In quest of a Pashtun discourse on terrorism – by Abdul Nishapuri
It is a fact that in South Asia, no other ethnic group has suffered more than innocent Pashtuns, of Sunni, Shia and non-Muslim backgrounds, at the hands of takfiri terrorists and their local and international sponsors.
However, despite the fact that thousands of Pashtun men, women and children have lost their lives, Pashtun leaders, elders and scholars have been unable to present an honest, clear and coherent discourse on terrorism and how this menace could be eradicated from Pashtun lands in Pakistan and Afghanistan.
In particular, Pashtuns need to develop a clear discourse on how US-Saudi-ISI radicalized them by using Deobandi takfiri ideology for strategic jihadist purposes in Afghanistan and Kashmir.
While some Pashtun activists and scholars legitimately criticize Pakistan army, they become very vague or silent when it comes to clear condemnation of Deobandi ideology, its inherent violent nature and its further exploitation as a useful tool not only by the ISI but also by the CIA and Saudi Arabia.
There is a tendency in Pashtun scholars to use generic words in their discourse eg Mullah, Islamist, terrorists, madrassas etc because these generic terms help in hiding and obfuscating the common Deobandi and ASWJ-TTP identity of terrorists who are killing Pashtuns and other ethnic groups. Such generic bashing of Islam, mullahs and madrassahs hides the fact that most potent forms of resistance against Deobandi and Salafi takfiri terrorism are the Sunni Sufi/Barelvi and Shia clerics and madrassas. Parachinar is a living example where thousands of Shias and Sunni Sufis sacrificed their lives to protect Kurram Agency from takfiri Deobandi terrorist aka TTP-ASWJ. Such generic bashing of mullahs and Islam in general hides the fact that it was none else than Bacha Khan who introduced and sponsored Deobandi madrassas in Pashtun areas. But this objectivity and integrity is lacking in the dominant and populist Pashtun discourse.
Pashtun scholars and activists fail to acknowledge that it is only Deobandi Pashtun clerics, madrassas and tribal leaders who, due to ideological, political or economic gains, embraced the takfiri Deobandi jihadist ideology. In contrast, Shia and Sunni Sufi/Barelvi Pashtuns (eg of Parachinar) strongly condemned and resisted any attempts by Pakistan army or international players to be a part of or support the so called Jihad.
That’s where 99.99% of Pashtun nationalists become unclear and dishonest. They keep finding faults with others and outsiders instead of taking stock of how Deobandism (not Sunni Sufis, Shias or Islam in general) has ruined noble Pashtun traditions from within. None of them refers to a grave mistake by Bacha Khan who was one of the earliest sponsors and importers of the Deobaband madrassas in Pashtun areas.
It is therefore no surprise that many Pashtun progressive activists or nationalists remain mute or very vague when it comes to clear condemnation of ASWJ or Deobandi terrorists who are massacring innocent Pashtun men, women and children.
For example, when ANP was ruling KP, what exactly did it do to save Pashtuns from those terrorists who ANP doesn’t dare to name.
ANP doesn’t have guts to CLEARLY name and condemn Deobandi takfiris or ASWJ terrorists but is brave enough to condemn Pakistan army. Irony anyone?
What exactly is the difference between the Bannu jailbreak and the D.I.Khan jailbreak?
In fact, ANP govt acted as a silent acomplice when Deobandi Pashtuns of TTP-ASWJ were massacring innocent Shia and Sunni Sufi/Barelvi Pashtuns of Parachinar, Hangu and Kohat.
It is a fact that most of the Deobandi, Taliban and Sipah-e-Sahaba (ASWJ) web sites use similar words and pictures such as Na Pak Army, Pashtun genocide etc to vent their anger against Pakistan army but remain mute on inherent violent nature of Deobandi cult and its integral role in the transnational Salafi-Wahhabi-Deobandi network of terror.
Entire Pakistani nation including Sunni and Shias, Christians, Ahmadis, Hindus, women, men, children need to be prepared, armed and trained to confront and defeat the takfiri Deobandi khawarij of Taliban (TTP) and Sipah-e-Sahab (ASWJ). Only Deobandi takfiris of JUI, JI, ASWJ and their progressive Deobandi Pashtun comrades (fake liberals) are opposing this policy and preparedness of the Pakistani nation.
Only a few days ago (Jan 2015), Deobandi Pashtuns attacked a Christian school in Bannu, Pakistan. Secular Pashtuns of ANP, PKMAP etc are too afraid to CLEARLY mention and condemn ASWJ or Deobandi terrorists. But they are brave enough to CLEARLY condemn Pakistan army and ISI.
Is Deobandism the new name of Pakhtunwali?
In Karachi, ANP paved way for Doebandi Pashtun terrorists of TTP-ASWJ who in turn started killing secular Pashtuns in addition to Mohajirs, Sunni Sufis and Shias.
Kia ye khula tazaad naheen?
Very bias article. Shia Sunni scholra started massacre in Pakistan.
1st phase was objective resolution of Pakistan,
2nd Phase all shia and sunni molvies support and congrata Bhutto, when Bhutto decleared ahmdies as non muslim to happy Saudi Rulers.
3rd phase was when Khumeni got power and he started clash between sects of muslim by funding shia scholors, to protect Iran’s intrest.
4th Bacha Khan never started deobandi madrasas. It was Azadi schools of modern education. No one in the world can accept it that Bacha Khan was an extremist.
Your analysis is so bias you did not mention Amin Shaheedi, Sajid Naqvi etc, they geting funds from Iran as Taliban, ASWJ,SAP from Saudis to spread their idologies. Kindly be neutral you have no right to blame peace lovers. But unfortunetly all relgious or rightis like you always bias.
This whole page is very bias one and showing the negative image of Islam. How can you are blaming Ulema-e-deoband who had rendered lot of services to Islam in Pakistan and in the whole world. What barelvi and Shias did for islam besides propagating misconception and wrong image of Islam. Most of our pushtons are deobandies and we are proud of it because our attitude and ideology is similar to it. All the hatred in Pakistan are because of barelvi and shias while the deobandies and the true Muslims and Islam lover. We have a great respect for these ulema.
عوامی نیشنل پارٹی کی بے سمتی، بے چارگی اور مظلومیت پر رونا آتا ہے https://lubpak.com/archives/339320
After misappropriating Pashtun nationalism, Deobandi takfiri fanatics are doing the same to Sindhi and Baloch nationalism?
JUI-F in Sindh: Mixing religion and nationalism
Zia Ur Rehman July 19, 2015
Dawn
The growing influence of JUI-F in Sindh has compelled the ruling PPP to enter into an electoral alliance with it
The ruling Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) has recently announced an electoral alliance with the Jamiat-e-Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F), a leading religio-political party, in the upcoming local bodies polls in Sindh scheduled to be held in September.
In some districts of Northern Sindh, the process of seat adjustments at district, tehsil and union council level between the two parties is in progress. Aftab Shaban Mirani, the PPP MNA from Shikarpur, who recently attended a meeting with the JUI-F leaders in the district, says that his party has entered into an alliance with the JUI-F on the directives of the party high command regarding seat adjustment.
The PPP’s current decision to make alliance with the JUI-F indicates that after Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, FATA, Pashtun and Brahui-speaking parts of Balochistan, the latter has emerged as an effective political force in the Sindh’s northern part that includes Shikarpur, Larkana, Jacobabad, Sukkur, Khairpur and Ghotki.
Led by Maulana Fazlur Rehman, the JUI-F follows the Deobandi school of thought. It primarily functions as an ‘electoral party’ where success in elections, no matter how limited, provides the party the opportunity to form government at provincial and federal level. This gives the party resources and power.
Riaz Sohail, a journalist who covers Sindh province for the BBC, says that the JUI-F has traditionally remained active in northern parts of Sindh. “Before partition, the Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind had a significant presence in the province’s northern parts but it was not active in lower Sindh that is Hyderabad, Badin, Mirpurkhas and Dadu,” Sohail tells TNS. He says in recent years the party has gained ground, especially under the leadership of Maulana Khalid Mehmood Soomro. Soomro was killed in Sukkur by unknown assailants in November last year.
Ayesha Siddiqa, a political scientist who has been monitoring Northern Sindh extensively, believes the JUI-F is increasingly filling a vacuum of an alternative political force in the region. “The need for a political alternative force and growing radicalism in Sindh is making the JUI-F increasingly relevant in the province. The votes they get from Larkana, the constituency of late Benazir Bhutto, and other neighbouring districts, have increased consistently.”
Interviews with political and civil society activists in Shikarpur, Larkana and Jacobabad suggest that there are many factors behind the strengthening of the JUI-F in the region. They say the PPP-led Sindh government failed to improve basic infrastructure or provide jobs in the public sector. This has increased poverty. It’s the poor people in the region who are attracted towards religious parties such as the JUI-F.
“Corruption, bad governance and neglect of people have significantly weakened the PPP at organisational and support level in Northern Sindh. It has created a vacuum which the JUI-F has successfully been trying to fill. This is the reason that has compelled the PPP to make coalition with the JUI-F to win local bodies’ elections — to counter the locally formed anti-PPP alliances at district levels across the province.”
Fierce tribal clashes between chieftains in Northern Sindh are also compelling local people to join the JUI-F for protection from excesses of powerful tribal chief. About 2290 people have been killed in tribal clashes in Sindh in five years (2010-2014), state the statistics compiled by Jan Odhano, a Jacobabad-based civil society activist.
Most violence was reported from Shikarpur district where 452 people were killed in tribal clashes in five years. Odhano says that those killed were mainly poor and innocent people in furious armed clashes. Police and civil administrations cannot protect someone from fight between tribal chieftains.
“It is only the JUI-F’s madrassas from where you can get protection from tribal sardars,” says Arshad Arain, a trader in Khanpur town of Shikarpur, who lost some of his family members in a clash with powerful Jaotis. Today, the JUI-F is the single powerful political party in Khanpur supported by the poor and lower middle class because there is no forceful alternative, he says.
The JUI-F, across the country, mainly derives its support from its connections with the madrassas. In Northern Sindh, the JUI-F has established a network of big madrassas mainly on highways and entrance and exit points of all districts. Paryal Mari, a Shikarpur-based civil society activist, says that the madrassas in the region have forcibly been involved in stopping cultural activities.
“After mushroom growth of madrassas, we have also seen rise in militancy in the region,” says Mari. More than sixty Shia worshippers were killed in an attack on Imambargah in Shikarpur in late January this year. Also, attacks on politicians and Sufi leaders were reported in the region in recent times.
The JUI-F in Northern Sindh is different from those in the rest of the country. Siddiqa says that it is because its leadership has a mix of religion and Sindhi nationalism and it is far more responsive to local political needs.
Sohail traces the reasons for JUI’s popularity in history. He says that the JUI-F’s Sindh leadership fully participated in the populist MRD movement against Ziaul Haq’s dictatorship and also took part in rallies against ‘anti-Sindh’ projects such as Kalabagh Dam, the NFC Award and division of province.
“Under the cover of pro-Sindh politics, the JUI-F had successfully become an influential stakeholder in Sindh’s politics and spread the madrassas’ network from Kacha’s area to deserts of Thar. This is why Sindh’s nationalist parties have also abandoned their resistance against its influence and instead made electoral alliance with the JUI-F in last general elections,” he says.
http://tns.thenews.com.pk/mixing-religion-and-nationalism/#.VbZpdRNViko