Secular Pashtuns Respond

Pakhtun Peace Jirga
Asfandyar Wali Khan
The Statesman, November 20, 2006

Awami National Party (ANP) is the continuation of the Pakhtun freedom movement, founded by Baacha Khan in the early 20th century. Baacha Khan and his Khudai Khidmatgars (Servants of God) allied themselves with the All India National Congress in 1930 and were part of the mainstream South Asian struggle for freedom, peace and democracy. Due to their total dedication to the cause of peace, non-violence and social reforms Khudai Khidmatgars were recognised as apostles of peace and social reforms in the entire South Asian region and beyond.

Taking ahead the legacy of peace and non-violence, ANP has a consistent position of supporting peaceful methods of conflict resolution. It is, therefore, only natural that ANP has taken the present initiative of convening the Pakhtun Peace Jirga. The Party wants to achieve the purpose of establishing peace through dialogue and helping democratic transformation on social and political level.

The failure of the structures of the international community; and regional and national governments in putting an end to war, bloodshed and large-scale destruction for the last three decades has forced Pakhtuns to invoke the strength of their most important traditional social institution — the Jirga — in the hope that it will bring peace and stability back to their lands. Over the centuries, the Jirga has also successfully confirmed the Islamic teaching of “mushawarat” (or “consultation”), [“[t]hose…who (conduct) their affairs by mutual Consultation”; Holy Quran, 42:38] that gives it additional strength. Although the Jirga is an ancient social institution, it would be wrong to perceive the present Pakhtun Peace Jirga (PPJ) as an effort at ethnic revivalism or withdrawal from modern world. On the contrary, the PPJ is cognizant of the realities of the contemporary world and, accordingly, has purposely taken steps to prevent being confined, as in the past, to traditional leaders of the tribes and clans. Political parties across spectrum, social organisations and members of the intelligentsia will participate alongside the tribal leaders. The purpose is to evolve a societal consensus for bringing pressure to bear on regional governments to grow beyond their present rigid positions and become proactive in bringing about peace.

When violence erupted in Afghanistan in the aftermath of intensive ideological and political polarisation of the Cold War in the late 1970s, our now deceased national leader, Baacha Khan warned that the erstwhile Soviet Union and US-led Western bloc were fighting their war in Afghanistan. Afghans and Afghanistan had to pay a very heavy price in terms of large-scale death and destruction. After the withdrawal of the Soviet forces from Afghanistan in the spring of 1989, most of the Western countries disengaged from Afghanistan leaving behind a vacuum that attracted regional hegemonism and violent groups of different shades from all over the world into the conundrum of Afghanistan. The suffering of the Afghan people was prolonged as proxy war in Afghanistan dragged on — this time with those wishing to establish “a true Islamic state” at the expense of Afghan sovereignty — and the country degenerated into a virtual capital of international terror and violence. This later development led to the re-internationalisation of the Afghan conflict and new international interest and engagement with Afghanistan was initiated after the events of 9/11. It should be recognised that the Pakhtun belt in Pakistan was deeply involved in the conflict, both new and old, from the very beginning.

The Pakhtun areas in Pakistan were used both as a launching pad for war against the Soviets and, subsequently, as a base-camp for the later adventures across the line, which led to militarisation, socio-political deformation, and lack of reform and perpetuation of social isolation of Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA).

1) Pakhtun, Pashtuns and (Afghans by virtue of language and ethnicity) are synonyms. However, the name, Afghan is being used for every citizen of Afghanistan generally.

2) Hujra is a social institution among Pakhtuns, traditionally used as a community guest-house; and a place of entertainment and interaction for men in each village or section(s) of a village in Pakhtun society. It is the place where Jirgas may be convened for deliberations and consultations on issues relating to the community’s worldly affairs.

3) Traditionally, among Pakhtuns, the role of the mosque has remained confined to be a place of Allah’s worship and Islamic education.

The roots of the current violence on both sides of the Durand Line lie in the dual policy of Pakistan’s ruling establishment towards Afghanistan and the failure of US. and NATO in addressing the root causes and sources of insurgency. While declaring to take a U-turn on Afghanistan after 9/11, influential elements in Pakistani establishment refused to give up the policy of using extremist militants to achieve “strategic depth” in Afghanistan. As a direct result of the failure to abandon these policies, FATA and northern Balochistan are allowed to be used as base-camp for the elements fomenting insurgency in Afghanistan across the line. The effort to hide behind the tribal xenophobia of Pashtun tribes, as part of the Pakistani strategy to de-stabilise Afghanistan, has worsened and complicated the situation.

Experience has proved beyond any doubt that using religious militancy as a tool for hegemonic policy is a double-edge sword. Those who stoke the fire of religious militancy across the borders of a neighbouring country, because of its very nature, help in its cancerous growth back home. “Collateral damage” in military operations on both sides of the line creates “collateral enemies” thus leading to widening of the conflict.

The spiral of violence that began in the wake of military operations in Waziristan resulted in large-scale displacements of the local population; destruction of the area’s subsistence economy; and scores of murders and target killings of the non-violent tribal elders. While the wounds of Waziristan had yet to heal, the tragic events in Bajaur and Dargai prompted ANP to invite Pakhtun leadership and opinion-makers across all spectrum of the civil society to stand up against the growing momentum of violence in Pakhtun areas east of the Durand Line.

The ANP is of the opinion that the PPJ is not to be expected to extinguish the fires of a conflict spanning a quarter-century in one broad stroke. It does, however, promise to be the beginning of a new discourse of peaceful co-existence in which Pakhtuns — the major stakeholders in the conflict — will not remain mere pawns or silent spectators among competing regional and global interests that are set on a violent course to achieve their respective national goals. To enable Pakhtuns to determine their destiny in the midst of a very complicated situation, and accordingly utilise their energies and national potential for peace, democracy and development in the entire region, it is imperative for all Pakhtun leadership to start an internal dialogue. For this purpose, the Jirga could be a very effective tool due to its social legitimacy and deep psychological appeal.

Unfortunately, violence is not the only problem in our region. Under-development, immense poverty, mass proliferation of heavy weapons and drugs have made us even more vulnerable to manipulation. Fortunately, our land and people have enormous potential to become major partner in the development of both the regional and global economy. Pakhtuns straddle a land mass that is the confluence of civilisations. No other community, from the foothills of Urals to the banks of Indus, is in a position to play the role of a bridge and conduit to the regional development of Southwest Asia than Pakhtuns. The huge reservoirs of fossil fuel in the Caspian region and the deepening processes of regional and global trade have provided Pakhtuns with historic opportunities for development; however, to enable development for our people, peace is the first pre-requisite.

As a consequence of the 25-year old Afghan conflict, Pakhtun society has lost its social balance. Traditionally, Pakhtun society was built on two pillars — the hujra and the mosque. The former fulfilled the temporal and the latter the religious needs of Pakhtun society. However, the ideological polarisation during the Afghan conflict deformed this centuries-old synthesis of Islamic tradition and values of Pakhtunwali and the enemies of our people tried to demolish Afghan/Pakhtun national identity to achieve the goals of hegemonism. As a consequence, Pakhtun society was pushed to polarisation on extreme ideological lines.

This historical process also resulted in the empowerment, coordination and networking of the extremist militant groups in Afghanistan and Pakistan in general; and in Pakhtun society in particular. In other words, a highly organised and empowered constituency of extremists and militants is active in the entire region whereas the moderate religious, progressive, democratic and peaceful groups are disorganised and marginalised. In order to diffuse this polarisation in Pakhtun society and effectively turn the tide of violence in the entire region, the PPJ is a step towards proactively pursuing the aspiration of groups and people who stand for peace, development and democracy in Pakhtun society, in the region and in the entire world.

The primary motive behind convening the PPJ is to articulate and voice the national aspirations of Pakhtuns and build a constituency of peace within and around Pakhtuns. To achieve these objectives, the PPJ will deliberate on how to engage Pakhtuns, as well as competing regional and global actors, on a sustained course of dialogue that will address accommodation of the national interests of Pakhtuns in reconciliation with the legitimate interests of major players in the region without resorting to violence.

The ANP appreciates the initiative of Afghan and Pakistani heads of state for convening representative Jirgas of Pakhtuns in Pakistan and Afghanistan at the government level and the PPJ is neither a pre-emption nor duplication of this exercise. To the contrary, since our experience and understanding shows that the Pakistani establishment is not enthusiastic about the proposed Jirgas, the PPJ is, therefore, aimed at strengthening the peace process at the civil society level with the interests of the common people as the primary focus — rather than notions of security that are deeply rooted in the opinions of certain figures and government institutions.

The ANP is hopeful that the PPJ will draw the interest and attention of major Pakhtun leadership, because there is a growing dissatisfaction among the people with the constant perpetuation of proxy wars and violence. Our people desperately need freedom from violence and a hope for peace and development. We have had countless widows and orphans already. It is time for the Pakhtun people to return to their own way of life in which rule is accomplished through consensus at Jirgas, and concern for the community is the priority rather than identification with the global agendas of others. Our children have the right to peace, education and a better tomorrow in which their national identity can remain alive and vibrant. The ANP, through the PPJ, calls upon all Pakhtun leaders, regional and state governments to join with our efforts in working for peace. Otherwise, history stands witness that the flames of war in the Pakhtun areas will have dangerous consequences for peace and security in the region and in the world.

The writer is President Awami National Party (ANP) and Convener of the PPJ