KP’s natural resources are not PTM’s dowry: DG ISPR

Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, DG of Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) has issued a controversial statement on Tuesday while addressing cadets in Kohat, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, saying that the natural resources in the province are not Pashtun Tahafuz Movement’s (PTM) “birthright or dowry.”

“Understand what they [PTM] are asking. They say that KP has chromite, copper, oil and gas, and nobody is allowed to touch it. Very good…then develop it yourself. Allah has bestowed Pakistan with abundant natural resources, not just KPK. Did PTM get these resources in their inheritance? Or they got it as dowry?”

The military's media wing chief referred to the recent Jirga held on October 11 by the PTM. The jirga claimed to address key issues affecting the Pashtuns, including security concerns, political autonomy, and socio-economic challenges in the region. 

It should be noted that the October 11 Jirga was a continuation of previous jirgas, including the 2022 Bannu Jirga, leading to further discussions on Pashtun rights.

In 2022, the jirga presented 25 points, one of which included: “The national right of the Pashtun people over all natural resources of the Pakhtunkhwa region be recognized. The provisions of the Pakistani constitution be implemented in the real sense, and oil refineries be built in the Pakhtunkhwa province.”

During his address, the DG ISPR criticised the notion of “creating divisions on ethnic bases.” “The jirga is a noble tradition, but the concept of their demands is wrong. This concept of protecting Pashtuns from non-Pashtuns is wrong. The Army is composed of 25% Pashtuns. Our ancestors made this country in the name of Allah, not on an ethnic basis. This thinking is that if one is from a certain clan, one could be superior to any other human being - that is jahaalat [ignorance].”

“Would you like to be associated with ethnicity? But Hazaras also live in the KP; Hindkos and Chitralis are also here. More than 10 million Pashtuns are settled in Punjab. Karachi has Pashtun people, and we are a diverse society. This concept is entirely wrong,” stated the DG ISPR.

PTM supporters on social media criticised DG ISPR for his speech while using the hashtag #WeStandWith11OctJirga. One user took to X to express their disappointment with the DG’s statement, writing, “DG ISPR says that the Pashtuns got the resources on the land in dowry, so did the Pakistani army get it in dowry? Mr. DG, we will have authority over our resources very soon, God willing, our resources are not for the generals to buy, and these resources were given to us by Allah a long time ago, Pakistan has completed 75 years, which is younger than our grandfather I am sorry to hear your conversation like this.”