Pashtun nationalism

Pashtun nationalism (Pashto: پښتون ملتپالنه) is an ideology that asserts the Pashtuns are a nation and promotes the unity of Pashtuns. The Pashtun question, which is the debate over the creation of an independent Pashtun nation-state from the Pashtun-majority regions of Pakistan (Pakthunkhwa and Northern Balochistan), emerged in the early 20th century and became a major source of tension between Afghanistan and Pakistan. This issue dominated Afghan foreign policy until the overthrow of Mohammad Najibullah's Homeland Party regime in 1992. Pashtun nationalists generally support the concept of a "Greater Afghanistan" (The unification of Pashtunistan with Afghanistan).

History

Pre-19th century

An early Pashtun nationalist was the 17th-century "warrior-poet" Khushal Khan Khattak, who was imprisoned by the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb for trying to incite the Pashtuns to rebel against the rule of the Mughals. However, despite sharing a common language and believing in a common ancestry, the Pashtuns first achieved unity in the 18th century after being under foreign rule for many centuries. The eastern parts of Pashtunistan was ruled by the Mughal Empire, while the western parts were ruled by the Persian Safavids as their easternmost provinces. During the early 18th century, Pashtun tribes led by Mirwais Hotak successfully revolted against the Safavids in the city of Kandahar. In a chain of events, he declared Loy Kandahar and other parts of what is now southern Afghanistan independent. By 1738 the Mughal Empire had been defeated and their capital sacked and looted by forces of a new Iranian ruler Nader Shah Afshar.