Confessions of a Pukhtoon Revolutionary

Confessions of a Pukhtoon Revolutionary

Jumma Khan Sufi was not only a member of Imam Ali Nazish’s Karachi-based Communist Group (CPP) but also a close associate of Pukhtoon Zalmy; an organisation, as per the narrative of Jumma, that was involved in bomb explosions and other subversive actions in Pakistan from 1972-77. His memoirs“Faraib-e-Natamam” is an autobiographical account that helps the readers understand the infamous nexus of politics, informal trade, intelligence networks, regional and international actors and terrorists in former NWFP, Balochistan and FATA, especially during the Bhutto times.

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Imam Ali Nazish, head of Karachi based Communist group (CPP). His close associate was Professor Jamal Naqvi and he too wrote a book Leaving the left behind but he did not enrich us from that past of his own communist faction 

These pictures showed presence of Jumma in communist and Afghan circles and you may find many more pictures in the narrative penned by Jumma. As the book is written in the form of a diary, it has numerous entries by date. If you have read books Story Untold by Barrister Aizullah Sheikh (NAP President Sindh), Foreign Policy in Perspective by Benazir Bhutto and biography of Mir Ghous Bakhsh Bizenjo by BM Kutty, you can easily relate to the many entries of Jumma’s diary.

If you have interest to understand larger politics of Oxus, Afghanistan and the Punjab since 1809, you must read Metcalfe’s Mission to Lahore ,Mushahidad e Kabul & Yagistan by Muhammad Ali Qasori and Ubaidullah Sindhi books. In this way you can understand geopolitics of this region well.

Some more entries of the book

• Ajmal Khattak knew the art of faltering with rulers, irrespective of their ideologies.
• Pashto literature is rich in Pakistani pukhtoon belt from 4 centuries and writings of Akhund Darveza & Khushal Khan are its examples yet Afghan government fabricated a book ‘’patta Khazana’’ just to establish its intellectual hegemony. Scholars like Dost Muhammad Kamal and Qalander Momand rejected it already.

Reply at SPN by Rafi A Bhatti

Fw: Confessions of a Pukhtoon Revolutionary [1 Attachment]

Mon Apr 18, 2016 11:49 pm (PDT) . Posted by:

"RAFI BHATTI" rafibhatti

I have the honor of visiting Akora Khatak to be Ajmal Khattak's guest. I also met him in Lahore every time he stayed at the residence of Neelam Shah, the ANP Punjab President.

I want to narrate here, his advice to Altaf Hussein (MQM). He told me that he had said to Altaf Hussein that he should not trust India for breaking Pakistan. The Indians invite you for lunches and dinners and speak a lot of prejudice against Pakistan, but lack the commitment to give you enough resources for breaking Pakistan. He also told him (Altaf) not to waste his youth and join mainstream politics. He had learnt from his years in self exile in Afghanistan, that Pakistan was unbreakable. The best way for a malcontent was to join mainstream politics and try to improve things by accepting the reality of Pakistan.

I can assure all that he was sincerely and honestly narrating his conversation with Altaf Hussein to me.

While on the subject, I may also narrate his elderly advice to Benazir Bhtto , when she went into self exile, due to Nawaz Shareef's and Saifur Rehman's persecution. He asked me to convey to her that she should stay in politics and not feel discouraged. Times change and politics gives the one who perseveres, a chance to stage a glorious come back. He himself was so disheartened at one stage that he left Pakistan for good and settled in Kabul. But staying in politics, glorified and vindicated him.

RAFI A. PERVAIZ BHATTI

In the absence of people’s power revolutionaries and radicals always have ample chance to be used by others, either with or without consent and since Hijrat movement (1920) we can easily map it. 

The pertinent Question

Although the book of Jumma is an addition in the literature of revolutionaries & radicals but largely it has raised an old question regarding revolutionaries, radicals, reformists as agent of change. They may use secular ideologies or can derive their source of inspiration from religious or sub-religious thoughts. In recent post 9/11 literature revolutionaries and radicals are not treated as separate entities. In the absence of grass root level democratic reforms in all 192 nation states how can we combat this? We have numerous unsettled areas like FATA and Offshore tax heavens which provide an ample space for radicalization. So it is a reaction of some major bad policies. If we are not ready to question those bad policies then pinpointing its reaction will prove futile. 

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