The Middle East For Dummies by Craig S. Davis

Author:Craig S. Davis
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Wiley

The next year more than 100 British captives still held by the tribes were rescued, as well as more than 2,000 Indian soldiers and camp followers. Over time other stragglers made their way back to India.

Afghan tribes, ethnicity, and Pashtunistan

Before proceeding, you need to understand something about the tribal configuration of Afghanistan and Pakistan. Ever wonder why the dual phrase Afghanistan and Pakistan keeps popping up in the news and on TV? Well, news services often reference the two countries together because of the makeup and location of Pashtuns (Pashtu speakers). Pashtu is the first language for about 35 percent of Afghanistan’s population. Pashtuns (who also call themselves Pathans) live in tribal areas on the Afghan side of the Pakistani border and spill over into the Pakistani provinces of the North West Frontier Province and Baluchistan (see Figure 13-2). Besides a common language, these Pashtuns share a common culture and, frequently, religious and political perspectives. Combined, the Pashtuns on both sides of the border constitute a force to be reckoned with.

The Tajiks, speakers of an Afghan dialect of Persian (or Farsi in Iran), called Dari, comprise about half of Afghanistan’s population. Turkmen and Uzbeks speaking Turkic languages account for another 10 percent. Ethnic friction and violence has frequented Afghanistan in the past. Often one ethnic group sought to dominate the others. Whenever the British gave India its independence, India split into two parts: the northwestern chunk, calling itself Pakistan (see Chapter 14), and the remainder, calling itself India. In the 1950s, the Pashtuns in Pakistan and Pashtuns in Afghanistan decided they too wanted a separate nation called Pashtunistan. Their bid for an autonomous region was foiled in the 1960s and then again in the 1970s. Subsequent Pakistani and Afghan governments have been alert to Pashtun discontent that may spill over into secessionist violence.

Figure 13-2: The ethnic divisions within Afghanistan.

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