PUKHTOONS

Pushtoon nation between Oxus and Indus is at a critical juncture of its history. Three decades of war in Afghanistan has literally devastated the infrastructure in Afghanistan and more than 3 million Afghans are living as refugees in neighboring Pakistan and Iran.

Due to the vital geo-strategic position of Afghanistan, the western powers under the leadership of US are there to safeguard their vested interests in central and south Asia.

The Pushtoons living in Pakistan are facing extreme exploitation of their water and mineral resources due to the indifferent and discriminatory policies of all those who belong to the echelons of power in Pakistan. They have been used against their fellow Afghan brothers in the name of religion and the morally unjustified loyalty to all the regimes who have been in power in Pakistan.

While all that has been earned from the water and mineral resources of Pashtoons have been going to the pockets of the beaureocracy in Islamabad, the extreme injustice is that despite of all these sacrifices at the alter of Pakistan, the Pushtoons have been projected as fanatic, backward and ignorant nation and Pakistan has left no stones unturned to keep them geographically, politically divided and economically poor nation.

The major chunk of Pushtoon nation can be categorized into two main groups due to the current geographical division: Pushtoons of Afghanistan and Pushtoons of Pakistan.

The Pushtoons of Afghanistan are divided into two factions:

1) The religiously active and Pakistan backed Taliban who are fighting against the US and NATO forces and trying to take over the reigns of power and striving to implement their version of Islam.

2) The nationalist Pushtoons more concerned rather skeptic about their as well as future of Afghanistan due to the political turmoil and instability caused by the fight between the Taliban and the foreign forces and also internal ethnic differences between Pushtoon and non Pushtoon population.

On the other hand the Pushtoons of Pakistan are divided into five geographical units:

3) The politically active but practically passive divided Pushtoons of Pakistan living in NWFP,FATA,Balochistan,Eastren Punjab and Karachi who are not only divided but also confused about their future due to the pro-Punjab cum Mahajir beaureocracy ,biased institutions and a dictated constitution.

In the current geo-political scenario when Pushtoons and their resources are being exploited they have two options for their existence and survival.

a) Evolutionary approach

b) Revolutionary approach

In evolutionary approach Pushtoons have to develop themselves in their current geographical territories whether they are in Afghanistan or in Pakistan while the revolutionary approach dictates that all Pushtoons should strive for a separate Pushtoon nation state based on the tenets of Islam.