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Stereo-typing Pashtoons

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As a Pashtoon teenager, I grew up in Punjab with some of the most demeaning cliches of Pashtoons; smugglers, money-lenders at exorbitant rates of interest, child and car-lifters were some of the most disparaging stereotypes associated with Pashtoons. Now, little past mid-50s, officials in Punjab stunned me by telling me that terrorism flows only from the lands that are inhabited by Pashtoons in the northwest of Pakistan next to Afghanistan.

Ironically, Punjab tops all other Pakistani territories in terms of religious/extremist/outlawed groups density; as many as 107 of the 240 or so socio-politically lethal groups are headquartered in the province, with 71 in Lahore and around alone, including the one that is an eye-sore for Indians. Only about 21 religious parties/groups subscribe to the present political system, though most of them are primarily one-man parties.

Out of this, 148 are sectarian outfits while 24 are jihadi organisations, while 12 outfits claim to work for revival of Islamic Khilafat as their objective. General Zia laid the foundations of this elaborate network of politico-religious and sectarian groups in order to promote the jihadist narratives in support of the movements in Kashmir and Afghanistan. He, on the other hand, also saw them as the essential tool for self-preservation in the face of a liberal Pakistan People’s Party and the Pashtoon nationalist Awami National Party (ANP).

With state sponsorship Jhang emerged as the hub of sectarian extremism, where Haq Nawaz Jhangvi founded the Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan, followed by many others.

Those branding Pashtoons must remember; Osama bin Laden or Dr Al-Zawahiri or Abu Bakr Baghdadi are not Pashtoons. Nor are their Pakistani followers such as Hafiz Saeed, Mulana Aziz, Abdur Rasheed Ghazi, Malik Ishaq , Maulana Masood Azhar, Farooq Kashmiri, Maulana Fazlurrehman Khalil inter alia. Nor did General Hameed Gul, the globally known political mentor of these believers in the global jihad, had anything to do with Pashtoons. Groups such as ETIM, IMU, Daesh, Chechen Rebels — all of them currently hiding in Afghanistan or the Pak-Afghan border regions — are also not Pashtoons either.

Yes, of course these jihadists inspired, persuaded and baited many Pashtoons into the jihadi networks, particularly those 20 or so outfits operating in Afghanistan in collusion with the Afghan Taliban. And over the years, they have all assumed the same fatigue and appearance. So, why did some police officials equate a certain appearance with Pashtoons and thus linked it to terrorism? This situation requires top political leaders to unequivocally condemn “stereotyping” of an entire ethnic group. The HRCP has rightly emphasised the need for corrective measures to be introduced for officials at the training and execution stages in order to prevent recurrence of ‘racial profiling’. It also demanded

“safeguards to protect individuals from harassment or being treated as suspects because of the their appearance or facial features. Police and intelligence officials in particular must be taken to task if they imply that terrorism and extremism only flows from K-P and Fata. The most rabid sectarian terrorist organisations are indeed headquartered in a number of areas of the country. Externalising sources of terrorism by dumping it on a particular ethnic group is scandalous as well as detrimental to the slogan of Pakistanhood. It also seriously jeopardises the constitutional guarantees for equality of citizens and preservation of their dignity.



Source: https://tribune.com.pk/story/1341949/stereo-typing-pashtoons/
 
Punjab is a very unwelcoming province as far as non-Punjabis are concerned. Afridi said the same but this has been my observation for long before that

Heck they even count Seraikis and other groups as Punjabis when they themselves dont want to be categorized as such
 
Punjab is a very unwelcoming province as far as non-Punjabis are concerned. Afridi said the same but this has been my observation for long before that

Heck they even count Seraikis and other groups as Punjabis when they themselves dont want to be categorized as such

That's for a different, albeit no less nefarious, reason. Acknowledging Seraikis as a distinct entity means legitimizing their demand for a separate province which would inevitably be carved out of Punjab who would lose out big time if that happens.
 
Ironically the terrorists are the groups that manage to shed their racism in pursuit of their cause. That is why you get such a diaspora of black, white, yellow and brown converging on hotspots like Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan. Seems like in Pakistan the officials who are making this an ethnic issue still haven't got the memo.
 
Both Pashtuns and Punjabis are racist.

Like I was saying before, the article in the OP is of no surprise at all; pathans face unreal bigotry on every level imaginable.
 
Like I was saying before, the article in the OP is of no surprise at all; pathans face unreal bigotry on every level imaginable.

Which is different to the racism that expats suffer in the West. There is no denying that bigotry exists in Pakistan.
 
Which is different to the racism that expats suffer in the West. There is no denying that bigotry exists in Pakistan.

I think pathans have it a lot worse because the majority have made you outcasts which they don't accept given the stated stereotypes in the OP, the only time they have a use for you in their eyes is when they need someone to help them go beat someone up
 
Pathans can be a lot more welcoming towards other communities as well. I am not buying in to this image of them being "brave and special" as if they are the only ones with these qualities. I find their culture to be backward and very oppressive moreover they are overtly protective of their ladies as if everyone else is out to get them, NOT!. They have to come out of their ancient tribal life and see how today's Pakistan is. Having sad that they have also done a lot for Pakistan so should never be forced out of Punjab.
 
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