12 August 1948 Babrra Massacre, victims' families demand justice

The author is a Peshawar-based freelance journalist in Pakistan. He tweets @theraufkhan

A few days ago, the fourteenth Dalai Lama drew a lot of flak for saying that India would have remained a united country if Muhammad Ali Jinnah would have become the first prime minister of India. He regretted his statement later but the truth remains that many incidents that led to Partition (and followed it) will probably remain buried in the shrouds of time and ignorance. The Babrra Massacre in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa region of Pakistan is one such incident, which happened 71 years ago on this day, and is rarely mentioned in the history books of either Pakistan or India. The relatives of the victims, many of whom were part of the Khudai Khidmatgar (Servants of God or Red Shirts) led by Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan also known as Frontier Gandhi, continue to face consequences of the incident till now, years after communal politics divided the vast Indian land into two countries on the world map, and later into three with the formation of Bangladesh in 1971.

A brief history of Khudai Khidmatgars

Back in 1946, the British imperial government were in favour of a separate Muslim land based on religious philosophy. Pakistani socialist, author and son of Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan, Khan Abdul Wali Khan, in his book Facts are Facts — The Untold Story of India's Partition, wrote that the first British loyalists formed the Muslim League which sowed the seeds of hatred in the centuries-old pluralistic Indian land. And then with the support of feudal, parachute and planted politicians and religious clergy, the imperialists created a state (Pakistan) based on religious ideology.

Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan with Jawaharlal Nehru when the Indian prime minister visited NWFP in 1946. Image courtesy: Bacha Khan Markaz

Till date, the religious philosophy, upon which Pakistan was crafted in 1947, has not been implemented in the country. The philosophy was probably a mere political slogan for a secular Jinnah and his mates.

The communal tussle, which forced mass migration and killing of innumerable people on both sides of Wagah and Atari, is a part of the shared history of Pakistan and India. The new generation of Pakistanis consider Partition and the consequent violence as a bleak chapter of human history. However, for the Pashtun-dominated North West Frontier Province (NWFP), now part of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province, the history of violence is something they will not forget for a long time to come.

In 1947, the region, neglected by the British, was caught in the power tussle between India and Pakistan, and the Khudai Khidmatgars support for United India left them desolate; on the right side of history but on the wrong side of both Indian and Pakistani governments.

The Khudai Khidmatgars led by Khan (also known locally as Bacha Khan), were always staunch supporters of United India and opposed Lord Mountbatten's plan for a Hindu majority India and a Muslim majority Pakistan.

Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan observing Mahatma Gandhi's 100 years at New Delhi in 1969. Image courtesy: Bacha Khan Markaz

The NWFP bordered Afghanistan with most of the residents being Pashtun/Pakhtun who spoke Pashto language. The region was deliberately kept backward by the British Raj to be used as a buffer zone because the residents were known for their resistance and warrior approach. Till 1930, there was not much political awareness in the region, but after Bacha Khan launched the Khudai Khidmatgar movement, indigenous people took keen interest in politics and joined him.

In 1937, Khudai Khidmatgars won the election and later in 1946, a year before Pakistan came into being, the party of anti-Partition Khudai Khidmatgars again won with an absolute majority.

But before the official announcement of Pakistan or Partition, the Muslim League started to topple the elected government of Khudai Khidmatgars including using undemocratic ways.

The position of the Muslim League was that since the Khudai Khidmatgars, represented by Bacha Khan, then chief minister of the province, didn’t attend the flag-hoisting ceremony of the newly formed state of Pakistan on 14 August, 1947, their loyalties to the nascent country of Pakistan were questionable. This was also the reason why the Pakistan government sacked the provincial government of Bacha Khan.

Others, however, dispute that view. A letter was written by Governor Lockhart to Viceroy Lord Mountbatten, in which he stated: “The Muslim League wants to dissolve Khan’s ministry before 15 August. Hence, I, along with my colleagues, decided that Pakistan government shall find a way for it. But I will be opposing any such act and it will be harmful to Pakistan.” (National Archives, Serial No 634, 11 August, 1947, page 161, Special Branch on 7 August).

On 10 August, 1947, Mountbatten wrote to Liaquat Ali Khan, “I am instructed by the Secretary of State that dismissing Dr Khan’s government will be undemocratic and unconstitutional”.

For harsher critics of what came next, it was the beginning of “horse trading” and unconstitutional decisions in Pakistan during Jinnah’s life. It is claimed that the new government of Pakistan sacked an elected provincial government. Further, it is said, the process was spearheaded by one of Jinnah’s important leaders, Qayyum Khan, in a ruthless manner. It must be noted that until at least 1945, Qayyum Khan himself was part of the Khudai Khidmatgar movement, and even dedicated his lone book (Gold and Guns on the Frontier) to Khan in 1944; he banned in later after becoming he replaced Bacha Khan as the chief minister of the province. It made the non-violent followers of Khudai Khidmatgar (street workers) furious but they did not resort to violence.

Ghazi gul mosque from where indiscriminate firing was done on Khudai Khidmatgar protesters on 12 August, 1947. Image courtesy Abdur Rauf Yousafzai

In his research paper on the Babrra Massacre, Professor Minhaj-ul-Hassan wrote: “In May 1948, the renowned anti-colonial leader of the Khudai Khidmatgars, Bacha Khan, had started his annual visit to villages and towns of NWFP after the participation in Legislative Assembly. He had been arrested in district Kohat’s Bahadur Khel village for three years under 40 FCR, of British draconian Frontier Crimes Regulations. The authorities in newly-formed Pakistan alleged that Bacha Khan was working on a plan along with the separatist militant Faqir of Ipi to topple the government."

The Khudai Khidmatgars passed four resolutions where they asked the government to provide details of the amount and receipt that Bacha Khan had given to separatist Faqir of Ipi, and that if the charges were proven they would separate from him, while also demanding fresh elections in the country.

The Khudai Khidmatgars workers also announced a peaceful protest against the illegal detention of Bacha Khan.

The State organs were against the protest and the provincial government deployed paramilitary forces and police in the area. They even set their guns and other heavy weapons on different buildings of Babrra village. The Khudai Khidmatgars workers also started to gather on the specific ground.

On the day of Babrra Massacre

On 12 August, 1948, a Khudai Khidmatgar worker, Speen Malang led a protest in Charsadda district of NWFP. As Malang marched holding high a red flag along with other protesters, indiscriminate firing began from the top of Ghazi Gul mosque. Malang fell, but the firing continued killing more than 600 Pashtuns both young and old and injuring over 1,200.

When both Pakistan and India were busy preparing for their first Independence Day celebrations, the Pashtun region of Pakistan was mourning the death of their loved ones.

“You have thrown us to the wolves,” the historical sentence of Bacha Khan after Congress led by Jawaharlal Nehru voted in support of Lord Mountbatten's plan for Partition, echoed in the surrounding hills that day. No reconciliation took place, unfortunately, and the effects are felt till today.

Muhammad Tahir, a fourth-grade student at the time of the massacre, narrated the tragedy to this scribe in his own words. “We were at the school playground when we heard gunfire and thundering of heavy weapons. The teachers rushed us into classrooms,” 83-year-old Tahir said.

Muhammad Tahir, a fourth-grade student at the time of the massacre, narrated the tragedy to this scribe in his own words. Image courtesy Abdur Rauf Yousafzai

The firing had taken enough time leaving everyone terrified and unaware of the outside situation, Tahir recalled. He couldn’t remember the total time the firing lasted, as the shots ceased and everyone rushed towards their homes.

After the massacre

“The main door and other room doors were open, I shouted and cried when I saw no one was inside,” Tahir said. Then Tahir ran towards the incident ground where he saw his mother tearing her shawl and bandaging the injured to stop the bleeding. Calling it doomsday, Tahir said wives, sisters, and mothers were wailing, crying and shouting on the 12 August, 1948, "the ugliest day in Pakistan’s history".

Muflis Durrani's father was a tehsildar during the British rule but he left the illustrious job and started teaching at Azad School, which was formed by Khudai Khidmatgars, and became a freedom fighter. Durrani was also studying in a nearby school. At the time of Babrra Massacre, Durrani was inside the school building. When they visited the spot after the firing had stopped, all they saw were bodies and injured persons lying everywhere, said Durrani.

Muflis Durrani's father was a tehsildar during the British rule but he left the illustrious job and started teaching at Azad School, which was formed by Khudai Khidmatgars, and became a freedom fighter. Image courtesy Abdur Rauf Yousafzai

British atrocities against Pashtuns had continued even after the formation of the State of Pakistan, Durrani informed. After the shooting, most of the bodies were taken away and thrown into the river, he revealed, explaining why most families couldn’t bury their near and dear ones.

Chairman of Pashto Department at Abdul Wali Khan University, professor Sohail Khan, during his research work, met with some of the victim's families. Sohail recounts meeting Jaypur, 83, at Nowshera district's Mohib Banda village. Jaypur's father Surrendar was a staunch supporter of Khudai Khidmatgars. He was part of the protest and never returned home. Surrendar's body could not be found, like many others, and his death left the family in dire financial straits. For many months, Jaypur visited hospitals and graveyards but couldn't find his father's body.

In Charsadda district's Prang village, 70-year-old Murad Kaka’s father Sultan Khan was among the protestors. "We were waiting for father in our mud kitchen late in the night. As the disturbing news of shooting came from Babrra, I vaguely recall my mother and grandmother wearing tense faces as father arrived at midnight. My grandmother was very angry at him when my father said that I was busy digging graves and buried more than one person in each grave," Murad Kaka said.

Sohail said that the Qayyum Administration was charging Rs 50 per grave. He added that the government had also collected the expenses for this operation, and even the bullets, from Khudai Khidmatgars workers.

"The Babrra Masssacre was the result of British policy against Red Shirts," Aimal Wali great-grandson of Bacha Khan said.

"They still stigmatise, bomb with suicide bombers and kill us but we remain determined," he said firmly.

"Bacha Khan has prepared a force of non-violent red shirts who don’t have a breaking point, don’t step back, and don’t surrender," said Aimal recalling his great-grandfather's teachings.

Sohail sheds light on the reasons behind the Babrra Massacre, “The Pakistani state was created in the name of Islamic welfare and democratic state, it wasn’t in favour of selfish politicians, feudal and generals so they introduced a narrative that Pakistan was in the danger of diverting its attention from its problems and promises. That’s why the state's baseless narrative has never been challenged and if anyone does, he/she is labelled a traitor."

The professor says that it's hypocritical how in Pakistan's history books, Jallianwala Bagh massacre is widely publicised but the Babrra tragedy is not even mentioned since the State was involved.

The Indian National Congress, and particularly Nehru and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel's relations with Bacha Khan didn’t remain loyal till the end. Sohail says that because of their bewafai Khudai Khidmatgars faced severe consequences and are still facing it.

It was another day of mourning when Bacha Khan, freed from jail, stood at the site of the massacre with people asking him to take revenge. However, Bacha Khan told Khudai Khitmatgars' workers that all those who want violence should leave him as he has pledged non-violence till his last breath and won’t deviate from it.

The Babrra Massacre was never investigated independently, which is why officially the Babrra incident lies under layers of dust even though the Awami National Party (ANP) formed by Bacha Khan and his followers demand a free and transparent inquiry of the bloody incident.

The current editor of Pakhtoon Magazine, which was founded by Bacha Khan in 1928, Hayat Roghani arranges theatre every year to tell the young generations about the sacrifices of Khudai Khidmatgars and state cruelty.

“Unfortunately Pashtun freedom fighters are labelled as traitors by the State of Pakistan and that’s why Bacha Khan spent 17 years in prison after Partition (he had already spent over 14 years in jail before that),” says Roghani.

"Bacha Khan is also deliberately kept out of Pakistani textbooks, but we tell to our young Pashtun that he and his Khudai Khidmatgars are heroes and champion freedom fighters," Roghani added.

Every year, a monument is built at the same spot to keep the history alive and pay tribute to those killed in the massacre. The party workers gather at the famous Ghazi Gul mosque, from where the security forces fired at the protesters and recall the sacrifices for democratic rights and supremacy of the Constitution.

Party general secretary Mian Iftikhar said that for Pashtun, the Babrra massacre is not over yet, as they lost more than 800 workers including the top leaders in a long war against militants and even now in the recent two elections they were not provided a level-playing field.

Published in First Post on 12 August 2018 

Why Punjabi Establishment wants to Sell Taliban as Pashtuns Resistance erroneously.

Kaptan Taliban Khan PTI 

With a mix of horror and disbelief I watched the footage from Matanai where a school van was ambushed by militants. Even for senses numbed by scores of bombings every year, this came as a shock because the victims were children (aged between 8 to 14 years), and were deliberately targeted. One would think that even the most shameless of villains would not be low enough to own these killings, but within hours the Tehreek I Taliban Pakistan (TTP) proudly claimed full responsibility. Bravo!

The footage of the aftermath showed faces smitten with fear, a little girl, hardly six or seven lay in a state of shock; her blank expression and her blood soaked shirt spoke volumes about the horrors that she went through. Some of the survivors did speak to the media and the noticeable thing about their interviews was that they were either in Pashtu or in heavily accented Urdu.

It is important to highlight the accents and thus ethnicity of these children because the same are often ignored by those who perceive Taliban violence as a Pashtun backlash. Take the Chairman of the Pakistan Tehreek I Insaaf (PTI) for instance; in one of his sermons on YouTube titled “Imran Khan Explains War of Terror and Pakistani Taliban”, he declares the Taliban to be a “Pashtun Resistance”. But, how exactly does a Pashtun Resistance claim mostly Pashtun victims is something that Mr. Khan didn’t elaborate upon.

To prove this argument, references are often made to episodes of Pashtun resistance from the past. But the difference between Taliban leadership and historical figures such as Faqir of Ipi becomes very obvious if one considers their respective target selection. Mullah Powindah, Pir Roshan and Faqir of Ipi were not known for targeting Pashtuns, as all of them had a strong nationalistic bias; i.e. a Pashtun bias. The Taliban however, do not have any of that as proven by the fact that their victims are predominantly Pashtun. It should be obvious that when an insurgency fights in the name of an ethnicity then it does NOT target that ethnicity; the ETA is not known for killing Basques and neither was the Tamil Tigers known for killing Tamils. For this reason, it is downright disrespectful to term Taliban violence as a “Pashtun backlash”, because the Pashtuns themselves are its biggest victims.

While one feels disappointed with the former cricketer, one is absolutely horrified when the same logic is echoed by a group of Pakistan’s “Foreign Policy Elites” (FPE). A recent report by the Jinnah Institute (JI) and the US Institute for Peace (USIP), titled “Pakistan, the United States and the end game in Afghanistan” builds its case on the very same assumption. While the FPE rightly point out that a settlement in Afghanistan should not result in “negative spillovers” or cause “resentment” among Pakistani Pashtuns, their recommendation for ensuring that is quite perplexing, as they want inclusion of the Haqqani Network and the Quetta Shura in any post US setups in Afghanistan.

If such an arrangement is considered necessary for appeasing Pakistani Pashtuns, then the FPE need to move beyond books of history & genealogy, and instead concentrate on recent news reports, electoral results, and opinion surveys. The Pashtuns of Pakistan have been categoric in rejecting the Taliban; in 2008’s general election, the Province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) voted overwhelmingly for anti Taliban parties i.e. the ANP and the PPP. The PEW research survey for 2010 predicts that only 7% of KP approve of the Taliban, while the same is 15% for Pakistan and 22% for Punjab. Furthermore, TTP’s targeting of elected leaders in KP as well as that of the tribal elders of FATA, clearly indicates that the Taliban feel threatened by those who represent Pashtun consensus. This anti Taliban sentiment should be expected, given the chaos and destruction that the TTP has brought upon Pashtun lands.

If our FPE think that the alliance between the Taliban in Pakistan and Afghanistan can be taken care of through some strategic parlaying, then they are sadly mistaken. Whether it’s supporting the Uighars in China, or the refusal to handover Osama, the Afghani Taliban have proven that when it comes to the Global Jihadi fraternity, strategic concerns are not that important to them. Thus, it should be obvious that if the Taliban get strengthened in Afghanistan, then the strengthening of the Pakistani ones is inevitable.

Lest one forgets, this September had quite a few reminders of what that strengthening could entail. Besides the attack on the 13th in Matanai that killed 5, on the 16th a suicide bombing in Dir claimed 27 lives, on the 19th another 8 were killed in Karachi, and on the same day 6 died in an attack on CD shops in Peshawar, and if that was not enough, then on the 20th they lined up 26 Shias in Mastung and gunned them down; and then ambushed two more who were on their way to the scene of the massacre. A sum total of 74 Pakistanis killed in 7 days for the “crimes” of working for the Government, listening to music and being Shia.

The underlying motivation for this violence is ideological, and this ideology is not likely to change whether the United States leaves Afghanistan tomorrow or doesn’t in the next ten years. It is also an ideology that declares a majority of us Pakistanis i.e. the Barelvis and the Shias to be Wajib Ul Qatal (dead men walking), and legitimizes the destructions of schools, shrines, Imam Bargahs and mosques. With the Quetta Shura and the Haqqani Network espousing the same ideology, their strengthening in Afghanistan should raise alarm bells for anyone concerned about Pakistan’s security interests.

If the potential “resentment” of Pakistani Pashtuns weighed heavily on the minds of our FPE, then the safety of the same Pakistanis should have had an even bigger impact, an impact that is certainly not evident in the conclusions to this report. For this reason, the Foreign Policy Elites need to reconsider their definition of Pakistan’s national interest. It is recommended however that before doing so, this group puts itself in the shoes of the parents of Matanai, it is very likely that the word “pragmatism” might have a different meaning then.

SOURCE: https://iopyne.wordpress.com/2011/09/30/elitist-misconceptions/

Ghani Faces Tough Road Ahead In Taliban Negotiations

BY Abubakar Siddique

23.12.2014


Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has embarked on diplomacy and renewed cooperation with regional powers in an effort to restore peace to Afghanistan.

But he still faces major obstacles in negotiating peace with the Taliban, whose insurgency appears to have outlived the 13 year-old U.S.-led military campaign in Afghanistan and now overshadows the country's future.

Javed Ludin, a former Afghan deputy foreign minister, told RFE/RL Gandhara website that Ghani "has taken a lot of bold steps and taken some risks" because he senses significant opportunities for a breakthrough in the peace process.

"We are not starting from scratch; a lot of work has been done by [the former Afghan] President Hamid Karzai over the past few years," he said. "We have been ready for years now for the ultimate, which is a direct process of negotiations between the verifiable representatives of the Taliban and the government of Afghanistan."

Ludin says that since his inauguration in late September, the Afghan leader has approached China and Saudi Arabia to use their influence over Pakistan.

During his first official trip to Islamabad in November, Ghani visited the headquarters of Pakistan's powerful military and met with military chief General Raheel Sharif to solicit his support for peace in Afghanistan.

"The key shift has to come from the top leadership of Pakistan in their policies towards Afghanistan, and that's where the president's idea is focusing at the moment," he told RFE/RL's Gandhara website.

For years Kabul has urged Islamabad to help in holding negotiations with the Taliban’s leaders, who it believes are orchestrating their insurgency from sanctuaries inside Pakistan.

"If there is any degree of rational thinking in Pakistan, they wouldn't even need any encouragement from a third country," Ludin said. "They only have to see their own future and the future of their own people and what's in their best interest."

Following the December 16 massacre of nearly 150 pupils and teachers in a military-run school in the northwestern Pakistani city of Peshawar, Kabul and Islamabad pledged cooperation against "terrorism and extremism." Unlike the past, the two countries have not engaged in public bickering over support to insurgents.

But there is still no indication of whether Islamabad will use its leverage over the Afghan Taliban.

Kabul seems to be divided about the prospects of peace talks with the Taliban. Last week a high-ranking member of the Afghan High Peace Council said that peace talks with the Taliban will begin in Qatar this week.

Musa Khan Hotak, the director of negotiations for the Afghan High Peace Council, said that talks about negotiations with the Taliban have recently gained momentum. "It is expected that representatives of the Taliban, Pakistan, and members of the High Peace Council will take part in the talks," he told RFA.

But Ismail Qasimyar, an advisor to the Afghan High Peace Council, told RFA on December 16 that no talks were planned in Qatar this week. "All these rumors about the peace talks are wrong. There are no talks," he said.

Michael Semple, a former EU and UN adviser in Afghanistan, told Gandhara that while bringing the Taliban to the negotiating table remains a top priority for Ghani, he has yet to make public his plans for proceeding. Calling Ghani a "very systematic person," he said, "There will be a clearly worked out strategy and one that he would stick to and it will not be impulsive."

Semple, however, said that Ghani has concluded that reassuring Pakistan's security establishment that he will look after their legitimate interests "will win their cooperation and support for a deal with the Taliban."

He said that the recent upsurge in violence across Afghanistan indicates that the Taliban leadership is committed to a military strategy.

Moreover, he says, the Taliban were disappointed by Ghani's rapid signing of the Bilateral Security Agreement with the United States one day after his inauguration on September 29.

"They [the Taliban] say ‘how can we make a deal with someone who has quite so clearly jumped into bed with the Americans?'"

Marvin Weinbaum, a South Asia specialist at the Middle East Institute, a think tank in Washington, D.C., agrees. He says that Ghani has made it clear that he is counting on U.S. assistance both for security and for future development.

This burgeoning relationship with Washington, Weinbaum argues, could complicate his efforts to engage the Taliban in talks.

"Given the feelings of the Taliban here about their minimal conditions of removing the so-called 'occupational forces' -- this is a contradiction here," he told Gandhara. "You can't at the same time have dependence on the United States and also satisfy what will be a minimal condition for the Taliban that is distancing from the U.S."

In addition, sources say that the Taliban are not happy with the reported resumption of night raids by Afghan special forces targeting Taliban leaders. President Karzai had banned such operations last year.

Afghan journalist Sami Yousafzai, however, sees hope on the horizon. He says the Afghan Taliban have matured politically and are in contact with President Ghani's relatives.

"Unlike the past, the Taliban know that without a political resolution it will be easy to keep the war going but difficult to win it," he said.

But Yousafzai also cautions that the Taliban are worried about preventing splits in their organization after the end of U.S.-led military operations in Afghanistan this year.

"They are worried that some factions might join the Islamic State militant group if they began negotiations with Kabul," he said.

"The major problem for the Taliban leaders is to persuade their ranks for joining peace after motivating them to fight in the name of Islam for 13 years."

RFE/RL Radio Free Afghanistan correspondent Ahmad Takal contributed reporting to this story.: http://gandhara.rferl.org/content/afghanistan-ghani-taliban-peace/26758899.html

551 schools Destroyed by Anti Pashtun Taliban Targeting Education in Just a Year 2013-14.

PESHAWAR: 

At least 551 schools were destroyed in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) and Frontier Regions (FR) in 2013-14 due to ongoing militancy and floods. This was revealed in official papers issued by the FATA Secretariat regarding the Annual Development Programme (ADP) for 2014-15.

According to documents available with The Express Tribune, 362 boys schools and 189 girls schools have been destroyed in the tribal areas.

Going under

In Bajaur Agency, 85 schools—64 of which were boys schools and 21 girls schools—have been affected. Nearly 109 schools in Mohmand Agency were destroyed by militancy and floods, out of which 81 were for boys. At least 63 schools in Khyber Agency were destroyed in 2013-14; 35 of which were boys schools and 28 girls schools.

In Orakzai Agency, 168 schools were destroyed. At least 92 of these were boys schools. In Kurram Agency, 70 schools were destroyed due to militancy and floods. Nearly 54 of these were boys schools and 16 were girls schools

The documents added that 11 schools were razed to the ground in FR Peshawar. Five of these were girls schools.

During 2013-14, at least 28 schools were destroyed in FR Kohat. Out of these, half were girls schools. Five boys schools in FR Bannu, a boys school and girls schools in FR Lakki, nine boys schools in South Waziristan and another boys school in FR-Tank have also been affected.

Not nearly enough

According to the documents, only 85 educational institutions have been constructed so far in the region. Moreover, 152 schools are under construction and 229 remain non-functional.

According to another document issued by the FATA Secretariat, over Rs3 billion has been allocated for education in the ADP for 2014-15. It revealed Rs2 billion would be spent on 91 ongoing schemes proposed through the ADP whereas Rs1 billion would be set aside for the completion of 59 new projects.

Speaking to The Express Tribune, FATA Secretariat spokesperson Fazlullah said educational institutions in the tribal areas have faced increasing pressure as compared to other departments. As a result, the education sector has been given priority in the ADP for 2014-2015, he added.

According to Fazlullah, Governor Mehtab Abbasi has issued special directives to give priority to the education sector in the budget and reconstruct the schools destroyed in Fata. A large number of schools are being constructed and special emphasis has been placed on the education of girls, he added.

The FATA Secretariat spokesperson said construction work has stopped in some areas due to militancy. However, he insisted that work will resume once the situation is under control.

An abysmal state

A FATA Education Atlas 2011-12 report released by the FATA Directorate of Education, Education Management Information System has provided key facts and figures on the education of girls in Fata.

According to the report, 124,424 girls were enrolled in 1,551 primary schools. Nearly 19,614 girls were enrolled in 158 middle schools. The report added 13,837 girls were enrolled in 42 high schools whereas 1,134 girls have been enrolled in five higher secondary schools in Fata.

The proportion of girls enrolled in schools stands at 7.5% in South Waziristan, 4.26% in North Waziristan, 21.03% in Kurram Agency, 4.75% in Bajaur, 5.72% in Mohmand Agency. In Orakzai Agency and Khyber Agency, the proportion of girls enrolled at schools stands at 5.15% and 16.13%, respectively.

Similarly, the proportion stands at 5.88% in FR DI Khan, 1.81% in FR Lakki Marwat, 2.28% in FR Tank, 1.07% in FR-Bannu, 24.09% in FR Kohat and 16.66% in FR Peshawar.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 3^rd, 2014.

source: http://tribune.com.pk/story/785218/education-woes-551-schools-in-fata-frs-devastated-by-militancy-floods-in-2013-14/

Pakhtunkwa Finance Minister Siraj Is Illegally elected and is Against Women of Pakhtuknwa as PTI Government Minister

By Pashtonkhwa . 

Budget 2014 was Presented by a Finance minister Shiraj Ul Haq , who is an Illegal Elected Member of KPK assembly as Head of Jamaat Islami , shouldn’t  be holding  a Ministerial Slot , as this is Illegal While 90,000 fake Votes were Impounded from Dir where he is Elected Illegally . as he Printed those Votes in Qazi Printing Press in Peshawar and also they were transported by JI Members supporting Siraj Ul Haq a classic Criminal case of Fraud and Cheating and Yet he was made head of Jamaat Islami and also Serves as minister of Finance of Pakhtunkhwa and presented Budget of this Bad Luck Province. 

Media Reportied it and As 0% womenVoted in his constituency, ECP Laws Declares him Illegal Minister of KPK but so far the media and his Opponents have not challenged him as without certain Percentage of women Voter his Seat is illegal. 

Election Fraud and Cheat 

He is from Dir constituency and his Election is not legal and yesterday he Presented the Budget in Pakhtunkwa Assembly and nobody challenged him and Interestingly in the Budget he had nothing for the women of Pakhtunkwa , as he put zero money for 52% Women Population of Pakhtunkwa as he is Against them participating in Practical life and his JI Party does not recognize women as Human beings let alone as Useful contributor to society and don’t want their role as Working women or Leaders in Pakhtunkwa ( Their Policy is 360 Degrees Opposite in Punjab for both PTI and JI)  

Taliban Khan very Near to Pakistani Establishment 

Sadly he is Representing the Government of PTI and same Imran khan famous as Playboy in his Youth Years now being 63 Years old , he suddenly became on classic Mullah without a beard and he allowed the Second Budget of Pakhtunkwa Demonstrate the PTI is Against the women and their Development by  not Putting any Money for Women Development .

While his children are being Graduated as citizens and Students of UK and his ex Wife Mrs.,  Jemima Khan , wears Jeans and Skirt in Public . it may be noted Imran khan known as Taliban Khan for his pro Taliban views stays at Jemima Khan house even today. 

JEMIMA NUDE PICTURES PLEASE CLICK AND USE A PROXY TO SEE AS BLOCKED BY PTA 

                                    PIC1-PIC2- PIC3-PIC4-PIC5-PIC6-PIC7

 He had sanctioned Burqa,s as part of Uniform for Female medical Graduates of Khyber Medical college Further more only 1 Billion was Sanctioned for women Journalist in their Budget that will be used to bribe the Journalist who will Write Praises of PTI and JI .

Well Enough  of this Deception of Punjab Based Parties and their Duplicated and Fraudulent  Polices that is damaging to Pashtuns of Pakistan .

Well Pashtuns have been Most Deceived by Mullah and Military Alliances and now Right Wing Parties of PTI and PML all letters , their Policies have been Duplicated for Pakhtunkhwa as that of Rigid Islam while they are extramist Liberals in Punjab like Allowing Dancing of women on stage in PTI Jalsas , by Leaders who are ex Jamaat Islami JI like Asad Qaiser and Shah Farman both came from JI in Pakhtunkhwa .

Asad Qasier Ex Jamaati Dude 

Shah Farman Ex Jamaati Dude 

So is Dr Alvi  Dental Surgeon and Ex - JI student Leader from Sindh and from Punjab  Haroon ur Rasheed and also Mamoon Ur Rasheed  as Jamaati Islami Leaders  and Military Retired People waiting in Wings of PTI as Establishment own Sanctioned Party for future roles.

Dental Surgeon Ex -Jamaat Islami 

The Question is Where are the Liberals and Left wing parties accepting all this Bullshit we are thrown at our face in name of Islam and Pakistani Nationalism .