State Opression Causing Massive Crisis in Pashtunistan

By Nasir Khattak

The new “hard state” policy of Pakistan Army Chief General Syed Asim Munir has been rejected by representatives from the political and civil society sectors of the Pashtun community. The recent meeting of the Parliamentary Committee on National Security, following the Jaffar Express hijack incident in Balochistan, was perceived as yet another effort to oppress and exploit the Pashtun community through state-sponsored violent crackdowns. Condemning the state’s coercive policies, the Pashtun Tahaffuz Movement (PTM) dismissed the Army’s plans to launch new anti-terror operations in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. 

Pashtun representatives are deeply skeptical of this decades-old, failed military strategy, which they believe will lead only to instability, massive civilian displacement, and the loss of homes and invaluable lives. Furthermore, PTM argues that a hardline approach in Pashtun areas serves merely as a façade to exploit the abundant energy and mineral resources, ultimately enriching the coffers of the Pakistani Army generals, the country’s Punjabi elites, and their Chinese partners.

Fearing the consolidation of peaceful Pashtuns on both sides of the Durand Line, Pakistani authorities arbitrarily banned PTM last October. However, these suppressive tactics employed by Pakistan’s military establishment have not deterred the Pashtun community from uniting and expressing dissent against the state’s discriminatory policies. 

In response to the banning of PTM, a large-scale Pashtun National Jirga was organized on October 13, 2024, to promote peace, autonomy, and development in tribal areas as a counter to Pakistani-sponsored militarization, wars, colonialism, and the exploitation of their critical resources. The Pashtun Jirga has also been addressing issues with their Baloch counterparts, who are similarly suffering from the violent actions of the Army establishment.

In a social media statement on March 21, the Pashtun National Assembly rejected the outcomes of the National Security Committee meeting, which proposed a hardline military strategy instead of a peaceful political resolution for the issues facing ethnic minorities – Pashtun and Baloch. 

The statement also references the 22-point jirga declaration, which offers detailed guidance to the Pakistani authorities on how to protect and prioritize the fundamental rights of the Pashtun people and ensure their survival in a conflict-torn region. 

According to data provided by the Pashtun Jirga, numerous Pakistani military operations in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa destroyed 370,000 houses, the demolition of more than 1,000 mosques and madrassas, and the total obliteration of 35 markets. 

Approximately 76,584 people were killed, 6,700 forcibly disappeared, and 27,000 women became widows, while 5.7 million individuals were displaced from their homes. Additionally, 1,738 tribal elders and 2,000 scholars lost their lives. In total, 9,237 explosions shook Pashtun areas, and 213 Pashtun women working in polio teams were also killed.

This widespread destruction of Pashtun land has not led to any policy changes in the last two decades, as policymakers in Islamabad and Rawalpindi continue to treat the minority Pashtun community unfairly. In addition to the military destruction of Pashtun areas, the Jirga has warned that Pakistani authorities have intensified their economic exploitation in the region.

Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa are resource-rich and reportedly contain large untapped energy reserves and critical minerals. As anticipated, the military establishment has illegally occupied vast areas of land in these provinces to extract rare minerals and sell them to foreign buyers, primarily Chinese. These natural resources belong to the local population; however, they have not received financial compensation for their rightful shares. 

More importantly, the federal government in Islamabad has enacted laws to reserve licensing and exploration rights for critical minerals and energy resources under its jurisdiction. For instance, the recently proposed Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Mines and Minerals Act, 2025, permits the federal government and non-provincial institutions to dominate Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s mineral resources. This bill undermines the Pakistani constitution’s 18th Amendment, which guarantees provincial autonomy, shifting control of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s mineral resources to the federal government and depriving the province of its rights. 

Since Pakistan’s lawmakers have failed to enhance the economy, and the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC), General Syed Asim Munir’s ‘brainchild’ economic strategy, has not attracted foreign investments, the federal government is resorting to coercive legal and political measures to exploit provincial resources.

The Pashtun Jirga data suggests that, in 2024, 85,43,000 barrels of oil were extracted from Karak, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa; 40 tons of fluorite were extracted from Khyber; 1,935 tons of nephrite were extracted from Mohmand; and millions of tons of marble were extracted from Malakand and Swabi. 

Additionally, 640,000 kilograms of almonds are produced annually in the former tribal agencies, and they are reportedly sold in China for PKR 18,000 per kilogram. Miranshah has oil reserves that can meet Pakistan’s needs for 40 years. Furthermore, the Tarbela Dam generates between 4,000 and 5,000 megawatts of electricity, which, if properly utilized, can earn Khyber Pakhtunkhwa billions of dollars. However, the federal government maintains tight control over these resources and electricity prices with the assistance of corrupt provincial leaders, exploiting the conflict-ridden Pashtun population. This situation contributes to the daily racial profiling and labeling of Pashtuns as “terrorists,” “criminals,” “rapists,” and “drug addicts.”

A PTM leader posted on X (former Twitter) explaining the dire situation of Pashtuns in Pakistan, “Under the guise of’ security,” the Pakistani army is waging yet another war on Pashtuns—burning villages, displacing families, and silencing voices. 

This is not protection; this is oppression.” General Munir’s’ hard state” strategy will result in massive instability, the destruction of livelihoods, and economic chaos in the Pashtun region. More importantly, as Pakistan teeters on the brink of bankruptcy, it plans to sell the rare minerals from the Baloch and Pashtun lands. 

The Pakistani military establishment and Punjabi elites are scheming to sell the minerals and energy resources of these two provinces for their own financial benefits. The Pakistani state-sanctioned extraction of precious minerals will primarily benefit Army generals and their political puppets while bringing death and suffering to the Pashtuns, along with environmental devastation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and tribal regions. 

Nasir Khattak specializes in the China-Pakistan region, with a particular focus on the economic relations between the two countries.

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