PESHAWAR, Oct 6: The Pakhtuns as a nation have always been deprived of their natural resources and exploited by rulers and politicians after creation of Pakistan, claims Dr Said Alam Mahsud, a leader of the Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party, in his yet-to-be-published book.

Briefing journalists on the book ‘The Case of Pakhtuns in Pakistan’, at the Peshawar Press Club on Thursday, Dr Mahsud said that Pakistan, unfortunately, could not absorb Pakhtuns, Sindhis, Balochs and Seraikis and these nationalities were still struggling for their rights and identity.

He said the Pakhtuns were the most oppressed nation in Pakistan and all their resources had been used for the largest province.

Dr Mahsud said the Pakhtuns were living a destitute life in Pakistan. They had been divided into groups by the British imperialists for their own designs. He said despite having natural resources and rich history, more than seven million Pakhtuns were living as ‘migrants’ in other provinces.

Successive governments in Pakistan after 1947 had not only deprived the Pakhtuns of their basic resources and rights but also denied them a proper and historical identity and a reasonable name to their province. Unfortunately, he said, the history of gallant Pakhtuns had been distorted and heroes had been depicted as villains in academic and official history of the country.

Dr Mahsud said that he would mention in his book all the historical, cultural, geographical, economic and social injustices meted out to the Pakhtuns since the partition of sub-continent.

During the British rule, there were two Pakhtun provinces; the NWFP and the British Balochistan. But after creation of Pakistan Pakhtun population was given secondary status in Balochistan and deprived of share in government jobs.