Names of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

The Pakistani province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (Pashto: ‫ﺧﯿﺒﺮ‬

‫ﭘ ﺘﻮﻧﺨﻮا‬, Urdu: ) has been known by a number of
names throughout its history. In addition to North-West Frontier
Province, the official name by which it was known from 1901 to
2010, other names used or proposed for the province include
Gandhara, Afghania, Pakhtunistan, Pashtunistan,
Pathanistan, Sarhad, Abasin, Khyber, or a combination of
these and other names.

Location of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in

Pakistan
Contents
North-West Frontier Province
Pakhtunkhwa
Afghania
Other names
Efforts to change the name
20th-century efforts
21st-century efforts
Renaming and the renaming controversy
See also
Notes
References
External links

North-West Frontier Province

For over a hundred years after its founding as a province of British India in 1901, it was known as the
North-West Frontier Province (Pashto: ‫ ﺷﻤﺎل ﻣﻐﺮﺑﯽ ﺳﺮﺣﺪی ﺻﻮﺑ‬Śhumāl maġribī sarhadī sūbha).
Unofficially, it was known as Sarhad (Urdu: ), derived from the province's Urdu name, which
means "frontier".

Pakhtunkhwa
Pakhtunkhwa, Pakhtoonkhwa, Pukhtunkhwa or Pashtunkhwa (Pashto: ‫ )ﭘ ﺘﻮﻧﺨﻮا‬has often been the
name used by the Pashtun people for the Pashtunized and Pashtun-dominated areas of Pakistan. More
recently it was used by Pashtun nationalists in Pakistan as the name by which they wanted to rename the
former North-West Frontier Province (NWFP), where they are the ethnic majority.
Pakhtunkhwa (and the other transliteration variants) is derived from Pakhtun and khwa, the former refers
to the ethnic group and the latter literally means "heart".[eg 1] Metaphorically, it is used to indicate "near
the Pakhtuns (Pashtuns)". Nationalist Pashtuns claim Pakhtunkhwa is an old name of the area inhabited
by Pashtuns. But in fact Pashtun leader Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan (Bacha Khan) proposed this name as
alternative to Pakhtunistan to military dictator Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq in 1978, when the latter refused to
accept the demand from the former to rename the NWFP as Pashtunistan. The famous Greek historian
Herodotus had recorded it as Paktia, but Pashtun poets from the time of Shahabuddin Muhammad Ghori
down to the present age, have been mentioning it as Pakhtunkhwa.

The earliest available historical evidence is Akhund Darweza's (died 1638) Makhzanul Islam (written
between 1603 and 1612). A verse in this book reads: "Pakhtunkhwa pa misal shpa wa, dai deewa wo pa
andher ke." (Translation: Pakhtunkhwa was like a night and he [Pir Baba Syed Ali Termezi] was like a
candle).

Similarly, the often-quoted two lines of a poem by Ahmad Shah Abdali (1723–1773), the Founding
Father of Afghan state, mention Pakhtunkhwa as the land of the Pashtuns:

Da Dehli takht herawoma che rayad kram Zama da khpale Pakhtunkhwa da ghro saroona

Translation: I forget my Delhi throne when I recall the mountain peaks of my own
Pakhtunkhwa.

After him, Pashtun poets and writers have frequently used this name for the area which was later named
as North-West Frontier Province by the British after they occupied and separated it from today's
Afghanistan dividing the Pashtuns into four divisions. The word Pakhtunkhwa was also used in the
modern poetry by contemporary poets like Qalandar Momand (1930–2003) long before it was suggested
as the nomenclature for the NWFP.

Dr. A. H. Dani, a well known historian and archaeologist, presently the Director of the Islamabad-based
Center for the Study of the Civilizations of Central Asia, told Dawn that Pakhtunistan is a political name
but Pakhtunkhwa is not. "Culturally there is no doubt that the land was called Pakhtunkhwa in Pashto
literature since the 15th century (we have a trace of literature since that time only). The term has been
applied for both tribal and settled areas, he added.

Besides Pashtus, there are many non-Pashtuns who have mentioned this name in their writings. A book
by French orientalist James Darmesteter has the title, Da Pakhtunkhwa Bagh w Bahar, a selection of
Pashto poems with a valuable essay on Pashto language.

Afghania
Afghania is another name long considered as a replacement for North-West Frontier Province.[1][2] It
was proposed first by the founding leaders of the Muslim League in 1933[2] and was at least partly
chosen to represent the first "a" in "Pakistan". The need for a change was explained by the man who
named Pakistan in his "Now or Never" pamphlet, Choudhary Rahmat Ali Khan, as:

"'North-West Frontier Province' is semantically non-descript and socially wrongful. It is

non-descript because it merely indicates their geographical situation as a province of old
'British India' [which no longer exists]. It is wrongful because it suppresses the social entity
 of these people. In fact, it suppresses that entity so completely that when composing the
name 'Pakistan' for our homelands, I had to call the North-West Frontier Province the
Afghan Province."[3]

Other names
Other names used or proposed for the province include:

Pakhtunistan:[4] also used for all lands inhabited by Pashtuns,

Abasin[4][5] (Urdu: ): from the Pashto name for the Indus River,[2]
Khyber:[2][5] from the Khyber Pass,[2]

Nuristan[4] (Urdu: ): also the name of a province of Afghanistan),

Gandhara[2] (Urdu: Gandḥārā): from the historical kingdom of Gandhara in the

region,[2] or
a combination of these names,[6] or
others such as Pakhtoonkhwa-Hazara or Hazara-Pakhtunkhwa[2][7] (in reference to the
Hazara region where Hindko-speakers are dominant as compared to the Pashto-speakers
elsewhere in the province).
Many of these alternatives were designed to avoid or balance the ethnic connotations of Pakhtunkhwa.[2]

Efforts to change the name

For most of the history of the North-West Frontier Province (NWFP), there were efforts to change its
name. As early as 1933, when Afghania was proposed, suggestions for new names came and went.
Although some of the names were ethnically neutral, most proposals emphazised the province's Pashtun
ethnic identity. The renaming issue was an emotional one which often crossed party lines and not all
supporters of a renaming agreed on the name Pakhtunkhwa (some preferred Pashtunistan/Pakhtunistan).

20th-century efforts
By the late 20th century, President Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq agreed with Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan to
change the name but he contended that the term Pashtunistan had become controversial and was being
politicized by Afghanistan. Ghaffar Khan suggested Pakhtunkhwa, but Zia-ul-Haq asked Ghaffar Khan to
suggest an alternative.[8]

The name Pakhtunkhwa for NWFP was heard for the first time in 1988 in the Provincial Assembly when
the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leadership wanted to move a resolution for changing the name. At that
time, neither the Pashtun nationalist Awami National Party (ANP) nor any other party pressed any further
for the adoption of the resolution as the then speaker of the Provincial Assembly, Masoud Kausar, ruled
that the MPAs were free to call their province whatever name they liked.

The name was first used in the National Assembly in November 1990, when Muhammad Afzal Khan of
Pakistan Democratic Alliance referred to the province as Pakhtunkhwa.
The name Pakhtunkhwa is very popular with the ordinary Pashtun people and was approved by the
democratically elected constitutional assembly of the province,[9] in 1997, by a 53 to 2 (45 abstentions)
majority vote. Some 53 percent of the total lawmakers of the NWFP Assembly voted in favour of the
Pakhtunkhwa name when a resolution was moved and passed by the provincial assembly in November
1997, it was tabled by Aftab Ahmad Khan Sherpao and supported by the ANP, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (F),
Independent MPAs, and Jamiat-e-Islami. It was opposed by two MPAs, Salim Saifullah and Humayun
Saifullah, both Pashtuns of the Pakistan Muslim League (J) faction, while the Pakistan Muslim League
(N) with 37 members abstained.

However, the PML (N) parliamentary party of NWFP rejected the ANP demand but called for Prime
Minister Nawaz Sharif to suggest another "non-controversial" name.[9] PML (N) members noted that
Sarhad was a good name for the province but, if a change was needed, then it should be named Khyber or
Abasin.[9] The NWFP chief minister, Sardar Mehtab Ahmed Khan, called for a referendum on the issue
as a way of determining the name.[9] These offers were rejected by the ANP leadership and the ANP
withdrew from both the federal and provincial governments[9]

21st-century efforts
The lack of support for a name change by the PML (N) was defended as opposition to the nationalistic
politics being pursued by the ANP.[10]

In May 2008, to accommodate a demand by the people of NWFP who voted for the ANP, the PPP
proposed that the name of the North-West Frontier Province be changed to Pakhtunkhwa,[11][12] however
the Muslim League Nawaz which had considerable support in the Hindko-speaking Hazara region of the
province announced it might oppose the name change because of it "being on ethnic grounds" because of
opposition by its provincial leadership, yet the party fails to explain the fact that the names of the other
three provinces (Punjab, Sindh and Baluchistan) represent the ethnic identity of their majority populace,
despite how they camouflage that fact with their version of the history of those provinces.[13]

The name Pakhtunkhwa was mentioned for the first time in the United Nation's General Assembly by
Pakistani President Asif Zardari on 26 September 2008.[14]

Renaming and the renaming controversy

In early 2010, the process of renaming proceeded and the Pakistani Senate confirmed the name change to
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in the 18th amendment to the Constitution of Pakistan with a unanimous 90 votes
on 15 April 2010.[15][16] Some Hazara residents said that the new name should be Hazara-
Pakhtunkhwa, and others said the name should not be changed since the people were accustomed to
North-West Frontier Province.[17]

Arif Nizami, former editor of The Nation, said, "This has actually opened a Pandora's box, because of
Pakistan's very tenuous polity. Now, on one side, there are identity issues and ethnic issues and provincial
autonomy issues. The other side is religious issues and terrorism. It's a very explosive situation."[17]

See also
Pashto
Pashtun people
 Pashtun diaspora
Pashtun culture
Pashtunistan

Notes
1. For instance, the sayings: "khwa ta me kena" means ‘set closer to my heart’; "khwa ta me
na kegee" means ‘my heart does not want to eat’; and "khwa de bada ma sha" means ‘be
happy in your heart’; "khwa la me rasha" means ‘come to my heart’.

References
1. Zeeshan Haider. "Islamists want Pakistan province renamed 'Afghania'." (https://www.reuter
s.com/article/idUSISL2657120070801) Reuters. 1 August 2007. Retrieved 1 April 2010.
2. "No end in sight to ANP-PML-N row over NWFP renaming." (http://www.onepakistan.com/n
ews/national/31194-end-sight-ANP-PML--row-over-NWFP-renaming.html) One Pakistan. 28
January 2010. Retrieved 15 April 2010.
3. Choudhary Rahmat Ali, 1947, Pakistan: the fatherland of the Pak nation, Cambridge,
OCLC: 12241695
4. M. Qaisar Khan. "Renaming the NWFP need not be delayed." (http://www.dawn.com.pk/we
ekly/encounter/20080614/encounter2.htm) Dawn internet edition. 14 June 2008. Retrieved
1 April 2010.
5. Khan, Riaz; Toosi, Nahal (1 April 2010). "Pakistan moves closer to renaming volatile region"
(https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/31/AR2010033101247.ht
ml). Washington Post. Retrieved 1 April 2010.
6. Amir Wasim. "PML-N wants NWFP renamed as 'Abaseen Afghania'." (http://www.dawn.co
m/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/the-newspaper/national/03-pmln-wants-nwf
p-renamed-as-abaseen-afghania-ss-01). Dawn 15 March 2010. Retrieved 1 April 2010.
7. Divided they stand: K-P Assembly passes two resolutions on Hazara province (https://tribun
e.com.pk/story/685872/divided-they-stand-k-p-assembly-passes-two-resolutions-on-hazara-
province/)
8. Matter of Identity by Dr. Sher Zaman Taizai (http://www.khyber.org/articles/2003/MatterofIde
ntity.shtml)
9. Abdus Sattar Ghazali. "Pakhtoonkhwa: Renaming of the NWFP." (http://www.ghazali.net/bo
ok1/Chapter10a/body_page_3.html) Islamic Pakistan: Illusions & Reality.
10. "ANP asks opponents not to raise Pakhtunkhwa issue." (http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/defau
lt.asp?page=2008\11\05\story_5-11-2008_pg7_45) 5 November 2008. Retrieved 15 April
2010.
11. Pakistan renames North West Frontier Province to end 'colonial anachronism' (https://www.t
elegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/pakistan/2032986/Pakistan-renames-North-West-Fron
tier-Province-to-end-'colonial-anachronism'.html)
12. Dawn News - PPP out to tame presidency, empower parliament (http://www.dawn.com/200
8/05/25/top1.htm)
13. PML-N may oppose NWFP renaming as Pakhtunkhwa - The News (http://www.thenews.co
m.pk/print1.asp?id=116938)
14. Riaz Khan. "ANP jubilant as Pakhtunkhwa echoes in UNGA." (http://www.thenews.com.pk/d
aily_detail.asp?id=138240) 27 September 2008. Retrieved 29 September 2008.
15. "Pakistan Senate amends the constitution." (http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=123455&se
ctionid=351020401) Press TV. 15 Apr 2010. Retrieved 15 Apr 2010.
16. "NWFP officially renamed as Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa" (http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/conne
ct/dawn-content-library/dawn/news/pakistan/07-senate-begins-voting-on-18th-amendment-h
a-02). Dawn.com. 15 April 2010. Retrieved 15 April 2010.
17. Karin Brulliard. "Tensions over renamed Pakistan province overshadow government
reforms." (https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/04/16/AR20100416
02398.html) Washington Post. 17 April 2010. Retrieved 17 April 2010.

External links
Pashtunkhwa: A Development Framework [1] (http://www.khyberwatch.com/NDCP/NDCP1.
htm)

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