terrorism is the uniformed army’) by PTM protesters not only irritated the Pakistan Army but also the people especially of former FATA who are witness to the sacrifices of the army in combating terrorism. The perception has gained currency that PTM is acting as a proxy of outside powers, especially India, to de-stabilise Pakistan. The entire narrative of PTM is currently centered on the country’s army; and its leaders had even attacked the check post. The bottom line of such a narrative is that the army, as an institution, is persecuting Pashtun population; Pakistan army is misusing natural resources of KP and Tribal Districts; army is involved in extra-judicial killings and enforced disappearance; Pakistan is a terrorism supporting/exporting state, and subjects Pashtuns to maltreatment at check posts.
On the other hand, the state’s narrative is that what PTM is doing is a massive offense against integrity/sovereignty of Pakistan, and is designed to discredit and reverse National Counter Terrorism effort. It is also promoting divisive tendencies on ethnic/religious/sectarian lines, stirring secessionism; working for greater Pakhtunistan and advancing Afghanistan agenda. It is part of the Great Game, as Voice of America/Deewa/Mashaal Radios and Indian media have been supporting PTM, which speaks volumes about its role as a proxy of the alien agencies. As an ethnic community, Pashtuns living in two sovereign countries Pakistan and Afghanistan, Pashtuns share common nationalist feelings. Given persistent ethnic and familial ties between the Pashtuns in both countries and intermittent demand from Afghan leaders for a greater Afghanistan comprising the Pashtun areas in Pakistan irked Pakistan; which would not like to see turmoil in the name of ethnicity.
