PESHAWAR - Pakhtuns have accepted the creation of Pakistan but not a life of slavery, the Pakhtunkhwa MilliAwami Party (PkMAP) chief says.
“We would never accept being treated as slaves,” Mahmood Khan Achakzai told a public gathering in northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on Saturday.
Peace in Pakistan was linked to stability in Afghanistan, said the veteran leader, who added nationalist parties wanted equal rights for the Pakhtuns in national resources and due representation in top government jobs.
His party had been doing all it could for the rights and survival of Pakhtuns, he claimed. “We were victimised for raising our voice. The blood of Pakhtuns is being shed on both sides of the Durand Line.”
All area between Amo and Abaseen rivers belonged to the Pakhtuns, who had been living there 500 years before the birth of HazratEssa (AS), Achakzai commented.
The Pakhtuns fought against British colonial forces in the 18th century and liberated the region. “We were not given this land in charity but our forefathers snatched it from the occupying forces.”

Protests over the killing of Naqeebullah Mehsud in a fake police encounter in Karachi symbolised the anger of Pakhtuns over the discrimination they were meted out, he added. (Pajhwok)