QUETTA: The profiling and distortion of Pakhtuns’ history and their image began during colonial times and the trend has intensified, Pashtoonkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP) Chairman Mahmood Khan Achakzai said on Tuesday.

Speaking at a public meeting in the Sharagga area of Balochistan’s Harnai district, he said Pakhtuns were fiercely independent-minded and “very conscious of their freedom”, which he said was the primary reason why every invader, colonialist and powerful entity had portrayed Pakhtuns image negatively.

Beginning his tour across the Pakhtun regions of Balochistan, Mr Achakzai plans to travel from the southeastern to the northwestern districts.

He underscored the significance of international conventions and emphasised that Afghan refugees should be treated according to legal and humanitarian measures.

He said during the Afghan war, the then martial law dictator Gen Ziaul Haq declared Afghans holy warriors and the defenders of Islam and Pakistan. “Now they are being treated like criminals,” he lamented.

Published in Dawn, October 25th, 2023