When a historical and civilizational ancestry is erased, the society never recovers. Diplomacy bereft of civilizational understanding can never offer solutions to complex social or political problems. This is what is happening at Doha where the Taliban and Afghanistan Government are negotiating fruitlessly for more than a month.
The lack of direction and no breakthrough in the negotiation is connected to an irrefutable absence of understanding about the historicity of the Tribe called Pashtun. Unwillingness to recognize the essence of problem is the biggest stumbling block in the present impasse and future security of the region.
Pashtun had a history, it was one of the recorded Janpath out of 16Janpath of Magadha Empire. They fought and defeated Alexander and made Greeks to agree for truce during Maury’s. They fought and defeated Huns under King Skandgupt of Gupta Dynasty in 5th Century BC. They posed valiant fight against Arab for 200 years and with the decline of Hindushahi dynasty, Islam prevailed. For nearly half a decade around 1840 Sikh Raja Ranjit Singh from Lahore ruled Peshawar followed by British for 100 years of indirect rule.
But in this process, the social and cultural fabrics got erased. A society of peaceful and creative people in the land of Gandhara under the leadership of a powerful and visionary King Kanishka of Kushan Dynasty, where iconic Bamiyan Buddha was carved out of Mountain under Gandara School of art are all forgotten today. All documented scripture and cultural essence were destroyed along with the destruction of renowned Taxlila University. No value that describes peace, coexistence, education, progress and creativity was retained as a statement of glorious ancestral legacy.
The worst happened when a British Clerk drew a Line called Durand between this tribal society and divided the Pashtun tribe into two countries Pakistan and Afghanistan. Historically Pashtun were never ruled by Punjabis Muslim but this Durand line ensured that Pashtun society on either side of this division are ruled directly and indirectly by Punjabi Muslims.
The Pakistani establishment dominated by Punjabi Muslim and their state apparatus called ISI and Army shall never let this opportunity go away from their hand to rule an fiercely independent Pashtun tribal society. The regular military interference, training and arming mercenaries, Taliban and cultivating terrorist groups are various tricks of this unstated mindset. Pakistan has no reason to be a party to the mindless vicious bloodshed happening in the Pashtun society. It has also instigated similar deceit and fratricidal division among the Pashtun residing in the North West frontier on their side.
The ever defeated and slaved Punjabi Muslim carry a vengeful aspiration of dictating and ruling Pashtun. Today Pashtun are among the poorest, least educated and violent ethnic groups. What a fall of the Gandhara`s grandeur?
The root of the problem lies here.
The world community along with Pashtun residing on either side of Durand should realize the ancestral historical imprint. Nation emerges and sinks. But civilizational value remains steadfast.
The solution to the Pashtun imbroglio rests in integration of Pashtun land, it`s society and cultural ancestry of the either side of the Durand line. The early the world realizes, prevails upon and thrust this execution, the peaceful this world will turn out to be. Else any society bereft of long peace and tranquility will sink to its primitive absence.
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