Running out of time: Fearing prosecution, Afghan refugees look towards home

[EL LOBO]

Go Kabli Go

 

[Jazzbot]

According to officials, around 2,122 Afghan refugees have been arrested and deported from Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa since December 17, 2014, following the Army Public School attack in Peshawar a day earlier. The crackdown is still continuing.

So KP govt is indeed taking solid steps against these illegal afghans instead of just issuing usual press statements. Good going.

 

[haviZsultan]

They probably already have Pakistani passports even if they got by bribing Nadra officials. And in Pakistan rural areas they will be known as Afghani muhajirs for 200-300 years at least before they completly integrate. In cities they can pass as Pakistani pashtuns.

Because in rural areas i have seen even punjabis from east punjab are known as mahajirs.

Have you been to Darra Adamkhel? A lot of the people who make the weapons there are Punjabis. Gujjars live in Pakhtunkhwa too. I believe the intermingling of our societies is not just a must but also a beautiful bond between our people, us Pakistanis.

My beef with us Pakistanis is that we always think as an ethnic community, not a united nationalist people. Muhajirs hate punjabis, punjabis hate pashtuns and so on. It shows how petty our mindset actually is. Personally despite my efforts to learn pashto and my lucknowi background I remain assertive that Pakistan must inevitably come first.

Cultural roots dont die so easily and its not desirable. However, in foreign lands you do change yourself to suit the environment but you can never completely alter your DNA. I too hail from eastern UP and now settled in Mumbai but i dont feel any need to change my DNA. Yes I learnt workable marathi, have learnt to live without winters and in high rise apartments and assimilated well with local and cosmo culture of Mumbai but i remain the same apne gaon ki beti. Hamari tehzib hamare janaze ke sath bhi nahi jane wali hai per thodi bahut badal zaroor jayegi. Culture is, like every other things, also ever changing. We absorb and contribute many new things on a daily basis via various means and media. I disagree that to live in Punjab you have to become a punjabi or to live in KPK you need to become a Pashtun. Actually you can never be and should not be as it may result in very painful identity crisis. If I were in your place I would never mind the term Mohajir. its just a term to identify a set of people who themselves are diverse. I am sure if you go to your punjab, you will realize that even punjabis there would be identified by various regions, traits and their regional accents. So if a greater Punjab can absorb all regional differences then why cant a greater nationality absorb multiple differences.

I will tell you where I'm coming from. Do you know of the Baqai family of Delhi? We are intermarried with one such Baqai through one of my sisters. In Delhi they were trapped and slaughtered and out of some hundred were the last survivors. This is what we suffered which we wanted to prevent in Pakistan.

Immense sacrifice made Pakistan then why our ethnic divisions? Muhajirs suffered severely during partition riots. Hindutva elements killed us like sacrificial animals. Keeping this past in mind muhajirs should have been much more proud of their history and their struggle for Pakistan. Instead we became obsessed with petty, local problems (these are not problems if we see other ethnicities as brothers by the way) like keeping the pathan out of Karachi. Bhai why? Why should not we focus on living together with him?

Though I personally don't like India and feel our land Lucknow should have gone to Pakistan I am constantly reminded how (In Maharashtra and Assam there are some nationalism problems too but not on the scale as in Pakistan) Indians remain far more united than us. Just a simple statistic. At least 15% of India's army is made up of Punjabis which are generally sikhs. In reality not even 2% of the total population of Indians is Sikh or Punjabi. The percentage is very low for Tamils and Mallus. Yet I have never seen Indians complain about it. Here we always have questions about why 40%+ of our army is punjabi. So you see the problem. The sons of those who came to Pakistan as victims of Indian butchery became oppressors themselves trapped in the illusion that they themselves were maltreated and oppressed in Pakistan.

This self victimization has no end. Some statistics again. Muhajirs have a gdp per capita 13,000 ruppees higher than that of the punjabis who are always said to be doing very well. Urdu is the national language too. So why the insecurity, what is hurting-mind me- the bum of these so called muhajirs?

Well, after all the lecture I realize that I can always return to my roots but perhaps you can not and hence your struggle is a bit different from this perspective. But we keep forgetting that modern nationalism is a 20th century phenomenon for South Asians. Did our ancestors who came from various parts of Arab, Persia, Central Asia, also undergo this? I would love to read if some historian touched upon this psycho-social aspect of medieval immigration.

I have been to Lucknow continously but have a Pakistani passport. My roots I would say are Lucknowi, not muhajir. Muhajir is I believe just a super imposed identity. I believe to return to our roots we must first recognize what they actually are. Is this super imposed ideology right for us. Most of all is it right for the nation?

You summed it up very nicely,Sir..

About mehsud's i agree with you as i have fellow wazir's and Dawar's and they don't seem to get along with mehsud's and have heard a lot about mehsud's and their mentality from someone( in Armed forces) served in waziristan...

Wazirs and Dawar are in north waziristan. Wazirs complain that all the good education institutions (the little there are anyway) are in Dawar territory. Btw FATA does have colleges and if the news is correct there may be a university on the cards as well. There are around 40+ colleges in FATA. The literacy remains low though. Hovers at 22% with a 7% for females.

I have studied these regions endlessly to write my book Badal. That book though at least 3 years old now alone made me a pashtun (because of the research involved) Now I know what a lungi, pakol, khat partoga and everything else is.

 

[Kabira]

Have you been to Darra Adamkhel? A lot of the people who make the weapons there are Punjabis. Gujjars live in Pakhtunkhwa too. I believe the intermingling of our societies is not just a must but also a beautiful bond between our people, us Pakistanis.

My beef with us Pakistanis is that we always think as an ethnic community, not a united nationalist people. Muhajirs hate punjabis, punjabis hate pashtuns and so on. It shows how petty our mindset actually is. Personally despite my efforts to learn pashto and my lucknowi background I remain assertive that Pakistan must inevitably come first.

is.

I don't know where you got that punjabis hate pashtuns. That is 100% not true at all.

 

[jaggafeen]

i thought pakistan was created for muslims.

what are the refugees guilty of?

this is collective punishment.

great way to destabilise the country by alienating a large part of the population.

anyone who supports this is a racist bigot and should be ashamed.

the amount of support this racist policy is getting just goes to show how jahil people you are.

 

[Kabira]

i thought pakistan was created for muslims.

what are the refugees guilty of?

this is collective punishment.

great way to destabilise the country by alienating a large part of the population.

anyone who supports this is a racist bigot and should be ashamed.

the amount of support this racist policy is getting just goes to show how jahil people you are.

Afghani muhajirs country is Afghanistan. Borders were opened for few years not for ever. Afghanis should go back because i am sure they will not allow Pakistanis of non-pashtun origin in their country in similar situation.

But muhajirs born in Pakistan can stay.

 

[Yousafzai_M]

I wouldn't use force against them but yes, do everything we can to guide them home.

At the same time though, I wouldn't take this news seriously as its almost free movement across the border, they come and go as they please. I am all up for a West Bank style security wall - if possible.

 

[jaggafeen]

so brotherhood in Islam means nothing to you?

great idea we should build a wall like the jews and treat them like the israelis treat the palestinians.

follow the footsteps of your masters.

 

[Yousafzai_M]

so brotherhood in Islam means nothing to you?

great idea we should build a wall like the jews and treat them like the israelis treat the palestinians.

follow the footsteps of your masters.

Of course they are our brothers in Islam and besides, we also have strong historical connection with them (me being a Pathan). You have misunderstood my point.

 

[Jf Thunder]

LAWL

 

[jaggafeen]

Yuck man. Afghanis look hygienically disgusting to me. How the hell did you marry one?
Secondly, please go and settle in Afghanistan, you traitor.
If we keep giving these people refuge and comfort they're going to destroy our nation.
Force your wife to take oath of allegiance to Pakistan and sever all ties with Afg.

this is racist bigotry at its worst.

 

[Sugarcane]

Yuck man. Afghanis look hygienically disgusting to me. How the hell did you marry one?
Secondly, please go and settle in Afghanistan, you traitor.
If we keep giving these people refuge and comfort they're going to destroy our nation.
Force your wife to take oath of allegiance to Pakistan and sever all ties with Afg.

You need to learn basic ethics.

 

[Areesh]

Ooohhh yeah really??? How about you stick to your city then and accept the blame for all wrong goings in your city? And shouldnt be let to go to any other part of the country coz you'll contaminate rest of the country? Is that how rest of the country should treat you coz if you are living in a big city and that city is dirty does it mean you should be held responsible for that dirt?? Grow the heck up i am a tribal and i'll go wherever i wish to go in my country.

It is your country dear. From Gilgit To Karachi. You are welcome everywhere.

 

[Pakistani E]

I can't believe some retards in their desperation to defend backstabbing afghanis are attacking Muhajir Urdu speaking community of Pakistan. You should be ashamed at yourself for disrespecting a community that gave up everything to move here and has continually worked for the country. Especially since I doubt the person who made those remarks about Afghans is even a Urdu speaker. Disgusting behaviour.

Send these Afghanis back to Afghanistan. And send their sympathisers with them to Afghans and see how their hospitality works on you.

 

[rockstar08]

the problem with people here, that when some one say , he is against Tribal culture , he become racist ... that is weird logic i guess , and oh yes , a default supporter of MQM lolz , just like only MQM is suffering in Karachi or they are only killers ?

strange fact is mostly everyone is proud on his ethnic background , but some so called Urdu speaking people are ashamed of themselves ... lolz at them .. now all Pakistani are free to go anywhere, I agree... but you are not allowed to take your tribal culture with you .... now suppose tomorrow all Urdu speaking people go to FATA with out way of living , will they accept ?? they wont ..... but Karachi host all ethic background people , but that doesnt mean you are allowed to start messing the city law and order ...

so many people here , specially live in Punjab , Balochistan , KPK and they are masters in debate with a person who has lived his entire life in Karachi ... so thats a big lol

i wont say i know the situation of Punjab better than a person who is living there from 20 years or more ...

Karachi offer people " rozi " so come here and work hard , but if you make your areas the way , these tribals had made them , than no body will like it ... .i am openly challenging anyone here on PDF , that go to Mango pir , and afghan basti in jeans and shirt with music on in car ... and if you remain alive , than we will talk ...

my friend in a university some 3 years back , told me that there are 4 different areas where Afghans are running their jirga law , with the help of Tribal of course ... now tell me , Karachi is not FATA , there is a law here . and anyone who break is must be punished according to it ..

so before you jump into the pool of Emotions about your Tribe , ethicity ... first know about the fact ,which is different from what you see on media ... media show " Hum sab Pakistani " blah blah blah .. but in real we are everything but " Pakistani " .... and of course the champion here " Punjabi " ... they are devil when they are out of Pakistan ... i have meet more than 10 people who tell them that just because of their Punjabi boss , they lost their jobs, and he bring his fellow Punjabi on that position ... Pathan support Pathan , Sindhi support sindhi ..

and yeah one more thing here , that i have no problem if someone from any part of Pakistan to karachi for work , Rozi Allah ata kerta hai , jahan jis ka rizk hai , use milay ga ... but i would appreciate much more that if govt make at least one Karachi in every state of Pakistan ... people dont have to leave their area and go to other place to find jobs , health facility or education ... when i saw news of shikar pur attack , and news told us that the wounded people were transferred to Karachi , i feel so angry, that why not these A$$ hole govt make at least one good Hospital in every city ?? what if anyone who is critically injured die within the Transport process ?? all cities must have 2-3 universities , 2-3 Hospitals ( big ) and small clinics , their own electricity centers, jobs etc ...

on topic .... these Afghans should go back to their country , same go for Uzbek , Tajik , and bangali's .... who are illegally living here , should be send back to it ...