Were Pashtuns making sacrifices, or were they being used?

If we look closely, Pashtuns on both sides of the Durand Line have not only sacrificed but have also been used. The Pashtun nation is among those peoples who, over the past several decades, have endured some of the greatest human and financial losses. In Pakistan in particular, these losses are often described in official narratives as sacrifices made for the protection of the homeland. The impression is created that Pashtuns sacrificed themselves for Pakistan and their soil. However, if we examine the pages of history more deeply, a different reality emerges.

Pashtuns were frequently turned into tools, pawns, and collateral in power games, rather than acting by their own choice and will. They were pushed into battlefields under different names and slogans, sacrificed for both international and domestic political and military strategies and policies.

Historically, Pashtuns first suffered under the oppression and divide-and-rule tactics of the Mughals, Sikhs, and the British, where they were crushed and divided. Later, in 1979, the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan completely reshaped the regional political map. General Zia-ul-Haq’s government made the Afghan Jihad an official state policy, supported financially and militarily by the United States, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and other Gulf countries. Pakistan became a major center of this global conflict, but the heaviest burden fell on Pashtuns. Pashtuns on both sides of the border were thrown into the fire of war, their homes destroyed, livelihoods lost, they became refugees, victims of insecurity, and their normal lives were disrupted.

After 2001, during the War on Terror, General Pervez Musharraf aligned Pakistan with the United States for strategic interests. As a result, tribal areas became centers of military operations, drone strikes, and heavy troop deployments. Innocent people were killed, families displaced, markets destroyed, schools closed or bombed, and thousands suffered psychological and physical trauma. The fire of war that had already been burning in Pashtun regions was kept alive.

This raises an important question: were Pashtuns merely making sacrifices, or were they being strategically used? The complete picture suggests that Pashtuns were repeatedly used and sacrificed within the strategic policies of national and international powers. The consequences of this usage are still visible today: terrorism, extremism, unemployment, lack of education, psychological illness, physical wounds, political frustration, and deep backwardness. These are wounds that remain fresh in Pashtun society.

At the same time, the role of certain religious groups, political religious parties, and madrasas cannot be ignored. With the start of the Afghan Jihad, some religious groups and parties became part of state policy. They helped spread a militant mindset and extremism among Pashtuns, popularizing gun culture whose effects are still visible. Madrasas, which should have been centers of moral and spiritual education, in many cases became centers of militant training. Curricula were shaped to sanctify war, label dissent as disbelief, and justify violence. Those who opposed these policies were often branded as infidels, killed, or disappeared. Gradually, this mindset evolved into extremism, Talibanization, and terrorism.

It is important to note that not all religious people or madrasas were part of this process. However, the state supported specific groups, providing them with weapons, money, training, and political protection. The result was the strengthening of armed groups that later turned into sources of internal terrorism, again affecting Pashtun regions the most.

Despite all this, the Pashtun people have never remained completely silent. Over time, Pashtun movements and political parties have raised their voices against oppression and injustice, demanding peace and rights. From Pir Roshan, Mirwais Neeka, Ahmad Shah Baba, Khushal Khan Khattak, to Bacha Khan, Samad Khan, Faqir of Ipi, and in modern times movements and parties such as YOW (Youth of Waziristan), ANP, PTM, NDM, and PKMAP have worked to raise awareness against enforced disappearances, checkpoints, displacement, military operations, and human rights violations. These movements demonstrate that Pashtuns are not merely people of sacrifice but a people who stand for dignity, identity, and rights.

This brings us to a profound moral and political question: when Pashtun communities were used for power games, should their suffering be praised as sacrifice? If we truly seek lasting peace and justice, we must honestly confront our history. It becomes clear that Pashtuns were often used and sacrificed in dollar-driven wars. There must be acknowledgment of past mistakes, accountability for those involved, and policies to ensure that Pashtuns are never again turned into expendable tools in such games.

The sacrifice of Pashtuns is not just the number of those killed. It is the destruction of markets and homes, the loss of educational institutions, intellectual silence, broken generations, and a stolen future. A just society must recognize these truths, accept responsibility, and adopt practical reforms. Only then will the concepts of sacrifice and exploitation become clear and meaningful to the people. Otherwise, Pashtuns will remain part of global and domestic military games, where others benefit and Pashtuns remain the debris of war.

The gains will always belong to others, while for Pashtuns it will remain a political slogan. Therefore, Pashtuns must understand sacrifice in its true sense and for clear objectives related to their people and homeland not as they are today, sacrificed in dark nights for dollar wars and international powers. Such sacrifices bring nothing to the Pashtun people except destruction.

Wars change, but the victims remain the same Pashtuns

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