Female Cabinet

President Humera Khan
Senior Vice President Shabeena
Vice President Malik Safeena
General Secretary Suria Alam
Joint Secretary Kafyat Khan
Blood Secretary Shazia Khan
Cultural Secretary Saima Gul
Press Secretary Shabeena Javed

APSF Peshawar University

Zaid Hamid, The Think Prank!

Zaid Hamid! The Think Prank!

Jamiat bashed again on Geo News! (Choraha programme)

Doctor Hassan Nisar, famous columnist from Lahore 

Qaisar Sharif, Nazim, Islami Jamiat e Talba, Punjab

On Saturday Night, April 24: A former supporter of Islami Jamiat e Talba, Dr Hassan Nisar lashed out against Jamiat. He asked tough questions from the Nazim of Jamiat, who had no answers for the firy Hassan Nisar. Hassan Nisar, a leftist and strong opposer of Jamiat during his days as a student at Punjab University latter commented in an interview that Jamiat's role is positive. But now he has changed his mind due to the acts of terrorism by Jamiat in UET Peshawar & Punjab University. He asked them to stop their activities and get back to studies.

The Vice Chancellor of Punjab University came late to the programme and bashed Jamiat's Nazim too. Doctor Javed Sami (Secretary General, Academic Staff) also attend the programme and strongly criticised Jamiat through out the years and blammed Jamiat for spoiling the oldest University of Pakistan.

Aman Tehrik also celebrates Jashne Pakhtunkhwa!

Azad PSF celebrating Jashne Pakhtunkhwa (Provincial President Asadullah Mayar & Senior Vice President Allah Noor Wazir also present)

Allah Noor Wazir & Tariq Afghan dancing with the drum beat

Azad PSF celebrating Jashne Pakhtunkhwa at Peshawar University

Activists of Azad PSF holding posters

Allah Noor Wazir (right) leading the Attanr dance

Tariq Afghan & Allah Noor Wazir dancing to the drum beat

Azad PSF lead by their President Asadullah Mayar rallied through Peshawar University, University Town & Saddar while dancing to the drum beat celebrating Jashn e Pakhtunkhwa, the renaming of NWFP to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Thursday 15, 2010. 

PSF celebrates Jashn e Pakhtunkhwa at Baacha Khan Markaz

Senior Vice President Pakhtunkhwa Taj Wazir (left) participating in Attanr dance

Advisor to PSF Arbab Tahir (Second from left) with Pakhtunkhwa President Majid Khan (left)

PSF Pakhtunkhwa celebrated with the drum beat in Baacha Khan Markaz soon after Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa was ratified from Pakistan's Upper House Senate. Advisor to PSF Arbab Mohammad Tahir Khalil, PSF President Majid Khan, Senior Vice President Taj Wazir and General Secretary Riaz Marwat were present at the occasion. PSF danced with the employees of Baacha Khan Markaz lead by Huzoor Khan.

Poem for Adnan Shaheed by Khayam Yousafzai

Poetry dedicated to Adnan Shaheed from a sister

KHUDA HUMARA HAI

Khuda tumhara nahi hai, khuda hamara hai

Usse zamin pe ye zulum kub gawara hai

Laho pyo ge kahan tuk aye Jamiat walo

Allah ke naam pe kub tub munafeqat khwaro

tu jiss Allah ka naam le ke war karta hai

Wo tho insan se maa se badh ke pyar karta hai

Ke wo Rahim hai, ...wadud hai kareem bhi hai

wo baadshah hai magar phir bhi wo haleem hi hai

Rehman keh ke nabi ne jise pukara hai

usse zamin pe ye zulum kub gawara hai

tu ne aik bewa maa se uska jigar cheena hai

ke tu pathar hai dil se hali tera seena hai

tuje na deen ki habar hai, na aqebat ki fiqar

ke tu taqat ke nashe mei badha budmust hai, magar

mera Rub kehta hai ke shirk hai maasum ka qatal,

hai mere Rub ka manafi tera qabih amal

ke tu budbakht hai, qatel hai aur zalim hai,

beshuk "Shaheed" hai Adnan ke Rub ko pyara hai

khuda tumhara nahi hai khuda hamara hai

usse zamin pe tera zulum kub gwara hai

 

DUA

Dua hai aab koi mazlum dharti pe janam na le

Ilahi maujza kar zulum iss dunya se mit jaye

Dua hai aab kisi maa ki na eise goad phir ujre

Na phir aik begunah jawan yun shaheed kehlai

Dua hai har suhagan khush rahe bewa na kehlai

bhari bahar mei gulshan me kise ke tufan na phir aye

Dua h...ai aab kisi ka bhai, bhai se juda na ho

kisi ke dil ko aisa ghao aisa zakham na aiye

Duain mangti iss behan ki bus aik tamana hai

Hisab-e-zulum ho insaaf karne khud Allah aye!

 

Ameen!

 

Fasi Zaka on Zaid Hamid & Islami Jamiat Talba!

(Islami Jamiat Talba)

The hypocrisy of juggernaut vs juggernaut




The Pakistan report card


Thursday, April 15, 2010

Fasi Zaka



Zaid Hamid once looked like an unstoppable juggernaut. It didn't matter that much of what he said was inaccurate, or that he posed every problem in the context of himself being the only saviour. Self-serving arguments were lapped up without question.



Then the ulema challenged him on account of his admitted ties to the false claimant to prophethood, Yousaf Ali. Within a span of a few weeks his whole house of cards came crumbling down. Now Zaid Hamid is no longer able to preach hatred at universities, nor come on TV to satisfy his ego.



The first shot came in the International Islamic University and then in quick succession at Islamia College University in Peshawar where students prevented him from speaking. Prominent among those students were the members of the Islami Jamiat-e-Talba.



But there is such hypocrisy in their targeting of Zaid Hamid. Religious arguments aside, how different are Zaid Hamid and the Jamiat-e-Talba? This Islamic student wing has used Islam for its own ends to justify thuggery elsewhere.



They killed a student in Peshawar for listening to music. One student against scores of their men. They claim "ghairat", but where is the masculinity in lynching, slowly kicking and beating one young man to death? Where in the Quran has the Islami Jamiat-e-Talba been given the right to murder?



When they accuse Zaid Hamid of the murder of Maulana Jalalpuri, have they no shame in looking inwards and thinking of that poor boy?



And then, they have caused the virtual suspension of the University of Punjab after torturing a professor for hours. Islam is unequivocal in its support for education, so how exactly can the Islami Jamiat-e-Talba justify what they have done? Surely, these thugs will not find anything in the Quran to support their violence. How is this different from the allegation that Zaid Hamid's people beat up a student asking critical questions at a lecture of his?



So, is Zaid Hamid and the Islami Jamiat-e-Talba one and the same? Well, it looks like it. The irony is that the natural friends of violence are at each other's throats. If, as the Jamiat contends, Zaid Hamid is leading his own cult for a false prophet, then are they not themselves insulting the memory and teachings of the Prophet (PBUH) by committing these gross acts of indecent violence in the name of Islam?



It's easy for the Jamiat-e-Talba to lash out at Zaid, whose follies have been well documented by the Khatam-e-Naboowat group. The Islamic parties have always had an issue with the MQM for its secularist stance, again how exactly is the hold of the Jamiat-e-Talba in the Punjab University any different than the MQM during the worst of its excesses in Karachi in the past?



The Ulema are galvanised against Zaid Hamid. There are religious issues on the finality of prophethood involved. But, they are also critiquing his emphasis on nationalism, where he has put country and identity as central to his use of Islam. In other words, they condemn him for fascism with a religious underpinning.



Again, how different is the Islami Jamiat-e-Talba from Zaid Hamid in this respect. They have a narrow definition of what is permissible, and allegiance to the party line, not individual conscience according to the Quran, is supreme. If that wasn't the case, there would be a paralysis of soul searching for what they have been doing. But, not a word of remorse out of them. Shameful.



So rather than getting the neo-fascism of the Islami Jamiat-e-Talba in line, what has been of paramount importance during this time to them, what was so crucial that they could not bring themselves to contain and condemn their own? They spent their time disrupting an event where a shaving company was trying to set a record for the most number of people shaving at one time. Yes, that was most important.







The writer is a Rhodes scholar and former academic. Email: fasizaka@yahoo.com

Talibanization in educational institutes in Pakistan

UET incident a reminder of the forgotten terrorist act of IJT in UOM

DAWN NEWS
ANP, PkSF slam for Malakand University clashesANP, PkSF slam IJT for 'attacking students'

Peshawar, May 02, 2008:

The Awami National Party (ANP) has criticised the Islami Jamiat-e-Talba (IJT) for "carrying out an armed attack on Pakhtun Students Federation (PkSF) activists at the Malakand University on Thursday".In a press statement issued here, ANP NWFP Information Secretary Arbab Muhammad Zahir alleged that some IJT "terrorists" opened fire on "peaceful" PSF students at the university, injuring three students.He said that the condition of one of the injured was critical, adding that the IJT was a "terrorist student organisation that has opened centres of terrorism at educational institutions". Through such activities, he added, the IJT was trying to postpone student union elections because "the IJT has left with no future after the revival of students unions".The ANP leader demanded that the police immediately arrest those responsible for the incident.Separately, the PkSF has also condemned the IJT over the incident. PkSF NWFP President Shakilur Rehman Barki alleged in a press statement that the IJT was a "terrorist" organisation. "We demand that the government impose a ban on the IJT, arrest those involved in the incident and bring them to justice". Daily TimesMalakand varsity closed after students clashTimeergara: The University of Malakand was closed for indefinite period and hostels were vacated after clashes between two student organisations on Thursday.According to sources, clashes erupted when the Pakhtun Students Federation (PkSF) arranged a party to welcome new students and say goodbye to seniors at the convocation hall of the university in Chakdara. However, an armed group of the Islami Jamiat-i-Talaba (IJT) allegedly disrupted the function."They (IJT) first blew off some explosive materials near the convocation hall and then started indiscriminate firing injuring three students belonging to the PkSF," Zakir Khan, a student, reportedly told the local police.The injured students -- identified as Kamran, Qasim and Asif -- were rushed to the DHQ hospital Batkhela, where Kamran and Qasim were referred to Peshawar in critical condition.After the clashes, the university administration took prompt action and ordered closure of the university for indefinite period and vacated the hostels of both male and female students.All roads leading to the university were blocked by the administration with the help of law enforcement agencies, said Dost Mohammad Khan, a spokesman for the university."The University Public School and University Girls School will remain open," he said.The Chakdara police confirmed that an FIR had been lodged by a student against the workers of the IJT including Sultan, Muslim, Ashfaq, Masood Shah, Jan Alam, Inayatur Rahman, Fazlullah and Mukhtiar.

Black Day observed at UOM by PSF

PSF UOM observed black day today on 7 April 2010.

• Koran khwani (recitation) was held for the martyrs
• Special Prayers were held for the victims of terrorism
• Students wore black bands
• Campus President Zeeshan Sawabiwal has said "We will keep fighting against the forces of extremism and terrorism"

Suicide Blast at Jashn e Pakhtunkhwa function in Timergara, Lower Dir

Around 25 killed and over 100 injured in a rest house at Timergara bazar arranged by Awami National Party to celebrate the renaming of NWFP as Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Ayaz Ahmad, an activist of PSF UOM has been injured by the blast. May he get well soon.
We condemn this act of terrorism by extremist forces against the secular forces.

• President Zakir Nangyalay attended the injured PSF students and ANP activists together with Executive Committee Member Asif Aziz "Mama".

Campus Senior Vice President Ajmal Khan

Ajmal Khan (left) with Pakhtunkhwa President Majid Khan

Name: Ajmal Khan Swati

Department: BS (Hons) Maths

Domicile: Swat

Contact: +923447474005

Designation: Main Campus Senior Vice President

He has been the President of Khalid Osman Hostel before where he enjoyed a strong support. He has been a very key figure in PSF UOM and one of the few people who have totally commited themselves towards the federation. He is always seen busy in service at the campus.

Asif Aziz Hostel President Idrees Khan

Name: Idrees Khan
Domicile: Batkhela, Malakand
Department: BA (Hons) English
Contact: +923459161201
Designation: Asif Aziz Hostel President
Room: F 8

Sober and hot tempered at times, Idrees Khan is the resident of Batkhela but still living in hostel for the sake PSF UOM and his friends. He is very emotional when it comes to strikes and sloganeering. He has alloted many rooms for students without rooms. If you have any problem regarding hostel, just contact him and consider it done.

Central Executive Commitee Member Fayaz "mama"

Name: Fayaz Khan

Domicile: Sakhakot, Malakand

Contact: +923459370331

Department: PharmD (Pharmacy)

Designation: Central Executive Committee member

Nick name: Mama

Fayaz "mama" is the brain of PSF UOM. He is one of the most senior students of PSF UOM together with Rahmat Ali & Ibrar Khan. He has given many sacrifices for the federation and has seen PSF UOM grow. He is an ideological nationalist.

Awami National Party announces celebrations on April 3

Women celebrate Khyber Pakhtunkhwa!

Women celebrating the renaming of North West Frontier Province as Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

Geo TV - Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

PESHAWAR:

Dancing to the drumbeats on different roads and squares of the city late Wednesday evening, jubilant young men celebrated the renaming of NWFP as Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.

Spontaneous celebrations broke out all over Peshawar and in every town and city of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. Workers and supporters of the ruling ANP led the celebrations as drummers were hurriedly summoned and impromptu scenes of dancing and distribution of sweets were witnessed at scores of places. Many party workers wore the distinctive red caps of the ANP.The happy youth, most of them students, termed the renaming of the province as big achievement, saying that it was a longstanding demand of the people of the province. The drum beating and dancing began soon after the news about Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa appeared on different TV channels. The celebrations continued late night and some excited people fired in the air to show their happiness.A group of cheering youth gathered outside The News/Geo TV office at Khyber Super Market on Bara Road to celebrate the occasion. It gradually turned into a traditional dance party and attracted dozens of people.

Irrespective of their party affiliation, many people joined the celebrations. They were happy over the name Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. However, some of them suggested a one-word name like Pakhtunkhwa or Afghania. “We have got our identity and historical name for our province. However, it would have been more better if the name was Pakhtunkhwa or Pakhtunistan,” said Qaisar Hussain, student of local college while enjoying the dance and drum beating.

“We were watching TV channels in our rooms but soon we heard the drum beating. We left our flats and preferred to enjoy this historical moment,” another young man Shah Mehmood told this scribe. He said that he had no affiliation with any political party but like other Pakhtuns he was happy to have a proper name of the province.

Slogans like ‘Long live Pakhtunkhwa’ and ‘Pakistan Zindabad’ mingled in the air amid drum beating.

The activists of the Awami National Party also gathered in historic Chowk Yadgar to celebrate the moment. “It is a dream come true for the entire Pakhtun nation,” said a young Pakhtun nationalist.Reports reaching here from different parts of the province stated that the renaming of the province as Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa was celebrated till late night. In Charsadda, the hometown of the ANP chief Asfandyar Wali Khan, jubilant workers of Awami National Party (ANP) took to the streets and distributed sweets when the electronic media reported that the committee on Constitutional Reforms had agreed to rename NWFP as Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

The activists of ANP took out a procession to celebrate renaming of the NWFP as Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. They danced to the drumbeat and fired in the air in jubilation. In a telephonic conversation with wedia, Begum Nasim Wali, former provincial president of the party, said Abaseen and Khyber were also suitable names for the NWFP but she preferred Pakhtunkhwa as it had also been mentioned by Bacha Khan and Wali Khan.In Mardan, a procession was brought out on the Bank Road to celebrate the renaming of NWFP as Pakhtunkhwa. Celebrations were also reported from Karak, Bannu, Dir Lower, Buner, Swabi, Nowshera, Kohat and all other districts of the province.

AAJ NEWS - Khyber Pakhtunkhwa!

Pakhtuns celebrate renaming of NWFP
Thursday, 1 Apr, 2010 1:48 pm

ISLAMABAD :

Dancing to the drumbeats on different roads and squares of the Peshawar on Thursday, jubilant young men celebrated the renaming of NWFP as Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.Spontaneous celebrations broke out all over Peshawar and in every town and city of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. Workers and supporters of the ruling ANP led the celebrations as drummers were hurriedly summoned and scenes of dancing and distribution of sweets were witnessed at scores of places. Many party workers wore the distinctive red caps of the ANP, private news channel reported.The happy youth, most of them students, termed the renaming of the province as big achievement, saying that it was a longstanding demand of the people of the province.The drum beating and dancing began soon after the news about Khyber- Pakhtunkhwa appeared on different TV channels.Irrespective of their party affiliation, many people joined the celebrations. They were happy over the name Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. However, some of them suggested a one-word name like Pakhtunkhwa or Afghania."We have got our identity and historical name for our province. However, it would have been more better if the name was Pakhtunkhwa or Pakhtunistan," said Qaisar Hussain, student of local college while enjoying the dance and drum beating."We were watching TV channels in our rooms but soon we heard the drum beating. We left our flats and preferred to enjoy this historical moment," another young man Shah Mehmood told this scribe. He said that he had no affiliation with any political party but like other Pakhtuns he was happy to have a proper name of the province.Slogans like `Long live Pakhtunkhwa' and `Pakistan Zindabad' mingled in the air amid drum beating.The activists of the Awami National Party also gathered in historic Chowk Yadgar to celebrate the moment. "It is a dream come true for the entire Pakhtun nation," said a young Pakhtun nationalist.Reports reaching from different parts of the province stated that the renaming of the province as Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa was celebrated till late night.In Charsadda, the hometown of the ANP chief Asfandyar Wali Khan, jubilant workers of Awami National Party (ANP) took to the streets and distributed sweets when the electronic media reported that the committee on Constitutional Reforms had agreed to rename NWFP as Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.The activists of ANP took out a procession to celebrate renaming of the NWFP as Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. They danced to the drumbeat and fired in the air in jubilation.In a telephonic conversation with Wedia, Begum Nasim Wali, former provincial president of the party, said Abaseen and Khyber were also suitable names for the NWFP but she preferred Pakhtunkhwa as it had also been mentioned by Bacha Khan and Wali Khan.In Mardan, a procession was brought out on the Bank Road to celebrate the renaming of NWFP as Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. Celebrations were also reported from Karak, Bannu, Dir Lower, Buner, Swabi, Nowshera, Kohat and all other districts of the province.
Copyright APP (Associated Press of Pakistan), 2010

The Daily News - Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

Renaming of Frontier celebrated across NWFP

Thursday, April 01, 2010Khalid Kheshgi

PESHAWAR:

Dancing to the drumbeats on different roads and squares of the city late Wednesday evening, jubilant young men celebrated the renaming of NWFP as Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.Spontaneous celebrations broke out all over Peshawar and in every town and city of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. Workers and supporters of the ruling ANP led the celebrations as drummers were hurriedly summoned and impromptu scenes of dancing and distribution of sweets were witnessed at scores of places. Many party workers wore the distinctive red caps of the ANP.The happy youth, most of them students, termed the renaming of the province as big achievement, saying that it was a longstanding demand of the people of the province. The drum beating and dancing began soon after the news about Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa appeared on different TV channels. The celebrations continued late night and some excited people fired in the air to show their happiness.A group of cheering youth gathered outside The News/Geo TV office at Khyber Super Market on Bara Road to celebrate the occasion. It gradually turned into a traditional dance party and attracted dozens of people.Irrespective of their party affiliation, many people joined the celebrations. They were happy over the name Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. However, some of them suggested a one-word name like Pakhtunkhwa or Afghania. “We have got our identity and historical name for our province. However, it would have been more better if the name was Pakhtunkhwa or Pakhtunistan,” said Qaisar Hussain, student of local college while enjoying the dance and drum beating.“We were watching TV channels in our rooms but soon we heard the drum beating. We left our flats and preferred to enjoy this historical moment,” another young man Shah Mehmood told this scribe. He said that he had no affiliation with any political party but like other Pakhtuns he was happy to have a proper name of the province.Slogans like ‘Long live Pakhtunkhwa’ and ‘Pakistan Zindabad’ mingled in the air amid drum beating.The activists of the Awami National Party also gathered in historic Chowk Yadgar to celebrate the moment. “It is a dream come true for the entire Pakhtun nation,” said a young Pakhtun nationalist.Reports reaching here from different parts of the province stated that the renaming of the province as Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa was celebrated till late night.

In Charsadda, the hometown of the ANP chief Asfandyar Wali Khan, jubilant workers of Awami National Party (ANP) took to the streets and distributed sweets when the electronic media reported that the committee on Constitutional Reforms had agreed to rename NWFP as Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.The activists of ANP took out a procession to celebrate renaming of the NWFP as Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. They danced to the drumbeat and fired in the air in jubilation. In a telephonic conversation with The News, Begum Nasim Wali, former provincial president of the party, said Abaseen and Khyber were also suitable names for the NWFP but she preferred Pakhtunkhwa as it had also been mentioned by Bacha Khan and Wali Khan.

In Mardan, a procession was brought out on the Bank Road to celebrate the renaming of NWFP as Pakhtunkhwa. Celebrations were also reported from Karak, Bannu, Dir Lower, Buner, Swabi, Nowshera, Kohat and all other districts of the province.

Daily Mashrique News Paper - Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa

Pukhtoonkhwa (A Historical Perspective)

Friday, 26 March 2010

Historical Significance

Pakhtunkhwa, Pashtoonkhwa, or Pakhtoonkhwa means “The Land of the Pakhtuns”. This name was used for the area where Pakhtuns were dominant before the creation and forming of modern day Afghanistan and Pakistan. Historically Pakhtunkhwa the name of the territory or area where the Pashtoons, Pakhtuns or Afghans have lived for a long time, was between the river Oxus from the North and river Indus from the South East, in its North East Himalayan mountain ranges and in the West its boundaries lies with the Russian states.

Greek historian Herodotus has recorded the area as Paktia, but Pakhto poets from the time of Shahabuddin Mohammad Ghori down to the present age, have been referring to it as Pakhtunkwa.

The earliest available historical proof is Akhund Darweza's (d. 1638) Makhzanul Islam (written between 1603 and 1612).

verse in this book reads:

"Pakhtunkhwa pa misal shpa wa, dai deewa wo pa andher ke"پختونخوا په مثال شپه وه، دې ډيوه وه په اندهير کښې(Translation: Pakhtunkhwa was like a night and he [Pir Baba Syed Ali Termezi] was like a candle).

Khan Khattak (1613 - 1689) Pakhtun warrior, poet and tribal chief of the Khattak tribe wrote in his book “Kulyat Khushaal Khan Khattak” writes

“Nora warda Pakhtunkhwa peh zai maishta wa
KhoYao ze de zamaney paka Mansur krdm”

نوره واړه پختونخوا په ځائي مېشتۀ وه
خو يو زه دې زمانې په کښې منصور کړم

(Translation: The whole Pakhtunkhwa stood in its place, only I was made Mansur by time)

Another great Pakhtun poet Ameer Hamzar Shinwari (1907 – 1994) writes:
La peh ofaq da Pakhtunkhwa hum zaleydalay na yum,
Ze agha lamr yum da afaq chi rakhataley na yum.

لا په افق د پختونخوا لا ځلېدلے نه يم
زه هغه لمر يم ده افاق چې راختلے نه يم

(Translation: I have not yet shown on the horizon of Pakhtukhwa, I am that universal sun which has not risen.)

Similarly, the often-quoted two lines of a poem by Ahmad Shah Abdali (1723-1773), the Founding Father of Afghan state, clearly mention Pakhtunkhwa as the land of the Pashtoons or Pakhtuns. Here are the lines:
Da Dehli takht herawoma che rayad kram
Zama da khpale Pakhtunkhwa da ghro saroona
ده ډيلي تخت هېرووم چې راپه ياد کړم
زما د خپلې پختونخوا د غرو سرونه
(Translation: I forget my Delhi throne when I recall the mountain peaks of my own Pakhtunkhwa).

Pakhtu poets and writers have frequently used this name for the area which was later named as North Western Frontier Province (NWFP) by the British rulers after they occupied and separated it from Afghanistan dividing the Pakhtuns into four divisions.

The name Pakhtunkhwa was also used in the modern poetry by contemporary poets like Qalandar Momand (1930 – 2003) long before it was suggested as the nomenclature for the NWFP. Besides Pakhtuns, there are many non-Pakhtuns who have mentioned this name in their writings. A book by French orientalist James Darmesteter (March 28, 1849-October 10, 1894) has the title, "Da Pakhtunkhwa Da Shaer Har w Bahar", a selection of Pashto poems with a valuable essay on this Afghan language.

During Lord Hastings (1786-1796) term a delegation sent to Afghanistan use of the name Pakhtunkhwa is mentioned in Henry George Raverty’s book Notes on Afghanistan and Baluchistan as follows:
“When you lose it altogether and reach the crest of the great western range of Mihtar Suliman or Kohisiyah the outer most slopes of which the extreme boundary in this direction between the territory of Ghazni and Afghanistan or Pushtun khwa.”

In 1867, Dr. Henry Walter Bello in his Pushtu grammar book has referred to Pakhtunkhwa in the following words:
“More especially as the nation though it has for many centuries occupied its present ground at the point of junction between the Indian and Persian empires in the country known as Afghanistan to the stranger and as Pakhtunkhwa to the Afghans or the Pukhtuns.”

Dr. A. H. Dani, a well known historian and archaeologist, told Dawn that “Pakhunistan is a political name where as Pakhtunkhwa is not. Culturally there’s no doubt that the land was called Pakhtunkhwa in Pushtu literature since the 15th century (we have a trace of literature since that time only). The term has been applied for both tribal and settled areas, he added.”


Political Relevance:

The name Pakhtunkhwa or Pashtunkhwa should be understood as it draws support as well as opposition within Pakistan and should thus be understood on its own terms, independent of Afghanistan’s claim over Pakhtunistan or Pashtunistan.The Pakhtuns are the majority ethnic group in the NWFP, Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) and Northern Balochistan. About two-thirds of the two million Afghan refugees in Pakistan, who are mostly ethnic Pakhtuns, live in the NWFP. This is excluding the roughly 14 million population of the NWFP. According to the 1998 census, 73.9 per cent of NWFP's population spoke Pashto, 3.86 per cent, largely in Dera Ismail Khan, spoke Saraiki, 0.97 per cent Punjabi, 0.78 per cent Urdu, 0.04 per cent Sindhi and 0.01 per cent Balochi. A significant 20.43 per cent people listed in the "Others" column obviously included speakers of Hindko (believed to around 18 per cent), Chitrali, Gojri and other languages. Proponents of the struggle to rename the British created NWFP, such as Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan and Khan Abdul Wali Khan, viewed it as not just a change of name, but as an issue of safeguarding the Provincial autonomy and more importantly preserving the indigenous culture and language of the Pakhtuns. Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan, popularly known as Bacha Khan, proposed the name as an alternative to Pakhtunistan to the military dictator, General Zia ul Haq in 1978 when the latter refused to accept the demand from the latter to rename the North West Frontier Province (NWFP) as Pakhtunistan. Presently, what is known as the NWFP is home to the majority of the Pakhtuns or Pashtuns as well as other smaller ethnic groups. The Province borders Afghanistan to the North West, the Northern Areas to the North East, Azad Kashmir to the East, Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) to the West and South, and the Punjab and Islamabad Capital Territory to the South East. The principal language spoken is Pakhtu or Pashtu and the Provincial capital is Peshawar.

The detractors of Pakhtunkhwa say that unlike Punjab, Sindh and Baluchistan, there are several linguistic groups in NWFP and hence their opposition to give an assumed purely ethnic name to a Province. However, Punjab, Sindh and Baluchistan, also have sizeable linguistic groups, probably more than in the NWFP and these Provinces acquired their respective names to reflect the majority ethnic inhabitants. The main opposition to the name by the Pakistan Muslim Leagues is because of their political base in Hazara. However, the arguments presented don’t have much substance. Hazara division is the biggest division of NWFP and has five districts — Haripur, Abbottabad, Mansehra, Battagram and Kohistan. The population of the area was some 4.5 million in 2005. Hindko is main language in Haripur, Abbottabad and Manshera. Pashto is major language in Battagram, followed by Hindko. Kohistani is the main language in Kohistan district followed by Gujri and Pashto. Pashto is also spoken in pockets of Mansehra and Haripur districts.Although Hindko is the main language in Hazara division, most of the people who speak Hindko are Afghan by ethnicity. Tanoli, Jadoon, Tareen, Mishwani, Swati, Tahirkheli, Dilazak, etc, are all Afghan by race but speak Hindko. Same is the case of Kakar, Durrani, Popalzai, Saddozai, Khogyani, Rohila, Ghaznavi, Akhunzadas, etc and several others who belong to Peshawar, Nowshera and Kohat, who speak Hindko but are Afghan/Pakhtun by race. Even the genealogy of Awans of NWFP is traced to Qutub Shah, who was a prominent ruler of Herat province of Afghanistan.A very prominent pashtun nationalist leader of 20th century Khan shaheed{Abdusamad Khan Achakzai} named his party as Pashtunkhwa National Awami Party after parting ways with Awami National Party in 1969.The name Pakhtunkhwa for NWFP was heard for the first time in the 1980s in the Provincial Assembly when the then Awami National Party (ANP) leaders wanted to move a resolution for changing the name of the Province. The matter echoed in the National Assembly in November 1990 when Afzal Khan of PDA referred to the NWFP as Pakhtunkhwa. The name Pakhtunkhwa is popular with the ordinary Pakthun and has been approved by the democratically elected Provincial Assembly, in 1997 and again in 2008. In the general elections in 2008 Pakhtunkhwa was one of the most important election slogans of ANP and people voted for it. But it should also be made clear that support for the name Pakhtunkhwa as the new name of the province is not any more confined to Pakhtunn nationalists. Pakhtunkhwa as the name for NWFP has attracted the support of the mainstream political parties such as Pakistan Peoples Party [Parliamentarian], JUI [f], PPP [Sherpao], National Party Pakistan, MQM, PML [F] and a number of other parties of Sindh, Punjab and Balochistan. If Pakhtunkhwa is approved by the parliament as the new name of the province the credit will belong to all the democratic political forces of the country. The proposed change if approved by the parliament will be a big boost for the state–building and nation-buillding process in Pakistan as Pakhtuns will feel more integrated after having proper identity in Pakistan. We should also keep it in mind that names like NWFP, FATA and PATA sound more like chemistary formulas than a name with cultural identity. It is worth mentioning that the name Pakhtunkhwa was used for the first time in the United Nation’s General Assembly by Pakistan’s head of state, President Asif Ali Zardari on September 26, 2008 in his address to the General Assembly.People of Pakistan have already accepted the name. We hope the democratic political forces will implement it.

GEO Pakistan
Varsities closed after riots hit Peshawar University
Updated at: 1358 PST, Saturday, March 20, 2010 PESHAWAR:

An FIR of the riots at Peshawar University on Friday and killing of a student has been registered at Thana Campus against nine students of the university, Geo News reported Saturday.According to the University management, a Coordination Committee is looking into the violent incidents in its meeting at Peshawar University.It should be mentioned the death of a student, who had sustained injuries in a clash between student organisations five days ago, triggered violence on the university campus, prompting the administration of all the universities to shut the institutions and vacate the hostels for an indefinite period.The students turned violent when the body of Adnan Abdul Qadir, who succumbed to injuries at the Lady Reading Hospital after 100-hour coma, was brought to the Forensic Centre at Khyber Medical College for autopsy.The enraged students blocked the main Jamrud Road for sometime and then entered the university campus. They threw stones at different buildings, damaging properties. The protesting students entered the hostels of the NWFP University of Engineering & Technology, ransacked the rooms and put everything on fire there.The students then turned to the NWFP Agricultural University, where another bout of violence was witnessed. This continued till late Friday night. Police resorted to baton-charge and used teargas to disperse the protesting students. Five students were also arrested.The violence forced the administrations of the University of Peshawar, NWFP Engineering University, Islamia College University and Agricultural University to convene an emergency meeting to discuss the situation to take an appropriate decision in this regard.The meeting expressed shock over death of the student and announced closure of all the institutions at the campus and vacation of hostels for an indefinite period. All the hostels should be vacated by 12 p.m. today (Saturday), a notification issued after the meeting said.The management of the University of Engineering & Technology (UET) had already rusticated the six students of the institution nominated in the police report. The UET had also warned other students who were approaching the media and holding demonstrations of disciplinary action.The incident in which the student was injured took place on March 14. The activists of Islami Jamiat-e-Talaba (IJT) and members of Bannu Students Society (BSS) had clashed on that occasion. Five students including two from IJT and three from BSS sustained injuries. Among them was Adnan Abdul Qadir, who suffered a head injury and was shifted to LRH in a serious condition. He breathed his last on Friday and his death triggered violent protests.The BSS member said that they were playing music in their room in the tribal hostel of the UET, when some activists of the IJT attacked them. They claimed that the attackers beat them up. They demanded action against IJT and immediate arrest of the students nominated in the police report. The office-bearers of the IJT, on the other hand, demanded judicial inquiry into the incident. They claimed that they were not solely responsible for the grave incident.IJT Campus Nazim Shad Mohammad said that the issue was not a new one. He alleged that Fahd, a UET student, who was an illegal boarder of the Hostel-III, used to play laud music in his room. He said that some students of the hostel submitted a complaint with the administration of the university, which served notice on him, asking him to avoid playing loud music in the hostel.Shad Mohammad said: “This angered the said student, who called an IJT activist to his room and severely tortured him with the help of his other fellows on March 11. Three days later this student along with his friends and some activists of IJT came face to face. The two sides exchanged hot words and subsequently clashed with each other. This resulted in injuries to five students from both the sides.”