Pakhtunistan: A Ffactor Between Pakistan and Afghanistan

The age-old idea of Pakhtunistan has remained alive over the centuries. The Durand Line drawn in 1893 merged a portion of Afghanistan with the British Empire; it was named NWFP. Even after Partition, NWFP remained volatile for Pakistan. In the 1946 elections in British India, the Muslim League was defeated in NWFP by the Frontier Gandhi Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan, leader of the Congress Party in NWFP. Although, through a plebiscite, NWFP was merged with Pakistan, Afghanistan, always reluctant to accept the Durand Line, challenged this, and the demand for Pakhtunistan has remained a contentious issue. The prevailing ethnic turmoil in Pakistan and Afghanistan in the 21st century has kept alive the possibility of the formation of Pakhtunistan. This book explores this complex issue in detail.