Khyber Pakhtunkhwa: Difference between revisions

''Khyber Pakhtunkhwa'' means the "[[Khyber Pass|Khyber]] side of the land of the [[Pashtuns]],<ref name="USDS">{{cite book|author=U.S. Department of State|title=Background Notes: South Asia, May, 2011|date=2011|publisher=InfoStrategist.com|isbn=978-1592431298|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=w1m-AIPgzDAC|author-link=U.S. Department of State}}</ref>" where the word ''Pakhtunkhwa'' means "[[Pashtunistan|Land of the Pashtuns]]",<ref>{{cite book|last1=Marwat|first1=Fazal-ur-Rahim Khan|title=The evolution and growth of communism in Afghanistan, 1917–79: an appraisal|date=1997|publisher=Royal Book Co.|page=XXXV}}</ref> while according to some scholars, it refers to "Pashtun culture and society".<ref>{{cite book|last1=Barnes|first1=Robert Harrison|last2=Gray|first2=Andrew|last3=Kingsbury|first3=Benedict|title=Indigenous peoples of Asia|date=1995|publisher=Association for Asian Studies|isbn=0924304146|page=171}}</ref>

 

 

[[Pakistan Muslim League (N)]], the largest opposition party at the time was ready to change the province's name by supporting the ruling [[Pakistan Peoples Party]] and ANP, in a constitutional amendment but wanted to name the province something other than which does not carry only the Pashtun identity in it as they argued that there were other minor communities living in the province especially the [[Hazarewals]] of the [[Hazara, Pakistan|Hazara region]] who spoke [[Hindko]] thus the word ''Khyber'' was introduced with the name because it is the name of a major [[Khyber Pass|pass]] which connects Pakistan to Afghanistan.<ref name="Pakhtunkhwa"/>

The then [[List of Chief Ministers of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa|Chief Minister]] [[Khan Abdul Jabbar Khan|Dr. Khan Sahib]], along with his brother [[Bacha Khan]] and the [[Khudai Khidmatgar]]s, boycotted the referendum, citing that it did not have the options of the NWFP becoming independent or joining Afghanistan.<ref name="Dust of Empire">{{cite book |author=Karl E. Meyer |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=M9iwFmvKTwcC |title=The Dust of Empire: The Race For Mastery In The Asian Heartland |date=5 August 2008 | publisher=PublicAffairs |isbn=9780786724819 |access-date=25 June 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=25 December 2011 |title=Was Jinnah democratic? — II |url=https://dailytimes.com.pk/110699/was-jinnah-democratic-ii/ |access-date=24 February 2019 |website=Daily Times |archive-date=15 May 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190515045036/https://dailytimes.com.pk/110699/was-jinnah-democratic-ii/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>

 

 

Bacha Khan pledged allegiance to the new state of Pakistan in 1947, and thereafter abandoned his goals of an independent Pashtunistan and a united India in favour of supporting increased autonomy for the NWFP within Pakistan.<ref name="humshehri.org" /> He was subsequently arrested several times for his opposition to the strong centralized rule.<ref>Abdul Ghaffar Khan(1958) Pashtun Aw Yoo Unit. Peshawar.</ref> He later claimed that "Pashtunistan was never a reality". The idea of Pashtunistan never helped Pashtuns and it only caused suffering for them. He further claimed that the "successive governments of Afghanistan only exploited the idea for their own political goals".<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Everything in Afghanistan is done in the name of religion: Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan |url=https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/neighbours/story/19800331-everything-in-afghanistan-is-done-in-the-name-of-religion-khan-abdul-ghaffar-khan-806546-2014-01-31 |url-status=live |magazine=India Today |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190108203154/https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/neighbours/story/19800331-everything-in-afghanistan-is-done-in-the-name-of-religion-khan-abdul-ghaffar-khan-806546-2014-01-31 |archive-date=8 January 2019 |access-date=13 January 2014}}</ref>

The major rivers that criss-cross the province are Kabul, Swat, Chitral, Kunar, Siran, Panjkora, Bara, Kurram, Dor, Haroo, Gomal, and Zhob.

 

 

===Climate===

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On the southern flanks of [[Nanga Parbat]] and in [[Upper Dir District|Upper]] and [[Lower Dir District]]s, rainfall is much heavier than further north because moist winds from the [[Arabian Sea]] are able to penetrate the region. When they collide with the mountain slopes, winter depressions provide heavy precipitation. The [[monsoon]], although short, is generally powerful. As a result, the southern slopes of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa are the wettest part of Pakistan. Annual rainfall ranges from around {{convert|500|mm|in}} in the most sheltered areas to as much as {{convert|1750|mm|in}} in parts of Abbottabad and Mansehra Districts.

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The seasonality of rainfall in central Khyber Pakhtunkhwa shows very marked gradients from east to west. At Dir, March remains the wettest month due to frequent frontal cloud bands, whereas in Hazara more than half the rainfall comes from the monsoon.<ref name="Wernsted">See Wernsted, Frederick L.; ''World Climatic Data''; published 1972 by Climatic Data Press; 522 pp. 31 cm.</ref> This creates a unique situation characterized by a bimodal rainfall regime, which extends into the southern part of the province described below.<ref name="Wernsted"/>

 

===Political leanings and the legislative branch===

{{Main|Provincial Assembly of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa}}

 

After the nationwide [[2002 Pakistani general election|general elections]] held in 2002, a [[plurality voting]] [[Swing (politics)|swing]] in the province elected one of Pakistan's only religiously based provincial governments led by the [[Conservative Islam|ultra-conservative]] [[Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal]] (MMA) during the administration of President [[Pervez Musharraf]]. The [[United States invasion of Afghanistan|American involvement]] in neighbouring [[Afghanistan]] contributed towards the electoral victory of the Islamic coalition led by [[Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan]] (JeI) whose social policies made the province a ground-swell of [[Anti-American sentiment in Pakistan|anti-Americanism]].<ref name="Time"/> The electoral victory of MMA was also in context of [[guided democracy]] in the Musharraff administration that barred the mainstream political parties, the leftist [[Pakistan Peoples Party]] and the [[centre-right]] [[Pakistan Muslim League (N)]] (PML(N)), whose chairmen and presidents having been barred from participation in the elections.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Ali|first1=Kamran Asdar|title=Pakistani Islamists Gamble on the General|url=http://www.merip.org/mer/mer231/pakistani-islamists-gamble-general|access-date=6 April 2017|publisher=Middle East Research and Information Project|date=Summer 2004|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170407233410/http://www.merip.org/mer/mer231/pakistani-islamists-gamble-general|archive-date=7 April 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Policy enforcement of a range of social restrictions, though the implementation of strict [[Shariah]] was introduced by the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal government the law was never fully enacted due to objections of the [[Governor of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa]] backed by the [[President Pervez Musharaff|Musharraff administration]].<ref name="Time"/> Restrictions on public musical performances were introduced, as well as a ban prohibiting music to be played in public places as part of the "Prohibition of Dancing and Music Bill, 2005" – which led to the creation of a thriving underground music scene in Peshawar.<ref>{{cite news|title=Peshawar underground: It's difficult to be a rock star in the land the epitomises conservatism, yet something shocking is happening. There is a rock scene waiting to burst out of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Rahim Shah was just the beginning, Sajid and Zeeshan were proof that originality can spring out of unlikely places and there are others who are making their riffs and ragas heard... slowly, but surely. |url=http://jang.com.pk/thenews/jun2007-weekly/nos-24-06-2007/instep/mainissue.htm |access-date=13 December 2012 |newspaper=The News on Sunday Instep |date=24 June 2007 |first=Maria |last=Tirmizi |author2=Rizwan-ul-Haq |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120825024510/http://jang.com.pk/thenews/jun2007-weekly/nos-24-06-2007/instep/mainissue.htm |archive-date=25 August 2012}}</ref> The Islamist government also attempted to enforce compulsory ''[[hijab]]'' on women,<ref name="Clarke">{{cite book|last1=Clarke|first1=Michael E.|last2=Misra|first2=Ashutosh|title=Pakistan's Stability Paradox: Domestic, Regional and International Dimensions|date=1 March 2013|publisher=Routledge|isbn=9781136639340|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fpSpAgAAQBAJ&q=virtue+vice+pakistan+2002&pg=PA21|access-date=6 April 2017}}</ref> and wished to enforce gender segregation in the province's educational institutions.<ref name="Clarke"/> The coalition further tried to prohibit male doctors from performing ultrasounds on women,<ref name="Clarke"/> and tried to close the province's cinemas.<ref name="Clarke"/> In 2005, the coalition successfully passed the "Prohibition of Use of Women in Photograph Bill, 2005," leading to the removal of all public advertisements that featured women.<ref>{{cite news|title=PESHAWAR: Advertisers forced to deface billboards|url=https://www.dawn.com/news/190452/peshawar-advertisers-forced-to-deface-billboards|access-date=6 April 2017|agency=Dawn|date=3 May 2006}}</ref>

 

 

In non-Pashtun areas, such as [[Abbottabad District|Abbottabad]], and [[Hazara Division]], the [[Pakistan Muslim League (N)|PML(N)]], the [[centre-right]] party, enjoys considerable public support over economical and public policy issues and has a substantial vote bank.<ref name="rugpundits, Yasir"/>

 

==Social issues==

 

In 2010 the announcement that the province would have a new name led to a wave of protests in the Hazara region.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.app.com.pk/en_/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=99951&Itemid=2 |title=Protest in Hazara continues over renaming of NWFP to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa |publisher=App.com.pk |access-date=25 May 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111209001219/http://www.app.com.pk/en_/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=99951&Itemid=2 |archive-date=9 December 2011}}</ref> On 15 April 2010 [[Senate of Pakistan|Pakistan's senate]] officially named the province "Khyber Pakhtunkhwa" with 80 senators in favour and 12 opposed.<ref name="rename">{{cite news|url=http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/news/pakistan/07-senate-begins-voting-on-18th-amendment-ha-02 |title=NWFP officially renamed as Pakhtun HAZARA |date=15 April 2010 |newspaper=[[Dawn (newspaper)|Dawn.com]] |access-date=15 April 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100418050112/http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/news/pakistan/07-senate-begins-voting-on-18th-amendment-ha-02 |archive-date=18 April 2010}}</ref> The MMA, who until the elections of 2008 had a majority in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government, had proposed "Afghania" as a compromise name.<ref>{{cite web|title=MMA govt proposes new name for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (then NWFP) |publisher=Dawn |url=http://www.dawn.com/2007/08/01/top11.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071113205924/http://www.dawn.com/2007/08/01/top11.htm |archive-date=13 November 2007}}</ref>

 

===Non-government organisations===

* [[Al-Khidmat Foundation]]

* [[Aurat Foundation]]