On Wednesday, former Pakistani all-rounder Shahid Afridi made a bold statement with regard to Kashmir. According to the DNA report, addressing a conference that can be streamed online, Shahid Afridi reportedly said that Pakistan does not need Kashmir if they can’t manage four provinces.
Government of Pakistan should listen to one of its national heroes and get some sense and work in the direction of ensuring welfare of its subjects. It’s no secret that Pakistan is a failed country and its economy is in really bad condition, not just economy, internal conditions of Pakistan are also not good. There are so many secession movements going on in Pakistan. The Balochistan Liberation Army (also Baloch Liberation Army or Baluchistan Liberation army) (BLA) is a Baloch nationalist militant secessionist organization which wants to establish independent state of Balochistan. The Pakistan army commit endless cruelty against it Baloch subjects.
Idea of Sindhudesh is also very popular among people of Sindh. It was first proposed by Sindhi nationalists. They demanded creation of a Sindhi state, which would be independent from Pakistan. Sindh is the member of UNPO and its declared as Occupied & Unrecognized territory by the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization and Sindh is represented in (UNPO) by the World Sindhi Congress.
In Punjab region, the Seraiki-speaking people demand an independent, linguistically homogeneous province. Besides the Saraiki issue, within Punjab also, there is huge divide between southern Punjabi ‘feudals’ and northern Punjabi ‘industrialists’ who feel superior to the others. Punjab is home of radical Islam. Radicalisation, sectarian and ethnic violence have become identity of Punjab province. The headquarters of the Tablighi Jamaat in Raiwind, Lashkare-Tayyeba (LeT) is also in Punjab province.
Karachi city is symbol disunity of Pakistan. It continues to be engulfed in major ethnic and sectarian battles among the migrant Mohajirs, Pakhtuns, Punjabis, Baluchis and the indigenous Sindhis and also, the Shia-Sunni conflict.
North-West Frontier Province/Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (NWFP/KP) is the second poorest province of Pakistan, after Baluchistan, with a dismal state of literacy and health care facilities. Pashtuns and Hazaras are the dominant ethnic group of the region. The region shares boundary with Afghanistan. The region is home of Pashtunistan movement. Unrest and violence are daily rituals of the province.
Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) is almost a semi-autonomous tribal region which shares border with Afghanistan and is largely inhabited by the Pashtuns. It is also home of many Afghan Mujahideen, local terrorist groups like Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Afghan Taliban. Pakistan Army launched many operations in the region but failed to achieve their objective. Tribals and terrorist responded strongly and Pakistan army was made to lick the dust.
In Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir also there are hundreds of movements are going on against the Pakistan army and political establishment.
Gilgit-Baltistan also demands independence from Pakistan imperialism. They demand separate Balawaristan state. Balawaristan National Front, Gilgit-Baltistan United Movement are leading the movement of separate state.
Considering that Pakistan is already battling this level of dissatisfaction in already existing provinces, Shahid Afridi is right about cautioning his government. Especially, when the area in question would not be theirs in a million years no matter how much they try. Imran Khan must listen to Shahid Afridi.