What are you talking about? I don’t think that you are remotely attuned to the ‘Pakhtun’ opinion. Whether ANP is a liberal or conservative party is not relevant here. The fact that they have a democratic mandate with an explicit renaming platform matters a lot more. Sure I can grant that many people who voted ANP may not aware of their fullplatform however the Pakhtunkhwa renaming issue was certainly important enough in their minds. This is democracy.
Returning to the ANP issue, you try make assertions that are simply ill informed.
the PPP, PPP(S), JUI-F which with the ANP form the largest parties in NWFP all support the renaming and in fact the resolution passed in its favour was tabled by the PPP.
You must be joking when think that NWFP is some type of historic name when it was a purely British creation. It has been less than 100 years since Pakhtunkhwa has been named NWFP, whereas there is thousand year history of Pakhtuns living in the land.
As for the much repeated minority issue: If Urdu speakers in Sindh, Sereiki speakers in Punjab, and Pashto speakers in Baluchistan all accept the names of the provinces of their residence, what makes Chitralis, Hinkians and other so special and different? Nothing except for the irrational fears of separatism. How much moe do Pakistani Pakhtuns have to prove their loyalty? Our ancestorsvoted for Pakistan, died for Pakistan, and to this day believe in the Pakistani State.
If you think that names don’t mean anything then I hope you encounter a ‘dirty Paki’ or 'porkistani’comment sometime.
NWFP has to go. It is an abhorrent vestige of colonialism that has denied the true indegenious, historical identity of the land.