Editing Pashtunistan (section)

===Independence of Pakistan in 1947===
{{Further|Pakistan Movement|Afghanistan–Pakistan relations}}
[[File:Muhammed Ayub Khan.JPG|thumb|upright|[[Ayub Khan (Field Marshal)|Ayub Khan]], [[President of Pakistan]] from 1958 to 1969, belonged to the Pashtun [[Tareen]] tribe of [[Haripur District|Haripur]] and fought against [[Waziristan campaign (1936–1939)|Pashtun rebellions]] for the [[British Raj|British Crown]]|alt=]]
The concept of Pashtunistan has varying meanings across Pakistan and Afghanistan.<ref name="Rubin2015">{{cite book|author=Barnett R. Rubin|title=Afghanistan from the Cold War Through the War on Terror|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IXIRDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA367|date=25 March 2015|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-022927-6|pages=367–}}</ref>
In Afghanistan, Pashtun nationalists look after the interests of the Pashtun ethnic group and have support only from them.<ref name="Khalilzad">[[Zalmay Khalilzad]], ''"The Security of Southwest Asia"'', [[University of Michigan]], 2006, {{ISBN|0-566-00651-0}}</ref> They favor the ideas of ''Lōy Afghānistān'' or "Greater Afghanistan", and maintain an [[irredentism|irredentist]] claim on the entire Pashtun-populated region.<ref name="Khalilzad" /><ref>{{cite book |last=Caron |first=James M |date=2009 |title=Cultural Histories of Pashtun Nationalism, Public Participation, and Social Inequality in Monarchic Afghanistan, 1905-1960|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8aGpYgEACAAJ}}</ref> The Pashtunistan demand also served the cause of domestic Afghan politics, where several successive governments used the idea to strengthen "Pashtun ethnic support" for the state. This policy intensified ethno-linguistic rivalry between Pashtuns and non-Pashtuns in the country.<ref name="Rubin2015"/> These claims are contested in Pakistan, where Pashtun politics centers on political autonomy rather than irredentist politics.<ref name="Rizwan"/>

Since the late 1940s with the dissolution of British India and [[Partition of India|independence of Pakistan]], some rigid Pashtun [[nationalist]]s proposed merging with Afghanistan or creating Pashtunistan as a future [[sovereign state]] for the local Pashtun inhabitants of the area. At first, Afghanistan became the only government to oppose the entry of Pakistan into the [[United Nations]] in 1947, although it was reversed a few months later. On July 26, 1949, when [[Afghanistan–Pakistan relations]] were rapidly deteriorating, a [[loya jirga]] was held in Afghanistan after a [[military aircraft]] from the [[Pakistan Air Force]] bombed a village on the Afghan side of the Durand Line. As a result of this violation, the Afghan government declared that it recognized "neither the imaginary Durand nor any similar line" and that all previous Durand Line agreements were [[Void (law)|void]].<ref>[http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd/cstdy:@field(DOCID+af0022) The Pashtunistan Issue], [[Craig Baxter]] (1997), Library of Congress Country Studies.</ref> [[Abdul Ghaffar Khan|Bacha Khan]] when took an oath of allegiance to Pakistan in 1948 in legislation assembly and during his speech he was asked by PM [[Liaquat Ali Khan]] about Pashtunistan to which he replied that it's just a name to the [[Pashtun province]] in [[Pakistan]] same like [[Punjab, Pakistan|Punjab]], [[Bengal, Pakistan|Bengal]], [[Sindh]] and [[Balochistan, Pakistan|Baluchishtan]] are the names of [[provinces of Pakistan]] as ethno-linguistic names,<ref name="Bukhari 1991 226">{{Cite book|last=Bukhari|first=Farigh|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=I43pAAAAMAAJ|title=Taḥrīk-i āzādī aur Bācā K̲h̲ān|publisher=Fiction House|year=1991|pages=226}}</ref> contrary to what he believed and strived for Pashtunistan an independent state. During the 1950s to the late 1960s, Pashtuns were promoted to higher positions within the Pakistani government and military, thereby integrating Pashtuns into the Pakistani state and severely weakening secessionist sentiments to the point that by the mid-1960s, popular support for an independent Pashtunistan had all but disappeared.{{Blockquote|An important development in Pakistan during the Ayub period (1958–1969) was the gradual integration into Pakistani society and the military-bureaucratic establishment. It was a period of Pakistan's political history which saw a large number of ethnic Pashtuns holding high positions in the military and the bureaucracy. Ayub himself was a non-Pashto speaking ethnic Pashtun belonging to the [[Tareen|Tarin sub-tribe]] of the Hazara District in the Frontier. The growing participation of Pashtuns in the Pakistani Government resulted in the erosion of the support for the Pashtunistan movement in the Province by the end of the 1960s.<ref name="Rizwan">Rizwan Hussain. ''Pakistan and the emergence of Islamic militancy in Afghanistan''. 2005. p. 74.</ref>|Rizwan Hussain|2005}}
Afghanistan and Pashtun nationalists did not exploit Pakistan's vulnerability during the nation's [[Indo-Pakistani War of 1965|1965]] and [[Indo-Pakistani War of 1971|1971 wars]] with India, and even backed Pakistan against a largely Hindu India. Further, had Pakistan been destabilized by India, nationalists would have had to fight against a much bigger country than Pakistan for their independence.<ref>Paul Wolf. [http://www.icdc.com/~paulwolf/pakistan/pashtunistan.htm#precolonialroots "Pashtunistan."] ''Pakistan: Partition and Military Succession.'' 2004.</ref>

Sardar [[Daoud Khan]], who was the-then prime minister of Afghanistan supported a nationalistic reunification of the Pashtuns in Pakistan with Afghanistan. He wanted Pashtun-dominated areas like [[Khyber Pakhtunkhwa]] and Baloch-dominated areas like [[Balochistan, Pakistan|Balochistan]] to become part of Afghanistan. However, his policy of reunification of [[Pashtuns]] antagonized Non-Pashtuns like [[Tajiks]], [[Uzbeks]] and [[Hazaras]] living in Afghanistan. Non-Pashtuns believed that the aim of reunification of Pashtuns areas was to increase the population of Pashtuns in Afghanistan. As a result, Daoud Khan was extremely unpopular with Non-Pashtun Afghans.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://theglobepost.com/2018/11/07/afghanistan-daoud-ghani/|title=Daoud's Footprints: how Afghanistan's First President Influences Ghani|date=7 November 2018|access-date=1 March 2019|work=The Globe Post|last=Saeedi|first=Sayed Ziafatullah}}</ref> [[File:Bacha_Khan_and_Daoud_Khan.png|thumb|right|[[Mohammed Daoud Khan|Daoud Khan]] with [[Abdul Ghaffar Khan]], 1961]]
[[Bacha Khan]] stated that "Daoud Khan only exploited the idea of reunification of Pashtun people to meet his own political ends".<ref name="India Today">{{cite magazine|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|title=Everything in Afghanistan is done in the name of religion: Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan|access-date=13 January 2014|magazine=India Today}}</ref> In 1960 and later in 1961, Daoud Khan made two attempts to capture [[Bajaur District]] in [[Khyber Pakthunkhwa]], Pakistan. However, all of Daoud Khan attempts failed as the Afghan army was routed with heavy casualties. Several Afghan army soldiers were also captured by Pakistani soldiers and they were paraded in front of international media which in turn caused embarrassment for Daoud Khan.<ref name="cjk">{{cite book |last=Tomsen |first=Peter |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=86w4DgAAQBAJ |title=The Wars of Afghanistan:Messianic Terrorism, Tribal Conflict, and the Failures of Great Powers |date=2013 |publisher=Hachette UK |isbn=9781610394123}}</ref> As a consequence of Daoud Khan's actions, Pakistan closed its border with Afghanistan which caused economic crisis in Afghanistan. Because of continued resentment against Daoud's [[autocratic rule]], close ties with the [[Soviet Union]] and economic downturn caused by the blockade imposed by Pakistan, Daoud Khan was forced to resign by King [[Zahir Shah]].<ref name="cjk"/> Under King Zahir Shah rule, relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan improved and Pakistan opened its border with Afghanistan. However, later on in 1973, Daoud Khan seized power from King Zahir Shah in a military [[Coup d'état]] and declared himself the first president of Afghanistan. After seizing the power, the Daoud Khan's government started proxy war against Pakistan. Daoud Khan's government established several training camps for anti-Pakistani militants in [[Kabul]] and Kandahar with the aim of training and arming those militants to carry out their activities against Pakistan.<ref name = IndiaToday>{{cite journal |url=http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/section-66a-it-act-supreme-court-bullies-censorship-rohan-venkataramakrishnan/1/271900.html |title=Send Section 66A bullies home |first=Rohan |last=Venkataramakrishnan |newspaper=[[India Today]] |date=19 May 2013 |access-date=24 October 2016}}</ref>
On the other hand, [[Faqir of Ipi|Mirzali Khan]] and his followers continued their guerilla war against the Pakistani government from their base in [[Gurwek]].<ref>[https://tribune.com.pk/story/77388/the-faqir-of-ipi-of-north-waziristan/ The Faqir of Ipi of North Waziristan]. ''[[The Express Tribune]]''. November 15, 2010.</ref><ref>[https://tribune.com.pk/story/1086737/april-1891-1960-the-legendary-guerilla-faqir-of-ipi-unremembered-on-his-115th-anniversary/ The legendary guerilla Faqir of Ipi unremembered on his 115th anniversary]. ''The Express Tribune''. April 18, 2016.</ref> In 1960, [[Prime Minister of Afghanistan|Afghan Prime Minister]] [[Mohammed Daoud Khan]] sent the [[Afghan National Army|Afghan military]] across the poorly-demarcated Durand Line into the Pakistani [[Bajaur Agency]] in order to manipulate events in the region and press the Pashtunistan issue; these plans ultimately came to nothing after the Afghan troops were defeated by Pakistani irregular forces. In support of the quasi-invasion, the [[Government of Afghanistan|Afghan government]] engaged in an intense propaganda war via radio broadcasts.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Afghanistan - Daoud as Prime Minister, 1953-63 |url=https://countrystudies.us/afghanistan/26.htm |access-date=2023-02-08 |website=countrystudies.us}}</ref>

Pakistani government decided to retaliate against the Afghan government's Pashtunistan policy by supporting Non-Pashtun opponents of the Afghan government including future Mujaheddin leaders like [[Gulbuddin Hekmatyar]] and [[Ahmad Shah Massoud]].<ref>[http://www.defencejournal.com/2001/apr/babar.htm "Remembering Our Warriors: Babar 'the great'."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160428172353/http://www.defencejournal.com/2001/apr/babar.htm |date=2016-04-28 }} Interview of Maj. Gen. (Retd.) Naseerullah Khan Babar, by A. H. Amin. ''Defence Journal''. April 2001. Retrieved 15 April 2010.</ref> This operation was remarkably successful, and by 1977 the Afghan government of Daoud Khan was willing to settle all outstanding issues in exchange for a lifting of the ban on the [[National Awami Party]] and a commitment towards provincial autonomy for Pashtuns, which was already guaranteed by Pakistan's Constitution, but stripped by the Bhutto government when the [[One Unit]] scheme was introduced.{{Clarify|date=April 2010}}

Bacha Khan who previously strived greatly for Pashtunistan later on in 1980 during an interview with an Indian journalist, Haroon Siddiqui said that the "idea of Pashtunistan never helped Pashtuns. In fact it was never a reality". He further said that "successive [[Afghanistan|Afghan governments]] have exploited the idea for their own political ends". It was only towards the end of [[Mohammed Daoud Khan]] regime that he stopped talking about Pashtunistan. Later on, even [[Nur Muhammad Taraki]] also talked about the idea of Pashtunistan and caused trouble for Pakistan. He also said that "Pashtun people greatly suffered because of all this."<ref name="India Today" />

In 1976, the then president of Afghanistan, [[Mohammed Daoud Khan|Sardar Mohammed Daoud Khan]] recognised Durand Line as international border between Pakistan and Afghanistan. He made this declaration while he was on an official visit to [[Islamabad]], [[Pakistan]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Rasanayagam|first=Angelo|title=Afghanistan: A Modern History|page=[https://archive.org/details/afghanistan00ange/page/64 64]|year=2005|publisher=I.B. Tauris|isbn=9781850438571|url=https://archive.org/details/afghanistan00ange|url-access=registration}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Dorronsoro|first=Gilles|title=Revolution Unending: Afghanistan, 1979 to present|page=84|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FApipiENsgwC|publisher=Hurst & Co. Publisher|year=2005|isbn=9781850656838}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Nunan|first=Timothy|title=Humanitarian Invasion: Global Development in Cold War Afghanistan|page=125|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IL8wCwAAQBAJ|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=2016|isbn=9781107112070}}</ref>

Daoud would be [[Saur Revolution|overthrown]] by [[Khalq]]ist military officers in 1978 leading to the formation of the [[Democratic Republic of Afghanistan]] which was dominated by [[Pashtuns|Pashtun]] [[Khalq]]ists who would go on to "reopen the Pashtunistan wound". In 1979 under General Secretary [[Nur Muhammad Taraki]] the [[Khalq|Khalqists regime]] in [[Democratic Republic of Afghanistan|Afghanistan]] changed the official map to include [[Khyber Pakhtunkhwa|NWFP]] and [[Balochistan]] as new "frontier provinces" of the [[Democratic Republic of Afghanistan|DRA]].<ref name=":2">{{Cite book |last=Arnold |first=Anthony |title=Afghanistan’s Two-Party Communism: Parcham and Khalq |publisher=Hoover Institution Press |year=1983 |isbn=0-8179-7792-9 |pages=77}}</ref> The Khalqist regime also sought to make [[Pashto]] the sole language of the Afghan government and the lingua franca, they did so by undermining [[Dari]].<ref name=":02">{{Cite journal |last=Ahady |first=Anwar-ul-Haq |date=1995 |title=The Decline of the Pashtuns in Afghanistan |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/2645419 |journal=Asian Survey |volume=35 |issue=7 |pages=621–634 |doi=10.2307/2645419 |issn=0004-4687}}</ref> The [[National anthem of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan|Afghan anthem under the communist regime]] was only in Pashto and not Dari with non-Pashtuns being required to sing it in [[Pashto]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=9 May 2012 |title=Afghanistan (1978–1992) |url=http://www.nationalanthems.info/af-92.htm |access-date=18 October 2017 |website=nationalanthems.info |language=en-US}}</ref> Up until the [[Afghan Civil War (1989–1992)|overthrow]] of [[Mohammad Najibullah|Dr Najibullah's]] [[People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan|Homeland Party]] [[Democratic Republic of Afghanistan|regime]] in 1992, Afghan governments had favored Pashto in the media and over 50% of Afghan media was in Pashto.<ref name=":02" /> After 1992 with the formation of the [[Tajiks|Tajik]] led [[Islamic State of Afghanistan]], this number dropped drastically.<ref name=":02" />

Following the outbreak of the [[Soviet-Afghan War]] in Afghanistan, millions of [[Afghan refugees|Afghans including non-Pashtun people]] fled to [[Khyber Pakhtunkhwa]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cfr.org/publication/14905/ |title=The Troubled Afghan-Pakistani Border |publisher=[[Council on Foreign Relations]] |first=Jayshree |last=Bajoria |date=20 March 2009 |access-date=11 February 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100525182142/http://www.cfr.org/publication/14905/ |archive-date=25 May 2010 |url-status=dead }}</ref>