‘Afghanistan’s interests best explain Pakhtun militancy’
Scholars argue that in 1947, the Afghan govt wanted Pakhtun-dominated areas in its territory
Scholars argue that in 1947, the Afghan govt wanted Pakhtun-dominated areas in its territory. PHOTO: AFP/FILE
LAHORE:
A paper presented at the first session of the People’s History of Pakistan conference on Friday argued that the emergence of militancy in Pakhtun dominated areas of the country could be best understood with reference to Afghanistan’s interest in including these areas in its territory.
The paper, Irony of History: Pakhtunistan, Bacha Khan and Afghanistan, was written jointly by Dr Hanifur Rehman, a lecturer at University of Peshawar, and Dr Jamshed Khan, a visiting faculty member at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. It was presented at the session by Zainab Fatima, a volunteer.
The paper said that at the time of Partition of India, Afghanistan had questioned the succession of Pakhtun dominated areas (now Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) and the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province) to Pakistan. The Afghan government had supported a rebellion in these areas in 1948, it added.
It said the Afghan government’s commitment to the right of self-determination for Pakhtuns in these areas was questionable.
The paper noted that the British administration had rejected Afghanistan’s demand for inclusion of Pakhtun areas in its territory because it wanted to neutralise Soviet Union’s influence in these areas.
Other papers discussed at the session were about the history of communist activism and a peasant uprising in the early years of the country.
Riaz Ahmed’s paper traced the emergence of the 1946 Tebhaga Movement in East Bengal to the 1793 Permanent Settlement Act. He argued that introduction of the right to own agricultural property had divided the population in the region into two distinct economic classes – land owners and peasant cultivators. This led to dozens of peasant uprisings in the ensuing years. These culminated in the Tebhaga movement in 1946, he said. Ahmed, Head of Social Sciences Department at Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Institute of Science Technology (SZABIST), Karachi, said that the movement that had lasted for four years featured a parallel justice and administrative system manned by peasant activists. At the time of Partition, the movement was split between East and West Bengal.
It evolved into the All Pakistan Kissan Sabha in Pakistan and the All Indian Peasant Party in India. On its suppression on the Pakistani side, Ahmed said a propaganda campaign was led against the movement by the Jamaat-i-Islami at the behest of the newly-established state. “Its struggle was portrayed as communal because of a large number of peasants were Hindus,” he said. In The Hidden Left: Communist Activity and Influence in Pakistan’s Early Years, Meher Ali, a bachelor of arts (BA) student at Brown University, United States, discussed the activities of the Communist Party of Pakistan in the early years of the country. She said the communists, including members of the Progressive Writers Association (PWA), were to be labeled as anti-state because of the nostalgia about the pre-partition years in their writings. She said they had to operate underground using code names.
“Their office at 110 McLeod Road was frequently raided by the police,” she said. Ali argued that the imprisonment of prominent communist leaders like Sajjad Zaheer and Faiz Ahmed Faiz in 1959 dismantled its organisation in the country.
On the Democratic Students Federation (DSF), she noted that the organisation had wielded a lot of influence among students. Police force was frequently used to crack down on its protests for provision of higher education facilities, she said.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 7th, 2015.
A paper presented at the first session of the People’s History of Pakistan conference on Friday argued that the emergence of militancy in Pakhtun dominated areas of the country could be best understood with reference to Afghanistan’s interest in including these areas in its territory.
The paper, Irony of History: Pakhtunistan, Bacha Khan and Afghanistan, was written jointly by Dr Hanifur Rehman, a lecturer at University of Peshawar, and Dr Jamshed Khan, a visiting faculty member at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. It was presented at the session by Zainab Fatima, a volunteer.
The paper said that at the time of Partition of India, Afghanistan had questioned the succession of Pakhtun dominated areas (now Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) and the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province) to Pakistan. The Afghan government had supported a rebellion in these areas in 1948, it added.
It said the Afghan government’s commitment to the right of self-determination for Pakhtuns in these areas was questionable.
The paper noted that the British administration had rejected Afghanistan’s demand for inclusion of Pakhtun areas in its territory because it wanted to neutralise Soviet Union’s influence in these areas.
Other papers discussed at the session were about the history of communist activism and a peasant uprising in the early years of the country.
Riaz Ahmed’s paper traced the emergence of the 1946 Tebhaga Movement in East Bengal to the 1793 Permanent Settlement Act. He argued that introduction of the right to own agricultural property had divided the population in the region into two distinct economic classes – land owners and peasant cultivators. This led to dozens of peasant uprisings in the ensuing years. These culminated in the Tebhaga movement in 1946, he said. Ahmed, Head of Social Sciences Department at Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Institute of Science Technology (SZABIST), Karachi, said that the movement that had lasted for four years featured a parallel justice and administrative system manned by peasant activists. At the time of Partition, the movement was split between East and West Bengal.
It evolved into the All Pakistan Kissan Sabha in Pakistan and the All Indian Peasant Party in India. On its suppression on the Pakistani side, Ahmed said a propaganda campaign was led against the movement by the Jamaat-i-Islami at the behest of the newly-established state. “Its struggle was portrayed as communal because of a large number of peasants were Hindus,” he said. In The Hidden Left: Communist Activity and Influence in Pakistan’s Early Years, Meher Ali, a bachelor of arts (BA) student at Brown University, United States, discussed the activities of the Communist Party of Pakistan in the early years of the country. She said the communists, including members of the Progressive Writers Association (PWA), were to be labeled as anti-state because of the nostalgia about the pre-partition years in their writings. She said they had to operate underground using code names.
“Their office at 110 McLeod Road was frequently raided by the police,” she said. Ali argued that the imprisonment of prominent communist leaders like Sajjad Zaheer and Faiz Ahmed Faiz in 1959 dismantled its organisation in the country.
On the Democratic Students Federation (DSF), she noted that the organisation had wielded a lot of influence among students. Police force was frequently used to crack down on its protests for provision of higher education facilities, she said.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 7th, 2015.