Framing the Pashtun Question: A Study of PTM’s Political Discourse in the 2024 Pashtun National Jirga
Keywords:
Jirga, Grievances, Manzoor Pashteen, Pashtun, Marginalisation, Demilitarisation, Identity, And State RepressionAbstract
The Pashtun National Jirga has emerged as a critical institution for restoring social order in the Pashtun belt. This paper examines the speeches of the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM) leadership, particularly those of Manzoor Pashteen, at the Pashtun National Jirga in October 2024, through a qualitative content analysis. This paper adopts Framing theory to analyse how PTM leadership has diagnosed socio-economic and political grievances, proposed effective solutions, and motivated a collective resistance. The findings through frames not only identified systematic marginalisation, historical trauma, and state negligence in the speeches of the PTM leader but also called for the strengthening of indigenous institutions like Jirga, demilitarisation, economic justice, and legal reforms.
Downloads
References
Pashteen, M. (2024, October 11). Pashtun National Jirga speech – Part 1 [Video]. Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/share/v/18xp593ehb/
Pashteen, M. (2024, October 11). Pashtun National Jirga speech – Part 2 [Video]. Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/share/v/198xt9BgW1/
Pashteen, M. (2024, October 11). Pashtun National Jirga speech – Part 3 [Video]. Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/share/v/16Yvtptcpp/
Pashteen, M. (2024, October 11). Pashtun National Jirga speech – Part 4 [Video]. Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1ALjayjjfo/
Benford, R. D., & Snow, D. A. (2000). Framing processes and social movements: An overview and assessment. Annual Review of Sociology, 26, 611–639. https://doi.org/10.2307/223459
Borthakur, A. (2024). Pashtun Qaumi Jirga of the PTM: The voices of the Pashtuns in Pakistan.
Dawn News. (2024, June). Jirga leaders demand justice for missing persons. Dawn. https://www.dawn.com/news/1883744
Goffman, E. (1974). Frame analysis: An essay on the organization of experience. Harvard University Press.
International Center on Nonviolent Conflict. (2021). The Pashtun Protection Movement (PTM) in Pakistan. https://www.nonviolent-conflict.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/The-Pashtun-Protection-Movement-PTM-in-Pakistan.pdf
Jafri, Q. A. (2021, September). The Pashtun Protection Movement (PTM) in Pakistan (ICNC Special Report No. 8). International Center on Nonviolent Conflict. https://www.nonviolent-conflict.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/The-Pashtun-Protection-Movement-PTM-in-Pakistan.pdf
Khan, S., Wazir, T., & Khan, A. (2019). The effects of militancy and military operations on Pashtun culture and traditions in FATA. Liberal Arts and Social Sciences International Journal (LASSIJ), 3(1), 74–84. https://doi.org/10.47264/idea.lassij/3.1.7
Mahsud, M. I. (2024). The emergence of a nonviolent nationalist movement among the tribes of Waziristan in Pakistan. Cogent Social Sciences, 10(1), Article 2333084. https://doi.org/10.1080/23311886.2024.2333084
Pashtun Jirga. (2024, October 11). Pashtun Jirga. https://pashtunjirga.org/
Rehman, D. K. (2024, July 2). Pakistan’s new military operation alarms Pashtuns. The Diplomat. https://thediplomat.com/2024/07/pakistans-new-military-operation-alarms-pashtuns/
Schreier, M. (2013). Qualitative content analysis in practice. SAGE Publications. https://www.daneshnamehicsa.ir/userfiles/files/1/9-%20Qualitative%20Content%20Analysis%20in%20Practice%20(2013,%20SAGE%20Publications).pdf
Snow, D. A., & Benford, R. D. (1988). Ideology, frame resonance, and participant mobilization. International Social Movement Research, 1, 197–218.
Stanikzai, S. (2021, December). State response to social movement: A case study of the Pashtun Tahfuz (Protection) Movement in Pakistan (Master’s thesis, OSCE Academy). OSCE Academy. https://mt.osce-academy.kg/handle/123456789/470
VOA News. (2024, March 1). Pakistan’s banned PTM: A movement for Pashtun rights. VOA News. https://www.voanews.com/a/pakistan-s-banned-ptm-a-movement-for-pashtun-rights/7818187.html
Yousaf, F. M. (2021). Jirga, its role and evolution in Pakistan’s Pashtun “tribal” society. In J. C. Spee, A. McMurray, & M. McMillan (Eds.), Clan and tribal perspectives on social, economic and environmental sustainability: Indigenous stories from around the globe (pp. 105–117). Emerald Group Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-78973-365-520211012
Zahoor, M. A. (2020). Social movements in hybrid regimes: The case of Pashtun Tahafuz (Protection) Movement of Pakistan (PTM) (Master’s thesis). Central European University. https://www.etd.ceu.edu/2020/zahoor_muhammad.pdf
Downloads
Published
Data Availability Statement
The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
Issue
Section
Categories
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Yasir Khan Kakar (Author)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
