After a long time the quiet issue of ‘Greater Pukhtoonistan’ surfaced once again courtesy Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (F) group which revealed that billboards had been installed in the province that carried the map of Afghanistan showing Balochistan and North West Frontier Province (NWFP) as its part.
The provincial president of Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F), Maulana Gul Naseeb Khan, has alleged that Awami National Party (ANP), which is heading the NWFP government at present, is plotting disintegration of the country by launching a campaign for ‘Greater Pukhtoonistan’.
He said apart from installing billboards inscribed with slogans of ‘Greater Pukhtoonistan’, the nationalist anthem is being played at Bacha Khan Education Foundation-run schools instead of Pakistan’s national anthem. He alleged that the ANP was following the agenda of breaking the country, but JUI would take up the issue in the parliament.
It has been found for the last few months that some weird signboards had come up on the main highways of certain southern districts of the province, which showed the map of Afghanistan that included two provinces of Pakistan, Balochistan and the NWFP.
According to reports, these boards were installed on the main highways of Lakki Marwat, Bannu and Karak districts before August 2008. The attention to this issue was drawn by the leadership of the JUI-F at a press conference after certain stories regarding the allotment of agriculture and residential land by former President Pervez Musharraf to Maulana Fazlur Rehman and other senior JUI-F leaders were published. The JUI-F blames Awami National Party of orchestrating the stunt against its leadership, as it wanted to enforce the resolution, recently passed by the joint in-camera session of both the houses, against the war on terrorism in Pakistan.
The leadership of JUI-F has claimed that Bacha Khan Education Foundation was being fully funded by the US, and American delegations were frequently visiting the education institutions run by the foundation.  It has been said that JUI-F is planning to organise ‘Save the Country Movement’ from December 1, 2008, through which it will apprise the nation of the conspiracy being hatched to destablise the country.
President of Awami National Party Asfandyar Wali Khan condemned the propaganda against the ANP and said ‘Greater Pukhtoonistan’ was the propaganda of JUI-F against his party, adding that there are no words of Pukhtoonistan in the ANP anthem.
The NWFP’s minister for information, Mian Iftikhar Hussain, while criticising the JUI for, what he said, unleashing a false propaganda against the ANP, asked the religious party to do some soul searching before leveling charges against others.
The minister alleged that the agriculture and residential land was given to the leaders of JUI-F as a ‘political bribe’ for endorsing Musharraf’s illegal and unconstitutional acts, including 17th constitutional amendment.
Referring to the issue of signboards, the minister said the ANP-led government had not only ordered the removal of billboards inscribed with slogans of ‘Greater Pukhtoonistan’ but would also conduct a thorough investigation to expose the hidden hands involved in the conspiracy.
Former federal minister and President of Pakistan People’s Party (Sherpao) Aftab Ahmad Khan Sherpao has also opposed the concept of ‘Greater Pukhtoonistan’, and said any effort to ‘balkanise’ the region would have negative impact on the lives of the people of the area. He said such an effort amounts to rendering waste the sacrifices of our elders, especially the tribal people who gave their lives for the attainment of the motherland.
As far as the name of Pukhtoonistan is concerned, it was used in the past during Sardar Dawood’s era, who wanted to use the name for vested interest. This was the sole reason that the former leadership of the ANP, which wanted to change the name of the province, introduced another name ‘Pukhtoonkhawa’ for the province. However, the chief minister of the NWFP has constituted a committee which will probe the matter.
However observers believe that the investigation report of this committee must be brought to light as stakeholders (the general public) at least should have knowledge of this ‘conspiracy’. The leadership of Awami National Party is of the opinion that such billboards were installed during the previous government of the MMA, when Afghan refugees started repatriating from Pakistan, and such billboards were displayed by the department who was given the task of repatriation.
The investigation committee should also probe the local union councils of the districts where such billboards were displayed. According to government rules, no one can display billboards or even banners without the permission of the local union council and payment of taxes. The committee should recommend action against those, who were involved in the conspiracy so that in future no one even thought of such dead issues.
The leadership of Awami National Party should also take action against its local party workers who did not inform its leadership about all these happenings. JUI’s suggestion to form a committee which has representation of all political and religious parties was also praised by the public as in this way the matter will be properly probed and the report will be acceptable to all.