Ten Years of Meltdown

Another bomb explosion in Peshawar yesterday claimed yet more lives. Like the explosion in the Khyber tribal district not long back, this happened whilst people waited for a bus. Sadly, this comes less than a week after sectarian violence in Parachinar and today gunmen stormed a police station, again in Peshawar, leading to yet more killing. I can't help but think that right now, it doesn't really matter any more what the faith denomination, ethnic background or political slant of an individual is, in Pakistan - something is seriously malfunctioning. Whilst ultimately violence is indiscriminate; Peshawar, Khyber, Swat, Parachinar, Waziristan, Bajaur and much more, is Pashtoon land and when we turn our violence upon each other, I feel hurt and confusion. At times it feels that we are going down like flies. And I continue to ask why.

Ahmed Rashid, writing for the BBC describes the past ten years perfectly when he says that Pakistan is in Meltdown.  He writes that ten years after becoming embroiled in the US "War on Terror", Pakistan, mired in scandal, may have to face some kind of unilateral US action. This has long been conjecture, but let's face it, when the US enters Pakistani airspace with its drones, this results in civilians being killed. The Raymond Davis shoot-out saw Pakistan bowing to US pressure - thus effectively creating an immunity for American intelligence to kill on Pakistani soil, seemingly without impunity and of course, most infamously Osama bin Laden was hunted down and killed in Abbotabad, whilst Pakistan was asleep. All of these represent US action against Pakistan, whether anyone cares to admit it or not.

But of Pakistan itself - why is it headed towards meltdown? I have a theory. Rather simplistically much of Pakistan's past, present and future woes stem from its schizophrenic relationship with India and how this is dealt with. And yes, there is mass poverty, economic ruin, natural disasters, ethnic unrest and wide-scale political corruption at home. Everything in Pakistan is negatively over politicised - the intelligence services, militant groups, the judiciary, redrawing of provincial boundaries, college campuses, religion, the media, municipality services, the ordinary man on the street and of course, the military. 

Notice there that even whilst discussing this, I didn't even get to politicians. They of course, knowingly sit there in Pakistan temporarily or in exile to escape criminal or corruption charges, watching as everything melts before them.

 

 Cartoon by Satish Acharya

Who and Why?

The Hidden Enemy

Universal Primary Education is one of the Millenium Development Goals. I could write much more on this, but consider the picture here, taken from the BBC. It shows an outdoor school in an unidentified Pashtoon area. This, unfortunately is the plight of many Pashtoon children. These are the children who will, of course, shape the future.

In an earlier posting, I said I would return to this topic, so here goes. A report on BBC Pashto some weeks back began with:

په پېښور کې د اپريل په ١٩ مه نېټه د يوۀ ښوونځي د باندې چاودنه وشوه ، دا لومړى ځل نه و چې په خيبر پښتونخوا ، قبايلو يا د افغانستان په جنوبي ولايتونو کې ښوونځي په نښه کېږي

On April 19th in Peshawar, there was an attack on a school. This is the not the first time this has happened to schools in Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa, the Tribal Areas or the southern provinces of Afghanistan.

The question that was asked was:

پښتني سيمو کې ښوونځي څوک خرابوي او ولې ؟

Who* is attacking schools in Pashtoon areas, and why?

The responses to the question spoke of an "enemy" working to prevent Pashtoon educational progress. Who this enemy is - was not really identified, so the question about who* is behind the attacks remains. Fingers continue to point, but without knowing who the enemy is, can it be possible to begin to work out a solution?

For me, as an educationlist, and a Pashtoon, this is particularly troubling.

خادم الافغان- کابل
څرګنده ده چې د پښتنو د ښوونځیو سوځول د پښتنو د دښمنانو کار دی. دوی نه پرېږدي چې پښتانه له تعلیم برخمن شي

Khadim Al Afghan - Kabul

Apparently, the buring of Pashtoon schools is the work of the enemies* of the Pashtoons. They do not want Pashtoons to be educated.

حکيم الله ـ هندوستان
دوی د پښتنو په سيمو کې ښوونځي سوځوي، ځکه چې پښتانه يووالی نه لري، دوی نالوستي او د افغانستان دښمنان دي، دوی په دې کارونو سره امتياز اخلي

Hakimullah - India
They* can burn schools in Pashtoon areas because the Pashtoons are disunited and they* are the enemies of [ending] illiteracy and Afghanistan. It is to their* advantage to do this.

*whom exactly?

Tor_Khan تور خان

Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa پښتونخوا

The announcement today to rename the North West Frontier Province (NWFP) to one of the names preferred by the Pashtoons is welcome news. There is still some debate about the nature of the name, but for now, Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa خیبر پښتونخوا is a name that represents a break from the colonial past when the territory was split by the British colonialists from Afghanistan and incorporated within the empire as the north west frontier of British India and a buffer to Russian influence.

پښتونخوا زما وطن
Pukhtoonkhwa, zama watan
Pukhtoonkhwa, my homeland

Tor_Khan تور خان