After the resolution
Bacha Khans spirit will be finally at rest today. His children, no matter which end of the political spectrum they are sitting on, have done his creed the much belated but ultimate honour by passing a resolution which calls upon the federal government to change NWFPs name to Pakhtoonkhwa. The Pakhtoons of Pakistan have been on the downside vis-a-vis the Punjabis, the Sindhis as well as the Baloch in so far as the official recognition of coherent ethno-linguistic communities is concerned. The denial of a generic name to the land of the Pukhtoons has affected these vastly talented and enterprising people in more ways than is generally believed. Heirs to one of the richest cultures on the Central Asian horizon, Pakhtoons remain the most misunderstood and mis-represented among the peoples of Pakistan. Their language has been literally murdered, their music has degenerated into a misguided stereotype, and their poetic genius has been put to forced slumber under decades of dust and slime. In this background, the NWFP Assemblys almost unanimous resolution comes as the Divine aid in furthering a cause which was central to the life and philosophy of Bacha Khan. Both Begum Nasim Wali Khan and Aftab Ahmad Khan Sherpao deserve accolades for having brought about the unthinkable, and so do the members of smaller parties in the House, and the independent members, who were able to join hands at a historic moment and made the best of it.
Now the ball is in the federal governments court. If it accords respect to this resolution, it will be confirming its oft-repeated claim that it respects the mandate of the people. Thursdays proceedings of the NWFP Assembly were perfectly in keeping with the democratic traditions. The mere fact that the resolution was carried in spite of only a lukewarm response from the ruling PML(N) should suffice to prove that there was no bulldozing and no underhand tactics. It was the debate among the members that moulded the atmosphere for a yes vote, and political ethics demand that this fact should be held in the highest esteem. And while the federal government is at it, the ANP should understand that it cannot afford to rest on its laurels. The passage of the resolution is going to give it a big boost, but the party will fall with its head down if it fails to follow up on this achievement. The people of the province continue as the Pakistani underdogs, discriminated against in every official policy on industry, agriculture, trade, aviation, sports, culture, employment, you name it. Then there are the extremely complicated issues of FATA and Afghanistan. The leadership of the Pakhtoons is not going to be a bed of roses, and the Pakhtoon people cannot wait for too long. It is imperative, therefore, that the ANP does not lose the initiative it has so valiantly grabbed. And finally a word for the people of Hazara and Dera Ismail Khan. They should not think that they are not Pakhtoons. When ethnic cleansing in Karachi reached a climax, the people who suffered the most deaths on the Pakhtoons side were the people of Hazara. Everyone identifies them as Pakhtoons, and they know that they cannot deny it. Those with a mind for petty political gains may try to mislead them, but it is unlikely that they will bear with such pains in the neck whose only mandate is to divide and rule. They know that in the last analysis, they have nothing to lose, and everything to gain.
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