Pakhtoons of NWFP have been asking for a separate identity since long. The Pathans have felt that there should be proper identity that could represent them correctly, just like Punjabis have their province named Punjab, Sindhis have Sindh and Balochis have Balochistan.
Now, the first and foremost thing is that Punjabis are called Punjabis because they live in Punjab. Similar is the case with the other two provinces: Sindh and Balochistan. So, factually, there’s nothing like that Punjabis or Sindhis or Balochis have their province according to their ethnical identity. Infact it is opposite case. i.e. they are called Punjabis because they live on a piece of land, where five rivers flow; and is thus called Punjab (Similarly Sindh and Balochistan).
The second this is the need for identity. If, in case, Pakhtuns were called “Sarhadis”, then it would have made some sense that they are Pakhtuns and they want others to call them Pakhtuns, not Sarhadis (according to the name of province ‘Sarhad’), so they want the name of province “Pakhtoonkhwa” so that people must call them “Pakhtuns”. But it’s not the case. They have still been known as Pakhtuns even though they live in Sarhad. So, there was no problem of identity as well. This renaming of NWFP to Khyber-Pakhtoonkhwa thus becomes illogical and somewhat ethnically superstitious. It certainly hurts the Hazara habitants and the Seraiki speaking people of NWFP.
Division on the basis of ethnicity would only trigger to increase distances among people of different ethnicities in the country, specially in NWFP, which we cannot afford right now. Pakistan dearly needs unity among its people. Our identity is Pakistan, not Punjab, Sindh, Balochistan, Pakhtoonkhwa, FATA, FANA, Kashmir.
Please DO NOT break Pakistan.
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