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Pakhtunkhwa Debate Resurfaces in Pakistan

Punjab reverberates as the land of Punjabis; so does Sindh and Balochistan as the land of Sindhis and Baluchis. If Pakhtun's (Pashtuns or Pashtoons) are the ethnic majority of Pakistan's North West Frontier Province (NWFP), then why is the province not being renamed as Pakhtunkhwa (the land of Pakhtuns)?

The debate over renaming the NWFP as Pakhtunkhwa resurfaced, once again, in the autumn session of Pakistan's National Assembly, which began on 10 November 2008. The furor, however, on the last day of the assembly's session, on 21 November 2008, did not emanate from any exclusive and/or official discussion over renaming the province. The uproar, rather distasteful verbal exchanges, between the Awami National Party (ANP) and the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) parliamentarians began when Mohammad Safdar of the PML-N objected to Minister Raza Rabbani's reference to the NWFP as 'Pakhtunkhwa.' According to some of the leading newspapers in Pakistan, MQM legislator Haider Abbas Rizvi, notwithstanding his reference of the NWFP as Pakhtunkhwa in a previous session, staged a walkout after being denied an opportunity to respond to Safdar. Other MQM legislators, following suit, diligently walked out, before they were persuaded back into the house. Reports indicate that the issue escalated when ANP legislator Pervez Khan hurled derogatory allegations against Nawaz Sharif, which led to a blame game between the ANP and the PML-N, thereby forcing the speaker to suspend the session.

There are two sides to the argument. The PML-N, along with the PML-Q, maintained that the NWFP cannot be referred to as Pakhtunkhwa unless there is a constitutional amendment to rename the province. The ANP, MQM, and the PPP maintained that since the NWFP provincial assembly had passed unanimous resolutions twice for renaming the province, it was time that these resolutions are recognized and upheld. In fact, the PPP, in its manifesto, had proposed to establish a "true federal democracy" by providing provincial autonomy. More importantly, Article 1 of the constitutional package, as proposed by the PPP in May this year, proposed to change the name of NWFP to Pakhtunkhwa. President Asif Ali Zardari went a step ahead when he said that his government was working with the "Pakhtunkhwa province" to tackle extremism in the region, during his maiden speech at the 63rd United Nations General Assembly meeting in September 2008. Zardari also recommended renaming the province by amending the constitution, when he addressed a joint session of Parliament on 20 September 2008. However, neither has the constitution been amended nor have the PPP-led coalition parties at the Centre refrained from using the name "Pakhtunkhwa" frequently in their speeches at the Parliament. Any attempt to amend the constitution regarding the issue would require a two-thirds majority, both in the National Assembly and the Senate, which would be possible only if the PML-N extends support.

The issue of "Pakhtunkhwa" should be understood as an issue that draws support as well as opposition within Pakistan, especially in the NWFP, and should thus be understood on its own terms, independent of Afghanistan's claim over Pashtunistan/Pakhtunistan. In Pakistan, the Pashtuns are the majority ethnic group in the NWFP, Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) and northern Balochistan. About two-thirds of the two million Afghan refugees in Pakistan, who are mostly ethnic Pashtuns, live in the NWFP. This is excluding the roughly 14 million population of the NWFP (as per the 1998 census). According to the NWFP government statistics, 68 per cent of people in the province speak Pashto, 18 per cent speak Hindko, 8 per cent speak Seraiki and about 2 per cent speak Urdu and Punjabi. Proponents of the struggle to rename the British-created NWFP, such as Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan and Khan Abdul Wali Khan, viewed it as not just a change of name, but as an issue of safeguarding the provincial autonomy and more importantly preserving the indigenous culture and language of the Pashtuns. Much of the opposition to this move comes from the non-Pashtun ethnic minorities in the province, in the Chitral district and in Hazara division. This apart, the establishment in Pakistan has been wary of renaming the province as Pakhtunkhwa, fearing that it may provide leverage to Afghanistan's claim of Pashtunistan. Moreover, many Pashtuns have spread to other provinces in Pakistan and have established credible influence in the Army and they also dominate the transport industry in Pakistan. These Pashtuns consider Pakistan as their homeland and are sensitive to the idea of separatism. Yet, there are also Pashtuns who consider the Pashtuns in Afghanistan and Pakistan as united and hence advocate a confederation of the two countries.

Many believe that the Pakhtunkhwa issue is a regional matter, with no major bearing on the politics at the Centre. However, it does bring to the forefront, yet again, the antagonism prevalent in the centre-province relations in Pakistan. The political elite's failure to address provincial aspirations and regional identities has cost Pakistan dearly. The PPP should work towards its proposed constitutional package for after all, Sindh, Punjab and Balochistan too comprise multiple ethnicities.