Comments on: Editorial: Separate Pashtun Areas From Balochistan

By: Brave Pashtun

Brave Pashtun — Sun, 25 Jul 2010 07:40:55 +0000

I am a Pashtun from Quetta. I totally agree with the main theme of the article. It would be better if the Pashtun areas of Balochistan are annexed to Pashtun-khwa proper or Afghanistan and the Balochi areas in Sindh (Jacobabad etc) and Punjab (Dera Ghazi Khan, Rajanpur etc) given back to Balochistan.

The reall irony in my opinion is that these days, our Pashtun nationalist politicians are not showing the courage to come forward and demand an independent Pashtunistan just like the Balochs are doing for Balochistan. Instead of joining hands with their Baloch brothers to be free from the clutches of Pakistan once and for all, these ‘nationalist Pashtuns’ seem to be siding with the Imperialist Punjabis. Yesterday, these same leaders and politicians (i.e. Pashtunkhwa Milli Awami Party and others) were writing on the walls “Death to Punjabi Imperialism” but today, these very people are giving statements condemning the legitimate killing of some Punjabi spies who are killed by Baloch freedom fighters as a reaction to the Punjabi/Paki atrocities and injustices in Balochistan. This is leading into a conflict between the Balochs and Pashtuns, something exactly wished by the Punjabi occupiers. Our Pashtun politicians unintentionally or otherwise are playing into the hands of the Punjabis. They can at least remain silent or neutral if they cannot help the Balochis but siding with the Punjabis is totally unacceptable to the majority of Pashtuns. It is a tantamount to a gross violation of the basic tenets on which Pashtun nationalism is founded. It is for this reason that most of the real Pashtun nationalists who believe in principles are now disillusioned with Pashtun-khwa MAP and leaving the party and I am one of them.

The intelligence and wisdom of the Baloch leaders on the other hand is really admirable. They have never given anti-Pashtun statements and have always called pashtuns their friends and brothers. The same should be done by our Pashtun leaders. They should wake up and differentiate their friends from their foes.

Throughout the history, the Balochs and Pashtuns have always remain friends. They have joined hands to defend their respective lands from foreign invaders (many Balochis fought alongside the Pashtuns in the first and second Anglo-Afghan wars). The stinky black Punjabis can never be Pashtun’s friends. They never were and never will be. It is too sad to see that those advocating equal rights for the oppressed nations from the PONM platform yesterday are today standing for the rights of the Punjabi and Hazara settlers in Quetta. It is time to wake up or it will be too late. If our Pashtun politicians maintained the same line, I am afraid a time will come when all other nations except Pashtuns would get their independence from Pakistan while we Pashtuns will be the only people living under the rule of these oily Chuadaries.

About the problem of Quetta if Balochistan gets independence. I think a better solution would be to (peacefully) divide Quetta into Pashtun and Baloch sectors. Though I would not recommend Quetta as a capital of a future free Balochistan any way. It should be a place like Kalat or Gawadar. Quetta will lose its current importance once Balochistan is independent. It will change merely into a border town.

And a request from Baloch brothers. Please do not label all Pashtuns as opportunists. It is only a few who are so. Majority of Pashtuns are sympathetic to the Baloch cause. It is only that our politicians have proved traitors and hypocrites.

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Quetta, Balochistan - Page 2 — Sun, 18 Jul 2010 15:00:05 +0000

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By: Brahvi

Brahvi — Sat, 03 Jul 2010 22:08:39 +0000

Brahvi areas must also be seperated from ‘Baloch’istan. Brahvi is an ancient language and where the Baloch have been able to subjugate the Brahvis, they are treated very bad. On the other hand when the Brahvis defeated Baloch’s they were treated with kindness. If Balochistan is separated the rights of Brahvis must be protected. The Brahvi areas must also be seperated from ‘Baloch’istan

By: Separate Pashtun Areas From Balochistan « Malik Siraj Akbar writes

Separate Pashtun Areas From Balochistan « Malik Siraj Akbar writes — Sat, 03 Jul 2010 21:40:58 +0000

[...] write-up originally appeared in The Baloch Hal, Balochistan’s first online English [...]

By: Ali Akbar

Ali Akbar — Sat, 03 Jul 2010 14:37:59 +0000

Quetta has been a Baloch town since the recorded history. The 16th century Ain-e Akbari records it Shal (historical name for Quetta which was changed to Quetta by the British) and calls it a Baloch district. Later, the Moghal king Hamayun was hosted by Baloch tribes here while he crossed the district and later bestowed it to Mir Lawang Khan Baloch after his conquest of Kabul from his brother Kamran Mirza (see Erskine’s Mughal history). Elphinstone also wrote in 1969 that “Shawl belongs to the Beloche Prince of Kelant”. It remained under the Baloch throughout the recorded history except for short periods when it changed hands with Persian and Mughal rulers of Iran, India and Afghanistan. It was also ruled from Kandahar for short periods but mostly by non-Pashtun rulers of Kandahar such as the Zarguns, Moghuls, Ghaznavids (Turkish slaves who later ruled India, vast territories of Iran and Afghanistan). The British occupied the valley from Kalat in 1838 but soon vacated it. It was reoccupied in 1878 following the Mastung Treaty signed between the Khan of Kalat and the British in 1876. Some territories of Balochistan, including Quetta (called Shal) and the Bolan Pass, were taken on rent and along with the territories occupied from Afghanistan as a result of the second Afghan war and annexed with India following the Gandamak Treaty. The British continued paying rent to the Khan of Kalat till they left the subcontinent. The 1911 Britannica Encyclopedia records that “Since 1882 he (the Khan of Kalat) has received Rs.25,000 as government rent for the Quetta district, besides Rs.30,000 in lieu of transit duties in the Bolan (Pass); this has been increased lately by Rs.9000″ which proves that it was a Baloch district and a part of Balochistan ruled by the Khans from Kalat.
Having said this, the ground reality is that the Baloch are in a minority in today’s Quetta and Quetta’s inclusion can’t be solved through historical references or by force. The best way would be to hold a referendum and give the people the chance to decide whether to join this or that ethno-linguistic province.

By: Dr Natasha Khan

Dr Natasha Khan — Sat, 03 Jul 2010 10:54:22 +0000

What will you do with Quetta? It has a majority pushtun population i guess.

By: Bijjar

Bijjar — Sat, 03 Jul 2010 08:48:03 +0000

Pashtoons are opportunist and unreliable, the sooner we separate them the better it will be for us.

By: Shafiq Gichki

Shafiq Gichki — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 16:58:09 +0000

Great editorial……………The balochs and pashtuns are two different nations having their own customs,which are entirely different from one another.then how come we can live together with pashtuns………………………………..we realy want to get rid of these Pashtuns,because in future these pashtuns will be the main hurdle against the freedom movement of Balochistan.

By: Ali Akbar

Ali Akbar — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 12:27:44 +0000

One Correction and few more comments: 170 scholars are doing Ph. D. and M. Phil. in developed countries of Europe and American and a good majority of these are from Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa as the previous program incharge was a Pathan of that province, the past three Vice Chancellors were Pathans, two from that province and the current VC is also a Peshawari Pathan who was fired from his position on the ground that he spent 6 years in UK on a Balochistan university scholarship but returned empty-handed (I can share the scanned copy of the firing letter issued under the sign of Anwar Khetran, the then Registrar and the decision was taken by the Syndicate). The then Peshawari Pathan Governor reinstated him and gave him another scholarship to return back to Uk and spent another 6 years to complete his Ph. D. (12 years scholarship plus the salary delivered to his home to complete a Ph. D. which takes only 3 years to complete), one can imagine how competent he is. Irony of the case is that the Peshawari Pathan Governor/Chancellor reinstated him as a lecturer but the present Baloch Governor made him the Vice Chancellor (it seems that it is enough to be a Pathan and it doesn’t matter whether one is competent, incompetent, honest or dishonest). University records show he has submitted a list of 46 publications of which 40 are one-page articles and in none of these he is a single author, one article has 10 pages and is written by 5 co-authors, one has 4 pages and is again written by 4 co-authors, one has 7 pages and has 6 co-authors. And he was a TTS professor on the basis of these publications receiving 3 lac Rs per month. TTS is another sword killing the Baloch: presently there are 29 TTS professors at Balochistan university getting between 150,000 Rs to 300,000 Rs and none is Baloch. Almost all of them are Pathan except for a couple of Punjabis. This Abdul Nabi, current VC, was the incharge of TTS programs and he categorically refused Baloch applicants among whom Prof Dr Badal Khan Baloch who returned Pakistan after 25 years from Europe and America and Dr Abdul Razzaq Sabir who has taught in Pakistan and abroad. University Baloch circles say Dr Badal Khan submitted 32 articles all single-authored and published in Europe and America but this Nabi rejected all for not being in the list of journals of HEC. The same lame excuse was made with prof Dr Abdul Razzaq Sabir and any other Baloch who applies for a TTS position or for a full professorship.
Baloch legislatures are urged to take some interest against Baloch marginalization in Balochistan’s educational institutions asking why there is no single Baloch as VC (except for the BK Women university whom against Pashtun lobby continues a campaign and local newspapers are filled with statements against her). They should ask how many scholars are doing Ph. D. abroad and how many of them are Baloch, why there is no single Baloch on TTS program, why there is no single Baloch at the top at Balochistan’s 5 universities and why the University Law College is headed by an incompetent young guy while more competent and qualified Baloch are refused the job (Ms Saira Ata Baloch, highly qualified from UK, was shamelessly thrown out of the college on the pretext that she was a pro-Baloch), why all important positions at all these universities are held by Pathans, why Baloch candidates are marginalised in teacing jobs, and above all, stop the Peshawari Pathan VC from constructing blocks at Aghbargh near Kochlak where the Pashtun lobby wants to shift Balochistan university (they call it Quetta university refusing to use Balochistan for Quetta’s institutions) in a coming future with the excuse that Saryab is a disturbed area because of its Baloch majority population. Presently the university high ups plan to build different blocks for class rooms and shift classes there giving the present blocks to some other colleges and finally shift the whole university there. If it is true that Baloch and Pashtuns are brothers then they should respect each other’s shares in a common resources.