السراب Profile picture
Jul 18, 2021 9 tweets 4 min read Read on X
Pashtuns in Pak outnumber Pashtuns in Afghanistan by at least 2.5 to 1. As per the 2017 census, there r more than 37 million Pakistanis whose mother tongue is Pashtu. Whereas Afghanistan has not more than 15 million Pashtun population.

The actual Pashtun population in Pakistan..
..is much higher due to centuries of Pashtun migrations to different parts of present-day Pakistan, where they settled & gradually stop using Pashto as their language, like the Sadozais of Multan or Kashmir, Kakazais of Lahore & Niazis of Mianwali.

Pakistani Pashtuns are..
living in all four provinces & AJK, completely amalgamated in the social fabric while participating and representing in all walks of life.

Karachi is home to the largest metropolitan Pashtun population in the world -- then in Kabul, Kandhar & Jalalabad combined.
Lt General (R) Tariq is a Pashtun himself while residing in D.I.Khan and his ancestors were from Waziristan.

There is also a rich history of Pak Pashtuns reaching the top echelon of the Pak Army. Pashtun Army Chiefs:
•Ayub Khan
•Yahya Khan
•Gul Hasan Khan
• Waheed Kakar
For 11 out of 12 years between 1979 and 1991, three Pashtuns named:

•Akhtar Abdur Rahman (a Kakazai)
•Hamid Gul (a Yousafzai)
•and Asad Durrani

Headed Pak's most powerful intelligence agency - ISI. After 9/11, ISI was headed by another Pashtun Gen Ehsan ul Haq from Mardan.
From the inception of Pak, Pashtuns that served as heads of state:
Governor-General Ghulam (1951-1955), a Kakazai Pashtun of Lahore
President Ayub (1958-69), a Tarin Pashtun of Rehana;
President Ishaq (1988-93), a Bangash Pashtun of Bannu
PM Imran Khan (2018 - ) a Niazi Pashtun
Pashtuns also comprise around 33% of the Balochistan population.

Pakistan's 2nd most spoken language is not Urdu or Sindhi, it is Pashto.
Out of the three most populace Pashtun cities in Pakistan. Two are in Sindh (Karachi) and Punjab (Lahore).

Out of 9 top Pashtun cities in the world (in terms of population), 6 are in Pakistan (three in non-KP provinces) and only three are in Afghanistan.
Dr. Khan Sahib was the elder brother of Bacha Khan and he opposed the joining of NWFP with Pakistan and boycotted the referendum.

After the promulgation of One-Unit in 1955, Pakistan's first Chief Minister of West Pakistan (Punjab, Balochistan, NWFP, Sindh) was Dr. Khan Sahib.

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More from @Zarkawaa

Dec 16, 2023
In the 1971 war, there were two active war fronts -- Eastern and Western. 🧵

Much is said and written about the Eastern Front. However, despite the bulk of armed forces being concentrated in the West Pak, Generals' performance at the Western Front was abysmal, to say the least. Image
Generals planned that if India attacked East Pak, they would open a Western front to make quick gains and force India to halt its ops on the Eastern front.
India attacked East Pak from multiple directions on 21st Nov, yet Gen Yahya did not order the opening of the Western front.. Image
..Infact on 23rd Nov, CGS (Gen Gul) and PAF chief dragged Yahya to the GHQ op room to explain the conditions on the ground and tried to seek a decision to open the front in the west.

General Yahya, even then delayed and promised to make a decision by 27th Nov.
Read 8 tweets
May 29, 2023
I never claimed these books are anti-Army or anti-Generals, in fact, they are very balanced books. Let's see if the right lessons are learned from these books by those who read them due to "mandatory subscription". A 🧵
As per Tragedy of Errors, in Feb-71, DG-ISI Gen Akbar said:
"We'll not let that [Mujib] bastard become our PM"

Gen Akbar was not alone, twelve Generals were against handing over power to Mujib and decided to use Bhutto as their proxy against Mujib-AL.

Reasons: Image
Gen Yakub (Commander East Command) & Admiral Ahsan (Governor EP) tried to put sense into hawkish Generals.

They pleaded that postponing the NA session will have devastating consequences & India will take full advantage of it. But their advice was ignored.
Read 15 tweets
May 27, 2023
In Nov 2011, Twenty-four soldiers were martyred by NATO in Salala checkpost attack.

Neither it was called a 9/11 attack nor did the NATO-US apologize.
In 1992 Commander FCNA - Maj Gen Zaheer Abbasi undertook an unauthorized and costly foray into Indian-held territory in which Pak Army lost ~ 40 men (incl a Brigadier).

Instead of doing a court-martial, he was saved by then DG-ISI Gen Javed. It wasn't called our 9/11. Image
SSG-trained Commando and (former) COAS Mush went ahead with an ill-planned Kargil op.

More than 400 brave Pak soldiers gave their lives on the hills of Kargil which the Army Chief & his Generals disowned for years.

Result: Mush is celebrated & protected by his fellow Generals.
Read 4 tweets
May 17, 2023
This is not my "told you so" moment. Few reflections and how I see things will pan out in the coming days and years -- a dispassionate 🧵
Was 9th May violence avoidable?

No, it was the culmination of a year-long frustration & anger built up due to the closure of political, legal, and constitutional avenues. The former PM's violent abduction from IHC by Generals was a triggering point that added fuel to the fire.
Will Generals be able to conquer their countrymen 'again' and impose their own will as they've done since 1953?

Definitely yes, they have a monopoly on violence, have all the resources & tools at their disposal to manipulate, and now they have the full support of PDM..
Read 12 tweets
Mar 26, 2023
On this day (26th March) in 1971, General Yahya ordered Operation Searchlight in East Pakistan.

General Yahya said:
"The killing of a few thousand would not be too high a price for keeping the country together. Show them the teeth and they will be quiet."
In Feb-1971, General Yakub, commander of the east command, opposed any military action in East Pak and predicted that Army will not be able to defend East Pak in the absence of a political solution.

His prediction proved to be right - word by word.
As General Yakub predicted, as soon Operation Searchlight commenced, East Bengal Regiments and East Pakistan Rifles rebelled.
Read 5 tweets
Mar 18, 2023
To counter Fatima Jinnah's support & popularity. Gen Ayub used religious clerics, Pirs and Sufis to issue a fatwa against a woman becoming head of state.

Maulana Abdul Aziz's (Laal Masjid Khatib) father was awarded by Ayub for giving a fatwa against Fatima Jinnah's candidature.
General Ayub in his speeches urged the public "not to put their trust in a woman candidate". He called her old and senile not fit to lead Pakistan as she would bring chaos, disorder, and instability.

Ayub's govt even accused Fatima Jinnah of being on the payroll of the US.
Fatima Jinnah ignored personal attacks but one time she took exception and retorted:

"I possess shoulders which are stronger than those of a Field Marshal and my brain is unclogged and my vision unblurred by the intoxication of power."
Read 5 tweets

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