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Country Profile
Kalash sisters, North-West Frontier Province. Photo: Imran Schah/[email protected]
Pakistan
Country Profile
Pakistan
Officially called the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, the country shares borders
with India in the East, China in the North, Afghanistan and Iran in the West,
and has a 1046 km long coastline along the Arabian Sea in the South. Pakistan
covers 881,640 km2 and has a population of 172,800,000 as of July 2008.
Pakistan has four provinces, namely Sindh, Punjab, North-Western Frontier
Province (NWFP) and Balochistan. The government of Pakistan classifies the
country’s population on the basis of these administrative units – those who live in
Sindh province are called Sindhis, those from Punjab province Punjabis, in Balochistan live the Baloch tribes and in the NWFP the Pashtun tribes. Aside from
these major “ethnic nationalities” there are many other nationalities which the
government does not recognize and for which no separate administrative regions
have been created. Some of these groups are Seraikis, Pothoaris or Birahvis which
demand their separate administrative region and their right over their lands and
other resources.
A large number of people are immigrants and their descendents, mostly Muslims who have come to Pakistan at the time of partition of Indian sub-continent
in 1947, and those who migrated from Afghanistan in the early 1980s.
Peoples of Sindh province and the tribal peoples of Balochistan and NWFP
have a long history of dispute and conflict with the federal government (dominated by the Punjabi political establishment) over the discriminatory resource
distribution among provinces.
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Terms used for indigenous peoples
The concept of “indigenous peoples” has made its way into Pakistan only
recently. The government does not use this term officially, and there is thus no official definition of the term in Pakistan. A distinction is made between the mainstream population and tribal people. In Urdu, the official language of Pakistan,
the term for tribal people is qabaili log or just qabail1. The tribal peoples and their
areas are well defined in Pakistan. In current local literature, among various ethnic groups and in some local right-based movements, however, the term adi vaas
(“son of the soil”), meaning “original people”, is used. Adi vaas (sometimes also
adivas or adivasi) is used with a cultural, ecological and political connotation. As
adi vaas refers to people who have inhabited the region long before any intruder,
they are understood to have a time-tested relationship with their ecosystem and
natural resources.
The Government’s position regarding the recognition of indigenous
peoples and their rights
Since the government does not use the term “indigenous peoples”, but only
speaks of and identifies “tribal people”, the respective national and international
legal instruments have only limited scope. An example is ILO Convention 107, of
which Pakistan is a signatory. It is applied only to the tribal peoples that live in the
“Tribal Areas” of Baluchistan and the North-West Frontier Province, the former
States of Amb, Chitral, Dir and Swat. Article 246 of the Constitution defines the
so-called Tribal Areas, which are sub-divided into the Provincially Administered
Tribal Areas (PATA) and the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA).
The Provincially Administered Tribal Areas comprise:2
The districts of Chitral, Dir and Swat; the Tribal Areas of Kohistan and
Mansehra districts; Malakand Protected Area; the former states of Amb; Zhoub
district, Loralai district (except Duki Tehsil), Dalbandin Tehsil of Chagai District
and Marri and Bugti tribal territories of Sibi district.
The Federally Administered Tribal Areas comprise: 3
Tribal Areas adjoining Peshawar district; Tribal Areas adjoining Bannu
district; Tribal Areas adjoining Kohat district; Tribal Areas adjoining Dera Ismail Khan district; Bajau Agency; Mohmand Agency; Khyber Agency; Kurram
Agency; North Waziristan Agency; South Wasiristan Agency.
At national level, Pakistan has no official policy or legislation for indigenous
peoples, except The Frontier Crime Regulation (1930), enacted during the last
days of British India, which is a brief definition and administrative guidelines
towards the tribal areas and peoples. The late president Mohtarma Benazir Bhuttu
of the Pakistan People’s Party, assassinated on 27th December 2007, has terminated this law since it was considered discriminatory.
Pakistan
As a result of the lack of legal protection in Pakistan, indigenous peoples’
resources like the lands, water, fish and forests are appropriated for development
and revenue purpose without their consent and hence without any benefits. Thus
the indigenous peoples are fast loosing there livelihoods base. Huge tracts of indigenous peoples’ lands are considered “state-land”.
The only legal instrument protecting the rights of indigenous peoples is ILO
Convention No.107 (which was replaced by ILO Convention on Indigenous and
Tribal Peoples No.169 of 1989, which was however not ratified by Pakistan).
As mentioned, there is however only limited application of Convention 107 in
Pakistan. The government of Pakistan as well as the ILO Pakistan, through ILO
Convention 107, only deal with the tribal peoples of Balochistan and North
Western Frontier Province. The scope of the convention is not extended to other
indigenous peoples.
Among the international human rights instruments ratified by Pakistan are:
1. Convention on Elimination of Discrimination against Women
(CEDAW).
2. Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC).
3. International Convention on Elimination of Racial Discrimination
(ICERD).Pakistan has signed, but not ratified:
4. International Convention on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
Identifying indigenous peoples in Pakistan
As there is no formal definition and classification of indigenous peoples in
Pakistan, the identification of which ethnic groups can be considered indigenous
in Pakistan is difficult. It relies on a combination of criteria including their assertion of their distinct identities, the possession of livelihood systems, cultures
and social organization distinct from the mainstream society, and their relative
political, economic and social marginalization.
The indigenous peoples of the North-West Frontier Province
The North-West Frontier Province (NWFP) was created in 1901, and currently consists of seven divisions and 22 districts and the Provincial Administered
Tribal Areas (PATA). About ¾ of the territory is under the administration of
the provincial government, the remainder under the federal government (Federally Administered Tribal Areas).4 The Pukhtun, (or Pakhtun, Pushtun, Pathan)
represent the largest indigenous ethnic group in the NWFP. They also live in a
vast area of adjacent Afghanistan. The Pukhtun are Muslim, and are sub-divided
into three main branches (the Sarbani Pukhtun, the Ghilzai Pukhtun and the
Gurghush Pukhtuns), each of them consisting of several tribes, which are again
divided into khels (clans).5 There are around 60 tribes and 400 khels.6 The Pukhtun are basically farmers or herdsmen, or a combinations of both.
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The people of Chitral in the North of the NWFP, like the Kohwar, have
a different language and culture. And in three small valleys in Chitral live the
Kalash, who have their own indigenous belief system, but who are now increasingly converting to Islam.7
The forests dwellers of Malakand division i.e. Swat Kohistan and Dir Kohistan valleys, and in Mata and Shangla districts, have been struggling for their
forest royalty since the early 1990s. The area is inhabited by five major ethnic
groups, namely Kohistanis, the Pukhtun, the Gujjars, Swatis and Syads. Local
rulers and landlords traditionally exercised control only to the extent of collecting
taxes on certain animals and plant species. The British control, however, change
the land use pattern, property rights and tenure system of the region. Various
colonial forests acts, such as the Hazara Forest Conservancy Rules of 1857, the
Forest Act of 1865 and the Forest Act of 1927, declared all forests as property of
the government and opened them for commercial exploitation
The Baloch
The Baloch inhabit Balochistan province in the west of Pakistan and the
adjacent areas in Iran and Afghanistan. There are three branches of the Baloch:
the Makrani, Sulemani and Brahui (the latter speaking a different language)8.
The major Baloch tribes include the Bugtis, Maris, and Mengals. Other Baloch
tribes were forcibly included in Punjab province. Among them are the Ligharis,
Mazaris, Gorchanis, Dreshaks, Khosas, Qaisranis, Khitrans, and Buzdars who
live in the Suleiman Mountains.
The Baloch live by a mixture of dry and irrigated agriculture and pastoralism. Their community organization varies between extremes of highly stratified
villages and small egalitarian nomadic groups. These nomadic pastoralists play a
significant social role. Their continued activity provides a communication network
among the settled village communities and symbolizes for those communities the
values that support traditional Baloch identity.
The Buzdars, one of the largest Baloch tribes with a number of sub tribes,
live in area called Andar Pahar in the Sulaiman Mountain, which lies between
Balochistan and the South Punjab. Detached from Balochistan, this large Baloch
zone is part of District Dera Ghazi Khan of Punjab as “De- Excluded Area”. This
arrangement was made by the British government before partition while during
British colonial times these tribes had enjoyed an independent status and were
administered as “Special Area”. Compared to other Baloch tribes in the area,
(Ligharis, Khosas, Qaisranis, Nutkanis, Khitrans), the Buzdars have been less-visible on the local and national political scene.
Pakistan
Indigenous peoples of the Indus River
The Kihals and Mors are considered indigenous peoples of the Indus River.
They depend on fishing and the forests of the Indus delta. Most of their population is concentrated between Chashma Barrage and Taunsa Barrage.
Fishing, basket weaving and agricultural labour are major sources of livelihood for the Kihals and Mors for which they entirely depend on the Indus. Their
livelihood is however under threat due to mega water development project like
dams and barrages, project-induced flooding, increased agricultural activities on
riverine lands and contract fishing.
Instead of following one single religion in strict, the Kihals kept to a flexible
system of believes. Due to their increasing dependence on neighboring Muslim
population, Kihals and Mors are fast converting to Islam and adapt a Muslim life
style. They now call themselves Sheikhs (new Muslims), and Khokhar (a sub-caste
of Muslims), and want their women to wear scarfs and stay at home.
The indigenous peoples of the Northern Areas
The Northern Areas is a Federally Administered Area (officially called Federally Administered Northern Areas - FANA). It became a single administrative unit
in 1970 through the amalgamation of the Gilgit Agency, the Baltistan District of
the Ladakh Wazarat, and the states of Hunza and Nagar. According to Pakistan’s
constitution, the FANA is not part of Pakistan, and its people have no representation in Pakistan’s parliament. The United Nations considers the whole area of the
former princely state of Kashmir and Jammu, including the present-day FANA,
as disputed territory which is still awaiting resolution of the long-standing conflict
between India and Pakistan.
The extremely rugged terrain with high mountains and isolated valleys has
a highly diverse population with many linguistic, ethnic, and religious groups.
Urdu is the lingua franca of the region, but many indigenous languages are spoken which again often have several local dialects. Shina is the language of 40%
of the population, spoken mainly in Gilgit, Diamer, and in some parts of Ghizer.
The Balti language, part of the Sino-Tibetan language family, is spoken by the
people of Baltistan. Smaller language groups are Wakhi, spoken in upper Hunza,
and in some villages in Ghizer, and Khowar of Ghizer. Burushaski is an isolated
language spoken in Hunza, Nagar, Yasin (where Khowar is also spoken), in some
parts of Gilgit and in some villages of Punyal.9
At present, the people of the Northern Areas have no participation in the governance of their territories. Their resources, above all timber, are rapidly exploited
and poverty levels are extremely high. The Gilgit Baltistan United Movement
(GBUM) and the Balawaristan National Front (BNF) are two local movements
calling for the establishment of a fully autonomous state.
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This country profile was written by Wasim Wagha, Programme Manager, Research
and Advocacy, & Executive Officer DAMAAN (Development through Awareness
and Motivation) based in Southern Punjab, Pakistan, with inputs from Christian
Erni (IWGIA).
Sources
Printed sources
Shaheen Sardar Ali and Javaid Rehman 2001. Indigenous Peoples and Ethnic Minorities of Pakistan. Constitutional and Legal Perspectives. Nordic Institute
of Asian Studies Monograph Series No. 84. Curzon Press
Internet sources
Wikipedia web-site, Pakistan: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pakistan;
on the Northern Areas: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_Areas_(Pakistan);
On Federally Administered Tribal Areas: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federally_Administered_Tribal_Areas;
On North-West Frontier Province: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North-West_Frontier_Province;
On Balochistan: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balochistan_(Pakistan)
Notes
Qabila - tribe / Qabail - plural of tribe i.e. tribes (also used for people of the tribes). Log people.
2
Ali and Rehman 2001, p. 45
3
Ibid.
4
Ibid.: p. 78f
5
Ibid.: p. 79
6
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pashtuns#Modern_era
7
Ali and Rehman 2001: p. 79
8
Ibid: p. 61
9
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_Areas_(Pakistan)#Demographics
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