Arsalan
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Recent weeks have seen Pakhtoons gathering in cities across Pakistan chanting slogans and calling for their rights! It did not started like that. The original calls were for justice for Naqeebullah Mehsud, a youth killed in what is allegedly a fake police encounter in Karachi. The man being accused of this, SSP Rao Anwar! From a legitimate peaceful protest that was entirely within rights of the general public was turned into a vicious propaganda movement against Pakistan state and army, designed to create rift among different ethnic groups of Pakistan. So what happened that a march that was calling for justice have been turned into a protest against Army and state? To understand this we may have to take a step back and try seeing the whole picture.
During late 70s, the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan in a full blow war resulting in an influx of Afghan immigrants throughout the 80s. Around 5.5 million people, 1/3 of the country’s population at that time fled to avoid death and destruction. Some 3 million of these were welcomed with open arms by Pakistan who was actively supporting, ALONG with USA and allies, the Afghan people (which US called Mujahedeen at that time) in their war against the occupying Soviet forces.
Since then, there are millions of Afghani people living in Pakistan and that have been cause of a number of problems from smuggling to drugs to terrorism. The KPK province and its bordering areas with Afghanistan have been home to many afghans for decades now and unsurprisingly, these are the same areas that are hub of terrorist activities in Pakistan. Whether there is a ransom situation in Karachi or a bomb blast in Lahore, the links eventually lead you to these border regions and from there, to Afghanistan. This have all resulted in bad name and shame for the local Pakhtoon people in Pakistan as well. Despite all that, there still is a restrain when asking Afghans to go back to their country now that it have been “liberated” by the US and its allies, they continue to enjoy whatever little facilities other Pakistani people do!
Keeping geographic boundaries, the Afghan population settled in those areas and their ties with the terrorists outfits in Afghanistan and Afghanistan’s involved in creating unrest in Pakistan, it is not difficult to understand the Pakistan state operations via its Army in these regions. Major success have been achieved by army operations in Waziristan and other tribal areas, eliminating or forcing the terrorists back in Afghanistan where they retreat to when heat is turned on in Pakistan. During these operations, army have done a great job of putting up effort to rebuild the affected areas. Schools are being rebuilt, medical camps are established, sports is being promoted. There is a drive for including FATA into main stream politics of Pakistan via merging it with KPK. However it have also resulted in IDP and have created problems for the locals, our own people!
One such person was Naqeebullah Mehsud, a 27 year living in Karachi. He was killed on January 13, 2018 in Karachi in a fake police encounter led by SSP Rao Anwar, notoriously, encounter specialist. What we need to mention here is that it was NOT a Punjabi killing a pathan. It was a CRIMINAL killing an innocent person, sadly, like many other such cases! SSP Rao Anwar is notorious for extra judicial killings while in uniform. To mention a few, he is the same guy who was accused to be behind the killing of Farooq Patni in Karachi during the 90s when there was an operation going on against MQM associated criminals and terrorists being funded by RAW. Another guy whose murder is associated with Rao is Faheem Farooqi aka Faheem Commando! The list is long indeed and there is no point is going into these details. What is required here is that the guy have a history and is allegedly protected by PPP leadership as he have served them well in land grabbing operations and is associated with land mafia. Zardari only recently called him “brave kid” in a statement he is trying to bury now! IN short, though heart breaking and outrageous, SSP Rao murder of Naqeeb was another crime on his long list. It had nothing to do with anti-Pakhtoon agenda and we all know it very well. However, having a murderer being protected by a powerful party, it is was not something to be taken lightly and we can understand when the people from Mehsud tribe and other pakhtoons took to streets to protest the killing and ask for justice for Naqeeb. If you have been following news, it was not pathans only! Protests involved all Pakistanis from Islamabad to Karachi! The public felt the pain and everyone wanted justice for Naqeeb and MANY OTHERS before him.
The problem started when the movement was hijacked by certain KNOWN anti-state groups to further their own political and ideological agenda. The justice for Naqeeb was turned into Pakhtoon rights movement, the rights that the Pakhtoons of Pakistan have never been deprived of, there have NEVER been any discrimination aimed at this ethnicity and they enjoy and equal benefits in the country. There are schools, colleges and universities in KPK (predominantly Pakhtoon province), they are afforded an equal share (population wise) on all quota recruitment seats, the army have always been open and blessed with some of the finest , pathan men. Gen. Ayub Khan was the FIRST native Pakistani general to become COAS on January 17, 1951, he was a native Pakhtoon! General Mohammad Musa who held office of Commander in Chief of Pakistan Armed Forces from April 1, 1957 to 17 September 1966 was Hazara Shia born in Hazara tribe in Balochistan. Gen. Agha Muhammad Yahya was from Qizilbash family of Persian descent but culturally a Pakhtoon. He was appointed COAS from 18 September 1966 to 20December 1971! Then there was Gen Gul Hasan, C-in-C, a Pakhtoon from Quetta. Gen Abdul Wahid Kakar another Pashtun from Balochistan and remained COAS from 12 January 1996 till 12 January 1996. The list of Pathans who have served the country and risen to the highest echelons of Pakistan army is long indeed. Same goes for other walks of life that I do not need to be discussed in details here since the recent movement Is particularly being directed at Pakistan Army since it was hijacked. Calling it a Punjab army where as in reality, the Pakhtoons make up for 15% of the armed forces, remember that Pakhtoon percentage in population of Pakistan is around 14% ONLY Punjab makes up for 60% of our total population but if we talk about ethnic composition of army then it around 55% Punjabis and that is rapidly on decline as Army tries to bring all ethnicities on par and have introduced district wise recruitment policy so every citizen gets a chance to enlist.
These are a few facts that have been ignored by the so called leaders of Pakhtoon movement, facts and figures that many do not know about and hence may be misled by the propaganda machinery.
But do our people really do not know anything about this? Do any of us believe that the numbers will have more effect than the realities on ground? No, they won’t and no one is claiming that either. The facts, the realities on ground are that the moment the movement for Naqeebullah Mehsud was hijacked and turned into an anti-Pakistan movement, the Pakhtoons of Pakistan just like all other Pakistani people have distanced themselves from it. The movement is now being spearheaded by ANP and Pakhtun-khwa Milli Awami Party to further their own political interests after they are rejected by Pakhtoons of Pakistan in the 2013 general elections. Funded by a foreign hand to create anarchy and unrest in Pakistan and supported by the MILLIONS of Afghans living in Pakistan, they have managed to gather decent crowds. However talk to any Pakistani Pakhtoon and they have nothing but disapproval for these stooges of enemy. Go to any social media network like twitter or Facebook or move on ground and visit KPK or the tribal belt and you will see countless Pakhtoons opposing the long march and the movement while a number of Afghans supporting, many of them only on Social media while sitting abroad!
There is no doubt about the intentions and the aims of the group doing the act or the actors involved. Led by thugs like Achakzai known for spitting venom against Pakistan army in particular and Pakistan in general and ANP with its love for Afghanistan and India, supported and appreciated by Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and funded by foreign hand, the movement have turned into an ugly anti-state propaganda drive serving none of the Pakistani Pakhtoons and only attempting to create rift among Pakistani ethnicity. With little to no support from Pakistani public including Pakistani Pakhtoons the anti-state actors are using the millions of Afghans that we have been feeding for decades to further their anti-Pakistan interests. They have plenty of cannon fodder to feed their drive and try and fool the public. This is the same old propaganda machinery at work and the need of the hour is to come together and fight them back. We do not have much to fear as all nation is united on this one but we need to spread awareness so that people are not mislead by the well-financed leaders using Afghan refugees posing as Pakistani Pakhtoons.
http://unhcrpk.org/
http://newslinemagazine.com/life-times-rao-anwar/
https://www.siasat.pk/forum/showthr...ement-That-Pakistan-Army-Is-Punjabi-Dominated
http://www.electionpakistani.com/ge2013/party-postion.html
https://www.dawn.com/news/1277700
During late 70s, the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan in a full blow war resulting in an influx of Afghan immigrants throughout the 80s. Around 5.5 million people, 1/3 of the country’s population at that time fled to avoid death and destruction. Some 3 million of these were welcomed with open arms by Pakistan who was actively supporting, ALONG with USA and allies, the Afghan people (which US called Mujahedeen at that time) in their war against the occupying Soviet forces.
Since then, there are millions of Afghani people living in Pakistan and that have been cause of a number of problems from smuggling to drugs to terrorism. The KPK province and its bordering areas with Afghanistan have been home to many afghans for decades now and unsurprisingly, these are the same areas that are hub of terrorist activities in Pakistan. Whether there is a ransom situation in Karachi or a bomb blast in Lahore, the links eventually lead you to these border regions and from there, to Afghanistan. This have all resulted in bad name and shame for the local Pakhtoon people in Pakistan as well. Despite all that, there still is a restrain when asking Afghans to go back to their country now that it have been “liberated” by the US and its allies, they continue to enjoy whatever little facilities other Pakistani people do!
Keeping geographic boundaries, the Afghan population settled in those areas and their ties with the terrorists outfits in Afghanistan and Afghanistan’s involved in creating unrest in Pakistan, it is not difficult to understand the Pakistan state operations via its Army in these regions. Major success have been achieved by army operations in Waziristan and other tribal areas, eliminating or forcing the terrorists back in Afghanistan where they retreat to when heat is turned on in Pakistan. During these operations, army have done a great job of putting up effort to rebuild the affected areas. Schools are being rebuilt, medical camps are established, sports is being promoted. There is a drive for including FATA into main stream politics of Pakistan via merging it with KPK. However it have also resulted in IDP and have created problems for the locals, our own people!
One such person was Naqeebullah Mehsud, a 27 year living in Karachi. He was killed on January 13, 2018 in Karachi in a fake police encounter led by SSP Rao Anwar, notoriously, encounter specialist. What we need to mention here is that it was NOT a Punjabi killing a pathan. It was a CRIMINAL killing an innocent person, sadly, like many other such cases! SSP Rao Anwar is notorious for extra judicial killings while in uniform. To mention a few, he is the same guy who was accused to be behind the killing of Farooq Patni in Karachi during the 90s when there was an operation going on against MQM associated criminals and terrorists being funded by RAW. Another guy whose murder is associated with Rao is Faheem Farooqi aka Faheem Commando! The list is long indeed and there is no point is going into these details. What is required here is that the guy have a history and is allegedly protected by PPP leadership as he have served them well in land grabbing operations and is associated with land mafia. Zardari only recently called him “brave kid” in a statement he is trying to bury now! IN short, though heart breaking and outrageous, SSP Rao murder of Naqeeb was another crime on his long list. It had nothing to do with anti-Pakhtoon agenda and we all know it very well. However, having a murderer being protected by a powerful party, it is was not something to be taken lightly and we can understand when the people from Mehsud tribe and other pakhtoons took to streets to protest the killing and ask for justice for Naqeeb. If you have been following news, it was not pathans only! Protests involved all Pakistanis from Islamabad to Karachi! The public felt the pain and everyone wanted justice for Naqeeb and MANY OTHERS before him.
The problem started when the movement was hijacked by certain KNOWN anti-state groups to further their own political and ideological agenda. The justice for Naqeeb was turned into Pakhtoon rights movement, the rights that the Pakhtoons of Pakistan have never been deprived of, there have NEVER been any discrimination aimed at this ethnicity and they enjoy and equal benefits in the country. There are schools, colleges and universities in KPK (predominantly Pakhtoon province), they are afforded an equal share (population wise) on all quota recruitment seats, the army have always been open and blessed with some of the finest , pathan men. Gen. Ayub Khan was the FIRST native Pakistani general to become COAS on January 17, 1951, he was a native Pakhtoon! General Mohammad Musa who held office of Commander in Chief of Pakistan Armed Forces from April 1, 1957 to 17 September 1966 was Hazara Shia born in Hazara tribe in Balochistan. Gen. Agha Muhammad Yahya was from Qizilbash family of Persian descent but culturally a Pakhtoon. He was appointed COAS from 18 September 1966 to 20December 1971! Then there was Gen Gul Hasan, C-in-C, a Pakhtoon from Quetta. Gen Abdul Wahid Kakar another Pashtun from Balochistan and remained COAS from 12 January 1996 till 12 January 1996. The list of Pathans who have served the country and risen to the highest echelons of Pakistan army is long indeed. Same goes for other walks of life that I do not need to be discussed in details here since the recent movement Is particularly being directed at Pakistan Army since it was hijacked. Calling it a Punjab army where as in reality, the Pakhtoons make up for 15% of the armed forces, remember that Pakhtoon percentage in population of Pakistan is around 14% ONLY Punjab makes up for 60% of our total population but if we talk about ethnic composition of army then it around 55% Punjabis and that is rapidly on decline as Army tries to bring all ethnicities on par and have introduced district wise recruitment policy so every citizen gets a chance to enlist.
These are a few facts that have been ignored by the so called leaders of Pakhtoon movement, facts and figures that many do not know about and hence may be misled by the propaganda machinery.
But do our people really do not know anything about this? Do any of us believe that the numbers will have more effect than the realities on ground? No, they won’t and no one is claiming that either. The facts, the realities on ground are that the moment the movement for Naqeebullah Mehsud was hijacked and turned into an anti-Pakistan movement, the Pakhtoons of Pakistan just like all other Pakistani people have distanced themselves from it. The movement is now being spearheaded by ANP and Pakhtun-khwa Milli Awami Party to further their own political interests after they are rejected by Pakhtoons of Pakistan in the 2013 general elections. Funded by a foreign hand to create anarchy and unrest in Pakistan and supported by the MILLIONS of Afghans living in Pakistan, they have managed to gather decent crowds. However talk to any Pakistani Pakhtoon and they have nothing but disapproval for these stooges of enemy. Go to any social media network like twitter or Facebook or move on ground and visit KPK or the tribal belt and you will see countless Pakhtoons opposing the long march and the movement while a number of Afghans supporting, many of them only on Social media while sitting abroad!
There is no doubt about the intentions and the aims of the group doing the act or the actors involved. Led by thugs like Achakzai known for spitting venom against Pakistan army in particular and Pakistan in general and ANP with its love for Afghanistan and India, supported and appreciated by Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and funded by foreign hand, the movement have turned into an ugly anti-state propaganda drive serving none of the Pakistani Pakhtoons and only attempting to create rift among Pakistani ethnicity. With little to no support from Pakistani public including Pakistani Pakhtoons the anti-state actors are using the millions of Afghans that we have been feeding for decades to further their anti-Pakistan interests. They have plenty of cannon fodder to feed their drive and try and fool the public. This is the same old propaganda machinery at work and the need of the hour is to come together and fight them back. We do not have much to fear as all nation is united on this one but we need to spread awareness so that people are not mislead by the well-financed leaders using Afghan refugees posing as Pakistani Pakhtoons.
http://unhcrpk.org/
http://newslinemagazine.com/life-times-rao-anwar/
https://www.siasat.pk/forum/showthr...ement-That-Pakistan-Army-Is-Punjabi-Dominated
http://www.electionpakistani.com/ge2013/party-postion.html
https://www.dawn.com/news/1277700
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