The issue of the renaming of NWFP as Pukhtoonkhwa has reared its head yet again and, as usual, the people who claim to be national leaders -- especially Nawaz Sharif -- are opposing this, calling for a referendum and ignoring the fact that the matter is already under consideration in the constitutional committee. Veritably, by opposing the Pukhtoons, they want to prove their jingoistic nationalism.
This 'trend', if we may call it so, has caught on big-time and most politicians like to denounce every act of Pukhtoons in order to prove themselves as national leaders. Even the religious rituals of Pukhtoons are not recognised such as Ramzan and Eid moon sightings.
As for 'Pukhtoonkhwa', the name has been referred to by historians like Herodotus and James Darmstadt in their valuable works. It has been an issue since the independence of India and was passed on from generation to generation after Pakistan came into existence.
Pakistan consisted of Sindh, Punjab, Bahawalpur, East Pakistan, Provinces, Chief Commissioners province, State of Kalat and some other states and remained as such until 1954 when all these merged into West Pakistan on the principles of parity with the East Pakistan in the name of one unit. Majority of political parties not only opposed the one unit but also fought against this. Later, the unit was dissolved and General Yahya Khan, the then chief martial law administrator, restored the provinces in 1969. East Pakistan and Sindh were restored to their original position while the province of Punjab was expanded by merging the whole of Bahawalpur province (Saraiki province) with it. The Saraikis, thus, lost their province and identity. Besides, the two districts of NWFP -- Attock and Mianwali -- were disintegrated and merged into Punjab. The purpose was, obviously, to afford supremacy to Punjab over other provinces. Today, Punjab is not only the largest province of the country, it also enjoys all sorts of privileges while the rest can only complain and begrudge the exploitation and the injustices.
The position of Balochistan has been somewhat different. The Pukhtoons there were subjected to great injustices. In the British era, the Baloch and the Pukhtoons were separate nations and had their own territories and land. The Baloch had their own land, identity and resources within the states of Kalat, whereas the Pukhtoons had their own administrative division in the Chief Commissioners province, named as such by the British. By abolishing one unit, the Chief Commissioners province (of Pukhtoons) was merged in Balochistan, the newly established province. The Pukhtoons were, thus, deprived of their identity, land and resources. Such injustices have frequently been highlighted by the Pukhtoons and need sincere consideration.
Nawaz Sharif and others are opposing the renaming of Pukhtoonkhwa without any insight into the historical, social and political background. They just want to satisfy their few friends and (local) political partners. Their main argument is: there are non-Pushto speaking people also in the province. Indeed, there are, especially in the Hazara Division, and they are the ones who are against the name 'Pukhtoonkhwa'. The PML-N has little majority there and its provincial president also comes from Hazara. But even in Hazara Division, in district Mansehra, there are Pushto speaking people who are about the size of the non-Pushto speakers. In the districts of Abbottabad and Haripur, the Pukhtoons have a clear majority. The main tribes of Hazara division such as the Jadoons, the Tareens, the Tanolis and the Sadozais are Pukhtoons by origin and they speak both Pushto and Hindko languages and share similar customs and traditions. They not only admit but also flaunt their sense of pride on being Afghans by origin.
Democratically, too, the Pukhtoons have the right to rename their province as they like. Statistics reveal that there are 68 percent Pushto-speaking (Pukhtoons) natives, 18 percent Hindko-speaking, 8 percent Saraiki-speaking and 2 percent Urdu- and Punjabi-speaking. The representatives of the people in the provincial assembly -- JI, JUI (F), PPP and ANP -- recently passed a resolution on the issue of renaming of NWFP as Pukhtoonkhwa. Interestingly, JUI proposed the name 'Afghania'.
Unfortunately, the resolution could not solve the problem because it needed approval from the National Assembly by a two-third majority and, in the Lower House, there was no such majority of Pukhtoon nationalist parties nor are they expected to have it in the future. Other nations like Sindhi, Saraikis and Balochs are also not likely to take on the 'might' of the mainstream political parties that continue to play 'national' politics at the expense of the other nations. It is for this reason that the Pukhtoonkhwa Milli Awami Party (PMAP) has demanded a new constitution for the country, because the Constitution of 1973 has no provisions to solve these issues. In fact, it is used as a 'legal' tool to exploit the smaller provinces and nations. While the newly formed Pakistan struggled as an independent state, there was no room for 'non-issues' like this. In 1928, Chaudhry Rahmat Ali coined the name 'Pakistan' as an abbreviation for P(unjab)A(Afghania -- for all Pukhtoons including those in NWFP and the then Chief Commissioners Province and, presently, Balochistan)K(Kashmir)S(Sindh)TAN(Balochistan) in his famous book, Now or Never. This name was, later, officially adopted. Is this fair that all the provinces were represented in the name except NWFP? If it had been named 'Afghania' at that time, there would be no issue today. These are few facts which support the renaming of NWFP as Pukhtoonkhwa. And, it is the majority's right which has never been granted.
In Punjab, too, there is a majority of Saraiki-speaking, Pushto-speaking and other non-Punjabi speakers. Why not ask their opinion? Do they like to live in a state named as Punjab? Likewise for Sindh.
It is a fact that the opinion of these people has never been sought and referendum never been conducted. Recently, Northern Areas were rechristened as Gilgit-Baltistan. Was any referendum conducted for this? Does the government not know the Kashmiris had clear reservations on this?
Referendum as a concept has a much-hated history attached to it in Pakistan. We have seen the referendums on General Zia ul Haq, Farooq Ahmed Leghari and General Pervez Musharraf. Yet, if the political leaders place so much trust on referendums why are they against the idea when it comes to renaming of NWFP?
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