ISLAMABAD: Awami National Party (ANP) chief Asfandyar Wali Khan on Saturday thanked the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) for considering renaming the NWFP province Pakhtoonkhwa.
Talking to Geo News he said, “I am thankful to the PPP, especially Asif Ali Zardari for giving us our identity by considering changing the name of the province.”
He said that it had been a longstanding demand of the people of the province and recalled that the provincial assembly had already passed a resolution in this regard. He expressed the hope that the proposed constitutional package would make the federation and democratic institutions stronger.
What about Hindko’s of Hazara Division ,Siraiki’s of D.I.Khan or Khowar’s of Chitral then??Should they call themselves Pakhtoons too?? NWFP is not all Pakhtoons… Is this a right decision?? or Would it enhance the ethnic divide in Pakistan??
What about Hindko's of Hazara Division ,Siraiki's of D.I.Khan or Khowar's of Chitral then??Should they call themselves Pakhtoons too?? NWFP is not all Pakhtoons.... Is this a right decision?? or Would it enhance the ethnic divide in Pakistan??
What about all the ethnicities other than Sindhis in Sindh or other than Balochs in Balochistan?
Asfand Yar Wali says, Pakhtoonwa was the original name before British came to Indian subcontinent long time ago. So they just want to revert back to that name again.
I think that decision is ridiculous as that could create friction there. Best would have been giving NWFP a fixed name ‘Sarhad’ regardless of it being written in English or Urdu. Question arise that why Pakhtunkhwa and why not Hindkoistan?
NWFP is not place for only Pakhtun but in reality that area was initially inhabited by Hindko speaking people. I think that Hindko itself is name given to the language and people of the area by outsiders when they came to that area and referred to the people and language in that area with Hind = Hindustan. To call Sarhad ‘Pakhtunkhwa‘ is same as calling Sindh ‘Muhajiristan’ and that would be ridiculous.
To say that ‘Sarhad’ is no name is ridiculous too just like saying that Punjab is no name or Sindh is no name. Obviously, Punjab would become no name if we start calling Punjab = ‘Panch Dariya’ in Urdu and ‘Five River’ in English. Similarly, Sindh would become no name if we start calling Sindh ‘Indus’ in English, even though Daryia-e-Sindh is called river ‘Indus’ in English.
Anyhow, if that is what majority of people in Sarhad wants than let that be, but I think that this is bad precedent to set in Pakistan. Who knows, in future millions from Punjab may settle in Sarhad and after becoming majority may start demanding change in name again from Pakhtunkhwa to Punjab. Well, maybe in future we might even have movement to get name of Pakistan changed to Punjab (however ridiculous).
I think that we in Pakistan should learn to live together without egoism and fighting on names, but accommodating all within us without antagonising anyone.
I think its great for them. I sometimes think Pakistan would actually function as a democracy if it was divided into mini relevant states. Each state is represented in two houses, one based on population and the other based on equal representation. Kind of like the United States maybe.
ANP runs the show there, and if this is what they want, then let it be. I personally wanted them to name it Khyber, but its obvious that the people there want Pakhtunkhwa, since they voted ANP and this was on ANP's list.
How about conducting a refrendum in NWFP and see how many Districts agree with it in majority.
When ANP was elected, it was voted in on the basis of the name change. Even the most patriotic Pakistani Pakhtun (including myself) will tell you that NWFP is a ridiculous name..is a colonial affront to our people.
Sarhad means nothing either. Sarhad to whom? Maybe to Karachiites, Lahoris or the like. For us Pakhtunkhwa is one part of the larger Pakhtun nation. While we would acknowledge the international border, that does not define us.
Why do you people care about the name of our province? A name that has been Is it due to some sort of elistist patriotism where only Urdu Speakers + Punjabis constitute the Pakistani state?
When ANP was elected, it was voted in on the basis of the name change. Even the most patriotic Pakistani Pakhtun (including myself) will tell you that NWFP is a ridiculous name..is a colonial affront to our people.
Sarhad means nothing either. Sarhad to whom? Maybe to Karachiites, Lahoris or the like. For us Pakhtunkhwa is one part of the larger Pakhtun nation. While we would acknowledge the international border, that does not define us.
Why do you people care about the name of our province? A name that has been Is it due to some sort of elistist patriotism where only Urdu Speakers + Punjabis constitute the Pakistani state?
While i certainly have no doubt on your or any other Pakhtun's patriotism living in NWFP and infact you might be more patriotic then i am....
I am just questioning the way they have opted to change the name. A political party solely must not be entitled to take decisions of this nature. How about the people who live in NWFP??.... How do you know that many people agree on this name of "Pakhtoonkhwa" ?? How many Districts in NWFP agree with the name of "Pakhtoonkhwa"??
How can ANP be representative of all the 100% people of NWFP?? Why not conducting a refrendum in all districts of NWFP and seeing which ones agree with it...
I think this whole renaming thing is a big blunder and there are many reasons why it should not be renamed on an ethnic basis. There is this whole assumption that the lands constituting NWFP was made specifically for Pakhtuns - wrong indeed. NWFP is an ethnically mixed province and its future name should reflect that or be renamed on a geographical line. Had NWFP historically been renamed Pakhtun-whatever then it would be different or had Pakhtuns been the native people of this province historically then it would have been fair.
The province should be renamed Abaseen - the father of the rivers - all of NWFP's rivers flow into the Indus known locally as Abaseen. It is also a river that flows through Indus Kohistan, divides Hazara division from Swat and then provides the eastern boundary of NWFP at most places.
The name also ties with Sindh - named after the Indus and the Punjab - the land of the 5 waters - There you go you have 3 provinces of a river/water theme.
The province has never had a name except Gandhara. Before the British came Pshawar, and south of it, Hazara was under the Sikhs. I dont think the Sikhs renamed it Pakhtunkhwa. Before the sikhs the afghans held it and they never used the term Pakhtun.
Historically the Pakhtuns even up until 50 years ago have referred to themselves as Afghans - The british, the mughals never used pakhtuns. Pakhtun is something which has been used moreso in the last 50 years.
How would Pakhtunkhwa be the original name when there were not so many pakhtuns in that area back then and there were many more Hindko speakers.
Asfand Yar Wali says, Pakhtoonwa was the original name before British came to Indian subcontinent long time ago. So they just want to revert back to that name again.
At the same times its perfectly acceptable for a political party like ANP (who have no other real policy but name change) to change the name of a province because they feel its right?
Is nt Pakhtunkhwa a colonial affront to the Hindkowans, Seraikis, Chitralis, Kohistanis, Hazarawals?
The problem with Pakistan is people do interfere with areas not related to them. There will be more input from Non-NWFP people on name change than the locals. Theres more input from Punjab and Karachi.
At the same time when there is a political clash in Karachi ie MQM vs whoever - the thread is kept alive by non-Karachites non-Sindhis ie Pashtuns,Punjabis.
Why are people from outside areas concerned when there is a clash in Karachi?
When ANP was elected, it was voted in on the basis of the name change. Even the most patriotic Pakistani Pakhtun (including myself) will tell you that NWFP is a ridiculous name..is a colonial affront to our people.
Sarhad means nothing either. Sarhad to whom? Maybe to Karachiites, Lahoris or the like. For us Pakhtunkhwa is one part of the larger Pakhtun nation. While we would acknowledge the international border, that does not define us.
Why do you people care about the name of our province? A name that has been Is it due to some sort of elistist patriotism where only Urdu Speakers + Punjabis constitute the Pakistani state?
