Introduction:

The Pashtun people, long tortured and silenced, are now raising their voices against the injustices that have afflicted their communities for generations. This is particularly in the case of the War against Terror at the dawn of the 21st century. But this has been a long time coming, based on historical foundations and misconstructions of norms and traditions. 

Pashtuns are most popularly associated with being an ‘Afghan’, which denotes a citizen of Afghanistan in the literal sense. But this term has become vast, becoming interchangeably used with the ethnicity of ‘Pathan’ after the British colonial era. They are largely present in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

The culture and history of the Pashtuns are very rich through their traditions of ‘Pashtunwali’, Jirga, and extensive folklore. Traditionally, Pashtuns were considered as tolerant and non-violent people centuries ago. However such perceptions were molded and misinterpreted towards a violent nature. How the Pashtuns’ old conflict resolution measures of Jirga were misinterpreted as a violent manner to deal with problems. Through such circumstances, the tribal Pashtuns of Pakistan were and are also categorized as “violent” and “warrior-like” in the colonial and current literature.

These stereotypes have been used for Pashtuns on the basis of their insurgencies against the British Raj in the past and, most importantly, because of their role as mujahideen in the war against the Soviet Union. 

In Pakistan, the Pashtun constitute 18% of the population, being the second largest ethnic group in Pakistan with the vast majority situated in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP). This makes the Pashtun a significant part of Pakistan. While, in the recent past, the birth of the Pakistani Taliban in tribal areas further fueled this image of Pashtuns. However, the loss of thousands of lives in FATA in the War against Terror has verified the fact that Pashtuns were in actuality the victims, not the promoters of violence.

Analysis:

Pashtuns have been highly subjected to violence and terrorism in the last 2 decades, while simultaneously being portrayed as “uncivilized” and “conservative” people. Discrimination against Pashtuns is widely observed in the War on Terror era, particularly in the FATA region. During these military operations, the loss of innocent people including children and women, and the destruction of educational institutes were at their peak. Moreover, the casualties and collateral damage in suicide attacks also devastated them up to a non-compensable level. At least 5 military operations were conducted by the Pakistani Military, this includes; 

• Operation Enduring Freedom (2001–2002), 
• Operation Al Mizan (2002–2006), 
• Operation Zalzala (2008), 
• Operations Sher Dil, Rah-e-Haq, and Rah-e-Rast (2007–2009), 
• Operation Rah-e-Nijat (2009–2110).
• Zarb e Azb (2014-2016)

All these operations were framed to be conducted to deal with terrorists in these tribal regions. But it only led to a prominent increase in Pashtun rights violations. During these operations and in the last two decades collectively, nearly 9237 explosives were detonated in KP, either by terrorists or by the state to contain terrorists. In these blasts, 76584 people were martyred, 2.3 million have been disabled, and 200,000 homes have been destroyed. A horrifying 1,738 elders have been brutally murdered, and 6,700 people remain missing. From Quetta to Swat, over 10 million acres of land have been illegally occupied. Overall, nearly 929,859 displaced civilians (from 80,302 families) were registered, in tribal areas.

Many prominent leaders and Pashtun activists, raising voices for their rights, were killed. This includes the murder of Arif Wazir, Gilaman Wazir, Noor Islam Dawar, Usman Kakar, and Naqeebullah Mehsood. This brought PTM( Pashtun Tahafuz Movement) into national and International prominence. Including these well-known personalities, hundreds of other prominent Pashtun leaders, politicians, and media activists were killed to end their non-violent opposition and bring back the Taliban again in FATA, as part of a larger conspiracy by the state. 

The Pashtun community is, overall, subjected to risk because of the ongoing Taliban insurgency and responses of the Government to it through different operations. In December 2014, an attack on the Army Public School and the killing of 140 plus students in it brought Pashtun’s vulnerability to violence into the spotlight. These attacks not only destroyed the properties of Tribal Pashtuns but also affected their “dignity” resulting from mass displacement of Pashtuns and discriminatory military checking at different checkpoints.

To withstand these issues and to eliminate the sense of alienability among tribal Pashtuns, FATA (Federally Administered Tribal Areas) was officially merged with KP province in 2018. This gave hopes of inclusivity to the tribal Pashtuns. But, despite this major achievement by the State of Pakistan, Tribal Pashtuns’ suffering didn’t come to an end. To raise a voice against these violations, PTM (Pashtun Tahafuz Movement) emerged which is an indigenous peace and rights movement, consisting of young tribal Pashtuns with both men and women. 

Foundations of PTM were observed when they called a peaceful protest against the extrajudicial killing of Naqeeb Ullah Mehsud by Karachi Police. They formally expressed the injustices that happened to them since 2001 in that protest. This murder of Mehsud by CTD (Capital Terrorism Department), under Karachi Police, as a suspected terrorist, was an example of how Tribal Pashtuns have been dealt with and killed over years without due cause. To condemn his death and ask for the rights of Pashtuns, many tribal young men and women called a 10-day protest in Feb 2108,  in Islamabad, where they demanded Pashtun Rights in every manner.   

This single sit-in sparked nationwide movements by PTM for the rights of Pashtun and to inquire about the “missing persons” who were subjected to accusation during these military operations.  Additionally, these movements demanded the Pakistani Government deal with the Taliban under the Peace Committee in tribal regions and to end the ongoing series of continuous curfews in tribal areas. They also demanded the arrest of Rao Anwar, a police officer in Karachi involved in the Naqeeb Ullah Mehsood’s murder case.

Most importantly Manzoor Pashteen, the young leader of PTM, allegedly blames Pakistan Military for all these violations done to Pashtuns during these operations. He demands justice for indigenous Pashtun people as Pashteen also suffered the loss of his family members during the War on Terror.

Since then, the Pashtun activists have united around Pashteen and have tried to raise their voices through different forums. These activists are students and people from different professions. They are, as of current times, running a Facebook page called “Justice for Pashtuns”. Pashto singers have also contributed to the movement by singing for the movement. Even the Nobel Prize Winner Malala Yousaf Zai tweeted in their support through a short but effective message; 

“There is no war on terror. There is only terror”

Since its emergence, the PTM movement has attracted international attention, bringing the voice of the Pashtun people to the forefront of global discourse. This is especially so because of one of the most notable recent events, the Pashtun Jirga held in Khyber and Peshawar in October 2024. This large-scale gathering brought together millions of people for the very purpose. The Jirga presented compelling statistics highlighting the destruction of schools, homes, and mosques, as well as the loss of countless lives. The PTM’s arguments have led to increased investigation of the Pakistani government’s actions in the region. 

From one point of view, the PTM is considered suspicious and a “problem-causing” movement by military chiefs. The PTI government in Punjab tried to defame PTM and Manzoor Pashteen, while he was advertised as a symbol of “hate and sectarianism” by a Punjab government-sponsored advertisement. On the other hand, many people link PTM with Abdul Ghaffar Khan’s (Bacha Khan) Khudai Khidmatgar movement against the British Raj in the Indian Subcontinent.

Conclusion:

In conclusion, it can be deduced that Pashtuns have been subjected to extreme violations, killing, and mass displacement during the War on Terror and military operations. This led to feelings of resentment and rebellion among Pashtun, particularly tribal Pashtuns. To address this, various movements emerged among Pashtuns to question the state and military for their discriminatory actions against Pashtuns, over the years. 

PTM is a notable and effective movement among them, which is ongoing in its aims and continuously determined to its objectives. PTM also highlighted how the state narrative has unfairly linked Pashtuns to terrorists. All these Pashtun efforts and biases towards them demand the government to end its persistent discriminatory laws and practices against Pashtuns and to end their hostile attitude towards Pashtuns. Maybe then this tribal belt will finally attain peace and stability, after decades of living under continuous chaos.