Editing Pashtunistan (section)

===European influence===
{{Further|European influence in Afghanistan|British Raj}}
[[File:King Amanullah Khan.jpg|thumb|upright|left|King [[Amanullah Khan]], son of [[Habibullah Khan]] and grandson of [[Abdur Rahman Khan]].]]
Following the decline of the [[Durrani dynasty]] and the establishment of the new [[Barakzai dynasty]] in Afghanistan, the Pashtun domains began to shrink as they lost control over other parts of South Asia to the British, such as the [[Punjab region]] and the [[Balochistan region]]. The [[Anglo-Afghan War]]s were fought as part of the overall imperialistic [[Great Game]] that was waged between the [[Russian Empire]] and the British. Poor and landlocked, newly born Afghanistan was able to defend its territory and keep both sides at bay by using them against each other. In 1893, as part of a way for fixing the limit of their respective spheres of influence, the [[Durand Line Agreement]] was signed between Afghan "Iron" [[Amir Abdur Rahman]] and British Viceroy [[Mortimer Durand]]. In 1905, the North-West Frontier Province (today's [[Khyber Pakhtunkhwa]]) was created and roughly corresponded to Pashtun majority regions within the British domain. The [[FATA]] area was created to further placate the Pashtun tribesmen who never fully accepted British rule and were prone to rebellions, while the city of Peshawar was directly administered as part of a British protectorate state with full integration into the federal rule of law with the establishment of civic amenities and the construction of railway, road infrastructure as well as educational institutes to bring the region at par with the developed world.
[[File:Gandhi and Abdul Gaffa Khan.jpg|thumb|250px|[[Bacha Khan]] (left) with [[Mahatma Gandhi]] and [[Kasturba Gandhi]]]]
During [[World War I]], the Afghan government was contacted by the [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman Turkey]] and [[Imperial Germany|Germany]], through the [[Niedermayer–Hentig Mission]], to join the Central Allies on behalf of the [[Caliph]] in a [[Jihad]]; some revolutionaries, tribals, and Afghan leaders including a brother of the Amir named [[Nasrullah Khan (Afghanistan)|Nasrullah Khan]] were in favour of the delegation and wanted the Amir to declare Jihad. Kazim Bey carried a [[firman]] from the Khalifa in Persian. It was addressed to "the residents of [[Pathanistan]]." It said that when the British were defeated, "His Majesty the Khalifa, in agreement with allied States, will acquire guarantee for independence of the united state of Pathanistan and will provide every kind of assistance to it. Thereafter, I will not allow any interference in the country of Pathanistan." (Ahmad Chagharzai; 1989; pp.&nbsp;138–139). However the efforts failed and the Afghan Amir [[Habibullah Khan]] maintained Afghanistan's neutrality throughout World War I.<ref>{{Cite web |title=باچا خان مرکز میں کلاسیکل محفل موسیقی' نامور گلوکاروں سمیت نئے چہروں نے آواز کا جادو جگایا |url=http://khyberwatch.com/cute/example2.php?subaction=showfull&id=1147384716&archive=&start_from=&ucat=1& |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110819102616/http://khyberwatch.com/cute/example2.php?subaction=showfull&id=1147384716&archive=&start_from=&ucat=1& |archive-date=19 August 2011 |access-date=15 March 2023 |website=The Khyberwatch |language=ur}}</ref>

Similarly, during the 1942 [[Cripps Mission]], and [[1946 Cabinet Mission to India]], the Afghan government made repeated attempts to ensure that any debate about the independence of India must include Afghanistan's role in the future of the [[Khyber Pakhtunkhwa|NWFP]]. The British government wavered between reassuring the Afghan to the rejection of their role and insistence that NWFP was an integral part of British India.<ref name="Roberts">Roberts, J(2003) The origins of conflict in Afghanistan. Greenwood Publishing Group, {{ISBN|0-275-97878-8}}, {{ISBN|978-0-275-97878-5}}, pp. 92-94</ref>

During [[World War II]], the government of [[Nazi Germany]] proposed an alliance with neutral Afghanistan in order to destabilize British control over the north-west of its domain in India. In return, the Afghans sought that NWFP and the [[Port of Karachi]] would be ceded to the [[Kingdom of Afghanistan]] with German military aid, so that it could gain valuable access to the [[Arabian Sea]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Hauner|first=Milan L.|date=1982|title=Afghanistan between the Great Powers, 1938 - 1945|journal=International Journal of Middle East Studies|volume=14|issue=4|pages=481–499|doi=10.1017/S002074380005217X|jstor=162977|s2cid=161835556 |issn=0020-7438}}</ref> Such a plan would require annexation of NWFP, Baluchistan and Sindh provinces.

The [[Khudai Khidmatgar]]s (also known as the "Red Shirts") were members of a [[civil rights movement]]. Its leader [[Bacha Khan]] claimed to have been inspired by the Indian [[activism|activist]] [[Mahatma Gandhi]]. While the Red Shirts were willing to work with the [[Indian National Congress]] from a political point of view, the Pashtuns living in the NWFP desired independence from India. However, the Bacha Khan wanted the Pashtuns areas in British India to remain part of [[Akhand Bharat|United India]] instead of gaining independence.