Pashtunistan
파슈투니스탄
A historical and nationalist concept referring to the Pashtun-inhabited region spanning southern and eastern Afghanistan and northwestern Pakistan. The 1893 Durand Line divided Pashtun territory between Afghanistan and British India (later Pakistan), and Pashtun nationalists have since advocated for the unification or independence of the Pashtun areas on both sides of the border. At partition in 1947, Bacha Khan and the Khudai Khidmatgar movement demanded an independence option; in the 1970s, Muhammad Daoud Khan's aggressive promotion of the Pashtunistan issue prompted Pakistan to back Afghan Islamist insurgents, laying the groundwork for the mujahideen support network.
Related historical events
Sources
- Wikipedia (EN) definition, etymology, Durand Line division, Bannu Resolution, Daoud Khan's cross-border operations (1960–61), Pakistan's retaliatory support for Islamist insurgents including Hekmatyar and Massoud
- Wikipedia (RU) Russian-language account: origins of the term, Ottoman firman addressing 'residents of Pashtunistan' (WWI), Daoud's Pashtunistan policy and Pakistan's counter-mobilization of Islamist opposition
- realinstitutoelcano.org Selig S. Harrison (Elcano Royal Institute, 2008): historical roots of Pashtun identity, Daoud era irredentism, Pakistan ISI channeling of US aid to Islamist groups to suppress Pashtun nationalism, and the emergence of 'Islamic Pashtunistan' dynamics