For almost half a century, the Pashtun homeland has been in a perpetual state of war. The Pashtuns have neither initiated these wars nor do they stand to benefit in any of their outcomes. However, young Pashtuns continue to be used as cannon fodder by foreign and regional powers who, despite their outward commitments to peace, only wish to control Kabul and keep Peshawar pacified. As a result, Afghanistan, Fata, Southern Pashtunkhwa and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa are at par with Sub-Saharan Africa with regards to human development (a comparative measure of life expectancy, literacy, education, and standards of living of a country). The Pashtuns are perhaps the only nation on earth today among whom illiteracy may actually rise in the coming years, given the current war on schools in Pashtun areas. Millions of Pashtuns have been displaced, their homes have been destroyed and they have been reduced to live like beggars in their own homeland. The Pashtuns themselves have been divided into different countries, provinces and ideologies, thereby making them unable to face the multitude of their problems and enemies as a unified front.
For a Pashtun to not act in such times is criminal. To speak out is subservient to taking direct action but it is still infinitely favorable to giving our enemies our tacit approval by doing nothing. Therefore, this blog hopes to not only instill in all of us our national pride that has been dampened and replaced with religious fanaticism and a false notion of pan-Islamism, but to also inculcate rational thought in all of us with regards to the what is best for the Pashtun nation, given our current and future options.
Furthermore, this blog also aims to promote Pashtun culture and the Pashto language especially in these times, when the quality of Pashto is not only in decline in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa but Pashtun culture is also being systematically replaced by violent Wahabism on one side and the Lollywood/Indic culture of Lahore on the other. What's even more worrisome is that Pashtun children in Pakistani schools are being institutionally deprived of their unique identity through different means - Pashtun history, which is distinct from Pakistani/Indian history is not taught, Pashtun poets and national leaders are not included in any of the state curriculum, etc. For example, the Moghul emperor Babur, who not only toppled the Pashtuns from the throne of Delhi in the 16th century but was also a sworn enemy and mass-slaughterer of Pashtuns, is taught to Pashtun children as a hero while those Pashtuns who put up resistance against the Moghul foreigners and fought for the freedom of their homeland are either entirely ignored or made to appear as villains. This blog hopes to share such facts and to hence raise awareness among Pashtuns, many of whom have been brainwashed over the years and made to think as anyone else but Pashtuns.
Another aim of this blog is to make Pashtuns think not as citizens of a particular state, province or city but as a distinct nation. If a Pashtun has been led to believe that it does not matter or that it is a sign of progress if Peshawar is prospering even while Kabul burns or vice versa, then he has been most cunningly deceived. Some foreigners may want us to believe that Pashtuns from Kunar and Waziristan are not only not from the same nation but that they are or should be enemies, but the truth is that enough Pashtuns have died at the hands of other Pashtuns at the behest of these malevolent foreigners.
Lastly, this blog does not aim to offend the sensitivities of Pashtuns who may have affiliations with certain political parties or state ideologies. Instead, by using facts and logic, this blog hopes to bring together Pashtuns from different states and regions to come to a common understanding on the issues facing us as a nation and how to overcome them.
Thank you for reading.
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