Pashtun nationalism () is an ideology that asserts the Pashtuns are a nation and promotes the unity of Pashtuns. The Pashtun question, which is the debate over the creation of an independent Pashtun nation-state from the Pashtun-majority regions of Pakistan (Pakthunkhwa and Northern Balochistan), emerged in the early 20th century and became a major source of tension between Afghanistan and Pakistan. This issue dominated Afghan foreign policy until the overthrow of Mohammad Najibullah's Homeland Party regime in 1992. Pashtun nationalists generally support the concept of a "Greater Afghanistan" (The unification of Pashtunistan with Afghanistan).
History
Pre-19th century
An early Pashtun nationalist was the 17th-century "warrior-poet" Khushal Khan Khattak, who was imprisoned by the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb for trying to incite the Pashtuns to rebel against the rule of the Mughals. However, despite sharing a common language and believing in a common ancestry, the Pashtuns first achieved unity in the 18th century after being under foreign rule for many centuries. The eastern parts of Pashtunistan was ruled by the Mughal Empire, while the western parts were ruled by the Persian Safavids as their easternmost provinces. During the early 18th century, Pashtun tribes led by Mirwais Hotak successfully revolted against the Safavids in the city of Kandahar. In a chain of events, he declared Loy Kandahar and other parts of what is now southern Afghanistan independent. By 1738 the Mughal Empire had been defeated and their capital sacked and looted by forces of a new Iranian ruler Nader Shah Afshar. Besides Persian, Turkmen, and Caucasian forces, Nader was also accompanied by the young Ahmad Shah Durrani and 4,000 well-trained Pashtun troops.
After the death of Nader Shah in 1747 and the disintegration of his massive empire, Ahmad Shah Durrani established Durrani Empire, which included most of present-day Afghanistan and Pakistan, among other regions. The famous couplet by Ahmad Shah Durrani describes the association the people have with the regional city of Kandahar: Da Dilī takht zə hērawəma chē rāyād kṛəm, zəmā da ṣ̌hkuləi Paṣ̌htūnkhwā da ghrō sarūna.Translation: "I forget the throne of Delhi when I recall, the mountain peaks of my beautiful Pashtunkhwa."
The last Afghan Empire was established in 1747 and united different tribes as well as many other ethnic groups.
19th century
Parts of the Pashtunistan region around Peshawar was invaded by Ranjit Singh and his Punjabi army in the early part of the 19th century, but a few years later they were defeated by the British, which reached the Pashtunistan region from the east. In 1836 the Emir of Afghanistan, Dost Mohammad Khan proposed that the Indus river serve as the border between Afghanistan and India in exchange for the Emir renouncing his authority over Kashmir. The British however supported the Punjabis in Lahore and their claim over Peshawar which greatly offended the Emir of Afghanistan who had claims on the Pashtun city.
Early 20th century Following First World War, King Amanullah Khan believing the British and Indian troops would be "too war-weary to resist" sent detachments of Afghan soldiers which were assisted by tribal formations, to what is now Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Northern Baluchistan in an attempt to reclaim all Pashtun territory west of the Indus river which had been lost during the 1800s, sparking the Third Anglo-Afghan War. However the British were unnerved by King Amanullah's alliance with the new Bolshevik government in Moscow and were angry at King Amanullah's aggitation of nationalists within the defined borders of the Raj and conducted an aerial bombing campaign on Kabul. Many Pashtuns from the occupied territories such as Nisar Muhammad Esapzai enlisted in the Afghan Army and resisted the British in order to reunite with Afghanistan. While the war resulted in a diplomatic victory for King Amanullah gaining de jure control over its foreign affairs (despite no Afghan ruler abiding by the treaty with Afghanistan continuing to maintain relations with Britain's adversaries such as Germany and Russia), his initial goal of reuniting all Pashtuns was not met and as a result of the war the Afghan military began to be reformed and the Afghan Air Force was established in 1921 with Soviet assistance.
Opposition to Pakistan in 1947 to Republican Coup in 1973
Seven weeks before the partition of British India, a Loya Jirga was held which included Bacha Khan, Abdul Samad Khan Achakzai, the Khudai Khidmatgars, members of the Provincial Assembly, Mirzali Khan (popularly known as the Faqir of Ipi), and various other Pashtun tribal leaders. The Pashtunistan Resolution, often referred to as the Bannu Resolution, was adopted on the 21 June 1947. The resolution demanded that Pashtuns be given the option to have an independent Pashtunistan consisting of all Pashtun territory in British India, rather than choosing to join the dominions of India or Pakistan. The British refused the demands which resulted in Pashtuns who were eligible to vote (Pashtuns in the Princely states were not eligible to vote) to boycott the referendum."That a free Pashtunistan of all Pashtuns be established. The Constitution of the State will be framed on the basis of Islamic conception, democracy, equality and social justice. This meeting appeals to all Pashtuns to unite for the attainment of this cherished goal and not to submit to any non-Pashtun domination". General Mohammad Daoud Khan, acting without the authorization of Kabul, mobilized 6 well equipped Royal Afghan Army brigades at the border with the goal of crossing the border and initiating a Pashtun uprising in order to annex the Pashtun regions which were meant to go to Pakistan under the British partition plan by utilizing the chaos of the partition of British India. However General Daoud Khan was dismissed from his post and made ambassador to France. Afghanistan was the only country to vote against Pakistan's membership into the United Nations in 1947 in protest to the inclusion of Pashtun-inhabited lands, arguing that Pashtuns had the right to self determination. The currently-used red and black Pashtunistan flag was adopted with the black representing the traditional flag color of Afghanistan, and red representing the previous Pashtun rebel flags used against the British Empire. The Pashtunistan flag was raised in Kabul on 2 September 1947, alongside the Afghan flag.
After the establishment of Pakistan, Bacha Khan pledged his allegiance to the newly independent country in the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan, and said that he would continue to work for greater autonomy within the framework of the state of Pakistan. However, the Faqir of Ipi who had previously led numerous rebellions against the British, launched a rebellion against the newly formed Pakistani state in an effort to secede from Pakistan and form an independent Pashtunistan. The Faqir of Ipi took control of North Waziristan's Datta Khel area and declared the establishment of an independent Pashtunistan, supported by Afghan Prince Mohammad Daoud Khan and other leaders. The area was eventually re-annexed into Pakistan in the early 1950s.The Faqir of Ipi of North Waziristan. The Express Tribune. November 15, 2010. In 1949 the Royal Pakistani Air Force bombed the Afghan village of Mughalgai which prompted the Afghan national assembly to adopt a resolution repudiating all 19th century treaties signed between Afghanistan and British India on the grounds that the agreement signatory of British India no longer existed.
With the rise General Daoud Khan as prime minister in 1953, the Pashtunistan question became a major issue of Afghanistan's foreign and domestic politics. The dispute intensified in 1955 as Afghanistan opposed Pakistan's One Unit Scheme which merged North-West Frontier Province, Balochistan, Sindh and Punjab into one political unit known as West Pakistan, with Afghanistan and Pashtun nationalists viewing the scheme as a way to erode the Pashtun identity and challenge the administrative status of the tribal regions. As a result Pashtun nationalists attacked the Pakistani embassy in Kabul and consulates in Jalalabad and Kandahar, burning the Pakistani flag. Pakistan would block transit routes to Afghanistan as a result leading to Afghanistan to sign a transit treaty with the Soviet Union that same year. Afghanistan would hold a Loya Jirga in November 1955 which authorized the government to aggressively pursue the Pashtunistan issue and acquire modern weaponry and military hardware from any source possible. Three weeks after the Loya Jirga, Soviet Premier Niktia Khruschev visited Kabul from December 16th to December 18th. During the visit the Soviet leader endorsed Afghanistan's position on Pashtunistan.
Afghanistan would continue to give arms and supplies to Pashtun separatist leaders such as Fazl Akbar (also known as Pacha Gul) in Bajaur. In October 1961, Prime Minister Daoud Khan sent tribal militias and Royal Afghan Army soldiers to Bajaur to support the Pro-Afghan Pashtun tribal chiefs against the Pakistani backed Nawab of Khar. The clashes led to heavy casualties on both sides. As a result of the economic downturn because of the blockade imposed by Pakistan, Daoud Khan was asked to resign. Instead of resigning, Daoud Khan requested King Mohammed Zahir Shah to approve new 'one-party constitution' proposed by him which would in turn increase Daoud Khan's already considerable power. Upon rejection, Daoud Khan angrily resigned. During the so called "decade of democracy", Pashtun nationalist parties such as the Afghan Social Democratic Party (More commonly known as Afghan Mellat) were founded. The founder of Afghan Mellat was the former Mayor of Kabul, Ghulam Mohammad Farhad. Farhad had previously studied in Nazi Germany and was fascinated by aspects of Nazi policy.Th. Ruttig, "Afghanistan's Political Parties and where they come from (1902-2006)", Konrad Adenauer Stiftung, Germany; with references to Abdulhamid Mubarez, Tahlil-e waqe’at.e siasi-ye Afghanistan 1919-1996, Kabul, 1996: "... In 1948, Farhad was the first elected mayor of Kabul. From 1934, he had studied in Nazi Germany and was fascinated by some aspects of its policy. ..."; (PDF ) The Afghan Mellat Party favors the Pashtunization of Afghanistan and supports the concept of Greater Afghanistan. The Afghan Mellat party was accused by its critics of being fascist, a labelled denied by the party.Socialist affairs and Women & politics, Socialist International and Socialist International Women, 1990. "The Afghan Social Democratic Party, ASDP, celebrated its 25th anniversary in Peshawar, Pakistan, on 8 March 1991. The ASDP is the oldest social democratic party..." (pg. 27)Zalmay Khalilzad, "The Security of Southwest Asia", University of Michigan, 2006,
Republican Era, 1973–1978
Daoud Khan was unsatisfied with King Zahir Shah's constitutional parliamentary system and lack of progress. He planned rebellion for more than a year before he seized power from the King on 17 July 1973. The coup was bloodless, and backed by a large number of army officers who were loyal to him, facing no resistance he declared a Republic with himself as president.