Pashto, a language belonging to the Iranian branch of the Indo-European language family, has more than 25 million native speakers. Of these, 16 to 17 million live in Pakistan and 8 to 9 million in Afghanistan. Pashto is the official language in Afghanistan, along with Dari (Afghan Persian), but in Pakistan it is not used in the domains of power--administration, military, judiciary, commerce, education and research--in any significant way. The activists of the Pashto language movement of Pakistan have been striving to increase the use of the language in these domains--i.e. for status planning or language allocation in favour of Pashto since pre-partition days.

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There is many a myth about Pukhtuns. The British colonialists thought Pukhtuns were ‘unruly’ people that could not be tamed. When Pakistan came into being, Pukhtun nationalists were regarded as the most serious threat to the new state, and until the 1970s every government persecuted them. But during the last three decades of the twentieth century, Pukhtun politics underwent a sea change. Today, Pukhtuns, who were opposed to the creation of Pakistan and had demanded an independent state of their own, have become one of the most powerful partners in the state hierarchy. This paper critically examines the myths the orientalists have created about Pukhtuns and the changing pattern of Pukhtun politics.

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An innate sense of the essence of their culture sustained Afghans through 24 years of conflict and displacement. Although they continue to cherish the diversity of regional differences, individuals cling tenaciously to their national identity, upholding traditional values and customs that distinguish them from their neighbours. From the beginning of the twentieth century, attempts to foster unity through nation-building activities in mostly urban areas met with mixed success; the latest attempts to cast Afghans in a puritanical Islamic mould met with disaster. Years of discord stretched taut the fabric of the society and national traits once honoured hallmarks of the culture were compromised. Yet the fundamentals of the culture remain strong, changed in some ways but readily recognisable as uniquely Afghan. Current expectations aim to engage various cultural elements as bonding vehicles to hasten reconstruction and strengthen peace.

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The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in December 1979 was a major cause of worldwide anxiety and a turning point in international politics. The Soviet expansionism created a challenge to the security of Pakistan, and the country emerged as a ‘front-line’ state, the major player in the game and the principal channel through which assistance was provided to the Afghan majahideen (holy warriors). This article critically analyses and evaluates how the Afghan War benefited Pakistan’s economy and defence, including the death of Pakistan’s ethno-nationalist movements. At the same time, the article shows that the Afghan War had grave implications for the internal and external security of Pakistan because of the huge influx of Afghan refugees who not only created political, economic, social environmental and ecological problems, but also posed an alarming threat to Pakistan’s security. In many areas of the country, the refugees have destroyed the ecological balance, causing desertification and consequent soil erosion, and promoted drug trafficking, a Kalashnikov culture, sectarianism, and endless law and order problems. The Afghan War also corrupted Pakistani elites.

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The name Tirah is an elastic geographical expression applied to those highlands divided between the Afridi and Orakzai tribes, which lie between the Khyber and the Kurram. Tirah lies about midway between the two valleys but it dominates neither for the eastern extremity of the great Sufed Koh range and the upper reaches of the Bara valley shut it off from the Khyber whilst the Samana range hedges it in on the south. With other minor watersheds, it forms a serious obstacle to approach from the Kurram side. This inaccessibility has hitherto saved Tirah from the attentions of European explorers. It is a species of cul-de-sac, possessing little or no strategic value, and interesting as it may have been in the field of speculative geography, its gates have hitherto been too well guarded for the explorer to do more than just look over the hedge.

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