So I was having this discussion in my family, and the topic came up.
To give you a background, I am from the USA and we have a large Pakistani origin population which neither speak any Pakistani tongues, know about our history, care about Pakistani politics, nor self-identify as Pakistani.
So would such persons be identified as Pakistani even if they want nothing to do with Pakistan, and choose instead either to identify only as Muslims or only as Americans (Canadians, Australians, British, Europeans etc.)
Although the concept of a (Muslim) homeland along the Indus/Sindh River is a much older concept, Pakistan was first conceived by our founders as a place where Muslims/Non-Muslims of our region can live in peace, practice our faith, and work on achieving a model nation which promotes equality, freedom, and brotherhood for all its citizens.
The two nation theory and the movement for Pakistan were definitely ideologies and one had to ascribe to them to be part of the Pakistan movement.
After independence, Pakistan and Pakistanis began being treated as an ethnic and racial group by Non-Muslim countries. For example the hateful epithet ‘Paaki’ is racial in design, and not at all ideological.
Sometime after 2000s, Pakistanis, esp in America, began to distance themselves from their country of origin and ascribe to the term ‘Desi,’ whose meaning was changed to incorporate Indians and Bengalis. Desi originally is a term only for Pakistanis (Des, Pardes) or Pakistani products (Desi egg, ghee, chickens, etc.)
So we have a whole generation of descendants of Pakistanis in the diaspora who have no connection or desire to associate with Pakistan. They grew up intentionally avoiding Pakistani languages, Pakistani immigrants (besides relatives,) many have intermarried with people of Non-Pakistani origin, and they have no concept of the history/struggle/politics of the Pakistani homeland.
There is no doubt that Pakistani is now a robust and strong nationality, which has gained a new lease on life thanks to PTI and Pakistani military, however besides this the question needs to be asked.
Is Pakistani a racial, ethnic identity or is it an ideological choice?
For those who do not care for Pakistan (new generation of the diaspora) and those who actively fight against our state (like Husain Haqqani, Altaf Hussain, Rehman Khan, etc.,) are they Pakistanis?
