Daily Times

A speciously titled article, ‘Vikings of Qilla Abdullah’ by Brig (retd) Mehboob Qadir published on July 1st in this daily depicts the stereotypical profile of the Pakhtun community.

Premised on one unfortunate traffic accident, the article begins with a pejorative headline and degenerates into diatribes against the Achakzais.

The June 23rd 2017 traffic accident cannot be justified and, beyond any debate, the law should take its course. Irrespective of his political power, Majeed Achakzai has surrendered to the law of the land and is facing legal consequences. Instead of seeking safety in turning to his politically powerful relatives, the MPA is behind bars.

The author ignores how Mr. Achakzai and, in fact, the entire PkMAP have not impeded implementation of the law. The author’s bias raises justifiable Pakhtun alarm where the act of one Achakzai is used as a reference to accuse the entire tribe of betrayal and perfidy against the state of Pakistan.

The wanton media trial erupting against the accused further elevated ‘glorified’ egos and cut the politicians down to their size, particularly of a ‘pariah’ province. A well- known private channel covered the production of the politician live for more than half an hour in one go.

By contrast, the airtime allocated (or the absence of it) to the Parachinar tragedy indicated how the media was forced to incline in a specific direction. Very few channels showed the seven day sit-in of the Parachinar Pakhtuns against the terrorist strike.1

The only two incidents bringing the media to Balochistan in recent years are the traffic accident case of Mr Majeed Achakzai and the PTI’s public meeting last May.

The author tried to paint the accident as an intentional act of murder, alleging the MPA ‘wilfully ran over the traffic sergeant’. Why would an MPA intentionally run over a sergeant against whom he bears no grudge?

It seems the history lessons of the prestigious Sandhurst and our own GHQ have not changed despite attempts by several historians to abolish Pakhtun stereotypes

As Mr Mehmood Khan Achakzai’s name is not part of the politically motivated Panama leaks, a traffic accident or even a folly of his relative is sufficient political fodder against him.

The rest of the author’s argument regarding the history and character of the Achakzais denotes a blatant bias and ignorance of factual history. It seems the history lessons of the prestigious Sandhurst and our own GHQ have not changed despite attempts by several historians to abolish Pakhtun stereotypes.

Contemporary British journalists like Robert Fisk and Myra Macdonald, who have authored several books, challenge the Pakhtun stereotyping calling the colonial woven narrative as stereotypical and racist.

Robert Fisk, in his voluminous work ‘The Great War for Civilization: The Conquest of the Middle East’ gives an account by quoting a book of imperial adventure by ‘Tom Graham, VC, ‘A Tale of the Afghan War’. “The story is typical of my father’s generation, a rip roaring, racist story of British heroism and Muslim savagery.”

In ‘Defeat is an Orphan’, Myra MacDonald writes: “In 1947, Pakistan not only adopted the British stereotypes but hardened them. Barring the Pakhtun elite who joined the army and bureaucracy… Pakhtuns were regarded from the drawing rooms of Lahore with the same kind of wary bigotry common to the Clubs of the Raj…” (p.212)

Before proffering an opinion on a particular tribe, the author should have consulted some non-colonial historical sources about the Achakzais and their forefathers. Does the author find the struggle of AbdulSamad Khan Achakzai, father of Mr.Mehmood Khan Achakzai, against British colonialism controversial due to his familial background?

The Achakzais played a significant role in the establishment of modern Afghanistan and held prominent positionsat court for a long time. After the advent of the British in the sub-continent and the usurpation of this part of Afghanistan, the Achakzais fell from power for confronting the British.

This has remained our national dilemma. Instead of British colonialists, our post partition history depicts Hindus as usurpers from whom we gained independence. And as per this view, those who fought against the British Empire either stand nowhere or are suspicious in the eyes of the harbingers of Ghazwa-i-Hind.

The author claimed that Afghan refugees form a huge constituency of Mehmood Khan Achakzai who obtains IDs for them. But he does not give numerical details of how many refugees are residing in Balochistan and how many out of these are provided with IDs to swell the electorate of Achakzai.

Mehmood Achakzai’s father, Abdul Samad Khan Achakzai left the National Awami Party (NAP) over the incorporation of almost half of the Pakhtun population into the current province of Balochistan.

It was tantamount to depriving the Pakhtun of cultural and political rights in a province politically and culturally dominated by the Baloch. If Abdul Samad Khan had not reacted, there would hardly have been a single Pakhtun left in the south who could even remember and speak the language, let alone get political and economic rights.

The writer is a political analyst hailing from Swat. Tweets @MirSwat

Published in Daily Times, July 4^th , 2017.