Daily Times

The recent interview on television of Islamic scholar Javed Ghamidi in which he attributed the Taliban’s beheading and stoning to death to tribal Pashtun culture has triggered a debate on social media. Ghamidi further said that even a child in the tribal belt could behead with ease. These indeed were very callous remarks from a supposedly good religious scholar.

There is no denying the fact that the Pashtun belt in Pakistan, and across the fence, has been a fertile ground for terrorism for more than three decades but the factors that contributed to terrorism were mostly foreign. Analysts blame the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in which the Afghans generally and the Pashtuns especially became sandwiched between the US and the Soviet Union. It is widely believed that the Pashtuns are on the wrong side of history, inhabiting a place of strategic importance that has witnessed onslaughts from all major forces in recent history.

We should not forget that the major players in the civil war after the Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan were mostly Pashtuns. Later, the Taliban, who were ethnically Pashtun, emerged on the scene and excelled their predecessors in wreaking havoc. Apart from their despicable attitude towards women, the destruction of two Buddha statues in Bamyan was an unforgivable act by the Taliban. However, the machinations and influence of the deep state cannot be condoned. The point here is not to single out the Pashtuns and declare the rest of Pakistanis a very enlightened lot — they have their own lashkars (militias) of holy warriors — but we Pashtuns need introspection and need to seek answers to the question: why has our land become a breeding ground for terrorism? Is it geography, our love for militant Islam, our tribal culture or our trigger-happy temperament that brings us this ‘distinction’?

I hear commentators who mostly attribute this problem to lack of education, poverty, post-9/11 developments and the military operations in Swat and the tribal areas. These factors might somehow have contributed but it is time to look at this from a different perspective as well. Non-local experts on terrorism generally ignore, or basically fail to understand, the important role Pashtun culture plays in promoting extremism. A Pashtun lives in a closed culture that is religiously conservative too. A male chauvinistic culture, which gives no freedom of expression or dissent, pushes youngsters to become reactionaries. When faced with real life challenges, the Pashtuns respond emotionally rather than rationally. Another damaging aspect of this culture is a social acceptance of bullies. Everyone, from teachers to the mullah and uncles to fathers, acts like a bully and instills a sense of fear, thereby creating an overwhelming sense of paranoia among Pashtun children.

A Pashtun can better understand what has led to the degeneration of his culture. This culture has now become ossified, as not only has it lost its good traits but also the capacity to be in synch with modernisation. Many factors have contributed to this cultural decadence like its inherent weakness and the onslaught of Wahabi militant and rigid Islam, which heavily invested in the Pashtun belt for more than three decades. However, the most damaging blow was given by the Tabligh-e-Jamaat (TeJ), which excelled even Wahabism in bringing about cultural closeness, pushing young Pashtuns away from cultural activities and killing their desire to become active members of society. The TeJ discourages cultural gatherings, fairs and festivals and considers music and dances, the cultural manifestations of the area, to be evil acts. It even demonised laughter — a sign of life — and said that a hearty laugh extinguishes a celestial light in the human heart.

The role of the media, especially the Urdu media, has been very negative in its stereotyping: its demonisation and generalisation of the Pashtuns has put them at a loss for their identity. The perception that Mr Ghamidi has is that the Pashtuns are generally savages, backward, and cannot assimilate in the mainstream culture — this perception is pushing middle-class, educated Pashtuns into the hands of the militants. The media does not paint with the same brush when it comes to militants in Punjab.

Political activity has been an effective instrument in engaging people. The initiative to allow political parties to operate freely for the first time in FATA is a belated but right step and will help lessen the grip of militancy in the region. Critics argue that the lack of reforms has alienated tribesmen and made it easier for militant networks to recruit young men to fight the Pakistani government and to avenge a covert US drone war. However, it is wrong to assume that people are drifting into terrorism just because their family members are being killed in drone attacks.

Geography has a role in making the Pashtun belt fertile for religious-based militancy. With armed tribes in the Pak-Afghan rugged mountains, weak government control, the three decades long war theatre, smuggling, the drugs-based economy and the non-existent political culture, militancy has fomented on both sides of our porous western border. Physical geography cannot be changed but mindsets can be. As Maria Robinson puts it, “Nobody can go back and start a new beginning but anyone can start today and make a new ending.”

It is time we start today for a new era of peace and prosperity. The next step after implementing the Political Parties Act should aim at giving provincial status to FATA and doing away with the garrison and strategic depth mentality. This mindless hunt for strategic depth in FATA and Afghanistan has irreparably weakened the country. Pashtuns need to be integrated into the mainstream to play a role in the progress and development of this country instead of seeing them as savages like Ghamidi did. Bombs and bullets cannot defeat terrorism. We have seen that deterrence can be effective on a short term basis; it is the long term process of development and dialogue that needs to be initiated to make the Pashtun land infertile for extremism and fertile for openness and tolerance.

The writer is a freelance journalist and can be reached at kaharzalmay@yahoo.com