Analysis: Pakhtun diaspora: irresponsible and insensitive
Analysis: Pakhtun diaspora: irresponsible and insensitive —Farhat Taj
Rich
Arabs in the Middle East are ‘earning’ a place in paradise in the life
hereafter through never ending generous donations to the Taliban and
the madrassas producing foot soldiers and a jihadi mindset on the
Pakhtun land. They do not even care to consider that their ‘pursuit’ of
a place in paradise is causing so much death and destruction
This
column is about the lack of action of the Pakhtun diaspora on its most
important role in the cultural, economic, social and political survival
of their ethnic brothers and sisters in their native land. I am
referring to generous donations that the Pakhtun diasporic communities
in North America, Europe and the Middle East can and should contribute
to counter the Taliban and Talibanisation in the Pakhtunkhwa province
and FATA. This is the most vital role that the diaspora must play in
the war on terror on the Pakhtun land, but so far it has badly failed
to deliver in this regard.
I
travelled across the Pakhtunkhwa province and in FATA to meet the
leaders and members of anti-Taliban peace committees and lashkars
(volunteer armies) formed by the peace committee to protect their
villages against the Taliban onslaught. All the peace committees and
lashkar members complained of acute shortage of financial resources in
their anti-Taliban resistance. In most cases, the peace committees and
lashkars are helping themselves, i.e. the local people are putting
whatever meagre financial resources they might have to finance their
resistance. There is simply no one to financially support their
resistance, including, of course, the government of Pakistan.
Haji
Malik, the assassinated leader of the anti-Taliban lashkar in Adezai in
rural Peshawar, told me (when I met him before his targeted killing)
that he had spent his lifelong savings, Rs 200,000, on an anti-Taliban
lashkar. He informed me that he made that money in his property dealing
business. He said that he now kept requesting his friends, relatives
and fellow villagers to keep supporting the lashkar with whatever they
could. Haji Malik first gave his lifelong savings and then his life in
the anti-Taliban resistance. This is the situation of almost all
anti-Taliban peace committees and lashkars all over Pakhtunkhwa
province and FATA. Several lashkar leaders informed me that many
members of their lashkars have lost lives in armed clashes with the
Taliban and there is just no one to take care of their families. For
the government of Pakistan, they complained, these widows and orphans
just do not exist. Nobody else from outside their villages comes
forward to help either. I also met several family members of the
martyred lashkar people. Many, if not most of them, need immediate and
sustainable financial help for expenditure related to subsistence,
utility bills, children’s education and healthcare of ailing relatives,
especially children and the elderly.
Media,
state institutions and school curricula in Pakistan have constructed a
discourse of violence, religiosity and cultural rigidity around the
Pakhtun culture for the state’s jihadi pursuit in line with foreign
policy objectives. The construction now misleads people all over the
world about the Pakhtun culture and people. The Aryana Institute for
Regional Research and Advocacy (AIRRA) is the first Pakhtun think tank
that has taken upon itself the responsibility to challenge the
fabricated notions about the Pakhtun culture. The diasporic communities
have recognised the work of AIRRA through e-mails of appreciation, but
AIRRA’s work is greatly hampered by financial constraints. It is
under-staffed and lacks even basic resources. A small core group of
researchers and activists run this think tank on a voluntary basis.
This means the time they should be giving to their families or career
promotion is given to AIRRA.
More
than once the authorities cut off the electricity supply to AIRRA due
to non-payment of the utility bills. AIRRA’s core group members keep
this think tank going through small but regular financial
contributions. These members also have families to maintain. Above all,
they are not rich people and like ordinary Pakistanis struggle with the
ever rising inflation in Pakistan. These members will continue to
support AIRRA as much as they can, but I wish to remind the Pakhtun
diasporic communities that this is not how institutions are
established, especially an institution that challenges the stereotypes
and fabrications accepted as reality by people around the world. Thus
there must be sustainable financial support to keep such institutions
working towards a greater cause.
The Bacha Khan Education
Foundation (BKEF) is another such venture that has embarked upon
educating the next generation of the Pakhtuns on progressive lines,
besides carrying out projects in culture revival and youth development.
Though the diaspora was quite prompt in responding to its needs, the
BKEF still needs substantial financial resources to expand its
operations vertically and horizontally.
On
the other hand, the forces of darkness that are hell bent on the
destruction of the Pakhtun culture have overflowing financial
resources.. Rich Arabs in the Middle East are ‘earning’ a place in
paradise in the life hereafter through never ending generous donations
to the Taliban and the madrassas producing foot soldiers and a jihadi
mindset on the Pakhtun land. They do not even care to consider that
their ‘pursuit’ of a place in paradise is causing so much death and
destruction. Intelligence agencies are also financing the activities of
the religious forces. In this situation, where should AIRRA, BKEF and
the anti-Taliban lashkars go for financial help? Should they expect
Allah to send them money from the skies? Only the diasporic communities
are in a position to help. Unfortunately, the diasporic communities
have failed to show considerable performance in this regard.
The
Pakhtun diasporic communities are engaged in discussions over what is
happening in the war on terror. They offer suggestions and solutions on
how the Pakhtun should deal with the situation. I do not wish to
question their right to freedom of expression, but I would like to
remind them that the most important help they could offer is through
financial contributions to the lashkars, BKEF and AIRRA. They do not
need advice and suggestions; they are on the ground facing the
dangerous situation every moment of their lives. They know better than
the diasporic communities how to deal with the situation.
There
are individual Pakhtuns abroad who do send donations, but this is just
not enough. The financial help must not be a one-off. AIRRA, BKEF and
the anti-Taliban lashkars need constant, consistent and sustainable
supply of financial resources. The Pakhtun diasporic communities are in
a good position to provide this. I would request every affluent Pakhtun
abroad to donate at least $ 10 per month to support the anti-Taliban
lashkars, the widows and orphans of the lashkars’ shuhada (martyrs),
AIRRA and BKEF. This small amount would not make any difference to the
affluent Pakhtuns abroad, but it will definitely make a big difference
in the performance of the receivers and bring some normalcy in the
lives of the lashkars’ widows and orphans.
This
war against Talibanisation and the Taliban is an all-out war. It has to
be fought on three most important fronts: one, on the mountains, in the
deserts, forests, fields and streets — the lashkars are doing it; two,
on an ideological front, both AIRRA and BKEF are doing that; and three,
on the financial front. This front is defenceless up until now and
massively affecting the efforts of the other two fronts. The affluent
diaspora must take care of that front. It is their responsibility and
they must not run away from it.
The
anti-Taliban lashkars, BKEF and AIRRA will continue their resistance
against the Taliban and Talibanisation even if the sustainable
financial contributions never come from the diaspora. But if they lose,
if the forces of darkness ever succeed in eliminating the Pakhtun
culture with the 7th century Arab tribal culture, future historians
will also hold the inaction of the diaspora responsible for the
cultural catastrophe. Many lashkar people and the core members of AIRRA
hold even today the diaspora responsible for making their struggle
difficult through their lack of financial support.
I would
also request the non-Pakhtun fellow Pakistanis to support the
anti-Taliban struggle of the Pakhtun with generous donations in their
own self-interest, if not for moral reasons. The non-Pakhtun cultures
will be next in line for elimination if the international forces of
jihad manage to annihilate the Pakhtun culture.
The
writer is a research fellow at the Centre for Interdisciplinary Gender
Research, University of Oslo and a member of Aryana Institute for
Regional Research and Advocacy. She can be reached at bergen34@yahoo.com
In : Farhat Taj
Notes