r/Pashtun

Why does the subcontinent force itself to live with colonial borders that cause their people to clash? Its not racist or against Islam to be able to see these British borders that divide our ethnic groups aren't good for us. I can see why it would be hard to implement new borders now but we can atleast admit these borders don't work for us. Some punjabis in india and some in pakistan, some pashtuns in Afghanistan and some in pakistan, some Kashmiris in india and some in pakistan. Historically we kept within our ethnic groups so it's not surprising why theres a power imbalance when punjabis are 50% of this new country.

Europe fought wars for decades to come to their current borders, it's not as simple as dividing based on religion. In France, Italy, Portugal, Germany, Poland over 90% of people speak their national language and belong to the same ethnic group. The 19th century 'nation-state concept' carved out these countries and was the idea that every distinct ethnic group deserved its own self governing political territory (state). Now they have the EU which is basically an alliance between these self governing ethnic nations. I believe this movement is exactly what made Europe successful and put an end to their wars among themselves. Pashtuns/Durrani Empire and Punjabis/Sikh empire fought many wars with each other less than 200 years ago. Afghanistan has the same problem of most of the country being one group (Pashtun) and I believe ethnic borders would solve most of their issues too. Divide and rule is to divide ethnic groups and force them to live with different ones they clash with, and anyone defending the concept of Pakistans borders is literally supporting the British's tactic to keep the subcontinent in constant hell.

I think theres a direct correlation between ethnic groups in a country not getting along and the development of a country. Highly homogenous countries can still be welcoming to foreigners btw, but one ethnic group dominating the percentage helps in making sure every area of the country is equally represented and developed unlike in countries like Pakistan.

I saw pashtun saying we are iranic and not iranian. Whats the difference?

I don’t think I need to explain what I am referring to. In recent times, there have been ongoing bombardments of Afghanistan by our neighbor, Pakistan. This has included attacks such as the bombing of a hospital in Kabul, where more than 500 innocent civilians reportedly lost their lives. More recently, another attack killed more than 35 civilians, including women and children, across several provinces and injured more than 100 others.

The purpose of this post is not to inform you about these events. They are already well known and widely discussed among people who follow politics. Instead, I want to propose what I believe is the most effective way for the current de facto Afghan government to address this issue.
Many people argue that Afghanistan should purchase anti-aircraft systems, saying, in their own words, “even if we have to eat grass.”

Here is the problem. Modern air defense systems can cost anywhere from several hundred million to several billion dollars per battery. In addition, each interceptor missile costs millions of dollars. The Afghanistan-Pakistan border stretches approximately 2,640 kilometers. Now do the math and ask yourself how feasible such a strategy really is. To put this into perspective, Afghanistan’s entire gross domestic product is only around $19 billion. You won’t be eating grass, you’ll be digging mass graves for the millions who would die because the country sacrificed its economy to afford those anti-aircraft systems.

Now let’s assume that, somehow, the money was found, as if all 40 million Afghans sold a kidney. An anti-aircraft system is not an impenetrable wall. It can still be destroyed, especially when the Afghan military has limited experience operating advanced conventional military systems and lacks the technological infrastructure required to support them. On top of that, every interceptor missile costs millions of dollars, meaning you would need a continuous and extremely expensive supply chain.

Let’s take it one step further and examine the logistical challenge of acquiring such systems. As much as people would like to believe that international arms sales work like walking into a store and making a purchase, they do not. Military technology is sold based on strategic relationships and political interests.

Who is realistically going to sell advanced air defense systems to a Taliban-led government? The United States, Europe, and their allies are effectively out of the question. That leaves only Russia and China as potential suppliers. Russia is heavily engaged in its war against Ukraine and is unlikely to prioritize Afghanistan. That leaves China.

Now ask yourself: is China willing to damage its international reputation by selling advanced military systems to a Taliban-led Afghanistan while also risking its strategic relationship with Pakistan? Whether we like it or not, Pakistan has a larger economy, stronger diplomatic ties, and greater strategic value to China. Furthermore, despite Pakistan’s many political and human rights problems, it still allows girls to attend school and provides women with significantly more rights than Afghanistan currently does.

Those issues may seem irrelevant to you, but they matter greatly to other governments. States generally act based on pragmatism. A stronger economy means greater trade opportunities. Better diplomatic relations make cooperation easier. And women’s rights are not only viewed as a human rights issue but also as a matter of international reputation. Few countries are willing to risk their global image by appearing to support policies that severely restrict women’s rights.

There are many more reasons, but I believe the overall point is clear. Acquiring advanced anti-aircraft systems is, at best, an extremely poor investment and, at worst, practically impossible.

So what is the alternative?
The solution is surprisingly straightforward. It has been in front of us the entire time.

Reopen education for women and girls. Many people see this as merely an internal issue, but internationally it is one of the biggest obstacles preventing Afghanistan from improving its diplomatic relations. The world doesn’t necessarily act out of concern for Afghan women, but governments do care deeply about their own international reputation. Few countries are willing to deepen political relations with a government that is widely criticized for denying girls access to education because doing so could damage their own standing and credibility.

Greater international engagement. If girls’ education were restored, many countries would likely become more willing to engage in dialogue with the de facto government. While recognition would still depend on many political factors, it would remove one of the largest barriers to improved relations.

Economic improvement. Better diplomatic relations would likely increase humanitarian assistance, investment opportunities, and trade, leading to stronger economic growth over time.

Build a sustainable defense capability. A stronger economy would allow Afghanistan to invest more resources in national defense. In today’s battlefield, one of the most cost-effective military investments is drone technology. Drones alone would not defeat Pakistan in a conventional war, but warfare is not always about defeating your opponent outright. Deterrence is often more important than victory. A country only needs enough capability to impose meaningful costs on an aggressor so that attacking is no longer seen as a low-risk option. At present, Pakistan faces relatively little military cost when conducting cross-border strikes, which reduces the incentive for restraint. Increasing Afghanistan’s ability to impose costs could strengthen deterrence over the long term.

Has anybody else noticed this in general. Not just the recent influx but about the topic in general. So far ive been met with the most stupidest responses saying that Pakhtuns have been "indianizied" or due to them being part of the british empire? Like half the world wasnt part of the british empire.

Hi guys i am making this post after a lot of thinking and experience of racism from panjabis. Panjabis love to propagate themselves as smart friendly and kind people while showing pakhtuns as this animal that does not know how to talk and has no moral values and will do anything for money and being ultra radical terrorists through their tv shows and state media which is most owned and controlled by panjabi/Urdu speaking panjabis. On one hand they will fantasize about our men and women saying how beautiful and tall they are and saying how we are the defenders of Pakistan while in the same breath calling 90 percent of our people terrorists and being a bad representation of Islam call us oppressive towards women and being homosexuals and this backwards society that is not a human society rather a animalistic society that should not exist. While they were the people who were colonized by British to such extent they started to view white skin being superior to their black/brown skin are they not the same people who before becoming Muslims practice sati and still in Sindh a chief has the right to have sex with a woman on the first night of her wedding are they not the same people who ask for jahazz and will not marry a poor girl if her family cannot provide the jahazz that is set by the boy's family and they call us a backwards society

Hi, I have always wanted to compile the folktales we grew up with as Pashtun kids. Originally I was planning about it as a blogpost but then decided to just publish it as a KDP. I’m not sharing it here as I don’t know if that might count as spam/ advertising/ self promotion. Let me know if anyone is interested it’s called Qisai by Eusaph Zey. Happy to share the link if allowed.

Thanks!

I've been thinking of this for quite a while, Pashtuns are a very idealist type of people both in terms of the older and the younger generation. For context Im not pashtun im a Tanoli but all of my family is pashtun culturally, not to mention that my mother's side is entirely pashtun.

I think the biggest downfall of pashtuns is being too idealist and following cult personalities blindly thinking they will give them their rights or give them their due liberation or rights

An example of this is the cult of Imran Khan, who did oppose the army cruelty but only when he lost his power when he wasn't in power he criticized Shahbaz Sharif's anti army stance it's as if, the army loves playing musical chairs with our people.

Then there's Aimal Wali who's party promised the people of my region that Tanawal would be made it's own district since ANP claims to work for all pashtuns including pashtunised people like swatis and Tanoli. Problem however, comes due to the fact that Aimal wali only uses the names of many tribes to gather support for his own political power. He says all of us are Afghan but his behavior where he licks the boots of army generals clearly shows that Pashtun welfare isn't his biggest concern.

I think we can't be too much violent against the state because honestly it just leads to more missing persons.

For me what I think the solution to the liberation of all ethnic groups disgruntled by the army is to promote education for both our sisters and brothers and to promote our native languages. As an example my tribe was bilingual in tanawali( a rare Hindko dialect with lots of pashto loans) and pashto but they gave up the pashto language in only 2 generations and our tanawali language is being diluted by words from normal Hindko and Urdu. I also met many Pashtuns who cannot communicate in proper pashto which is a very concerning change. So by promoting education and our linguistic tribal and ethnic identities one can hope that a future where Pashtuns kohistanis and other groups get their due rights, be created.

My husband is from Swat. And I'd like to learn Pashto for him and his family. We do speak Urdu and English fluently but I want to do this for him.
Suggest any youtube channels or free apps.