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626 PUSHTUN
Conflicts between generations arose as groups began to adapt to the new
economic and political situations. Junior lineages and junior members within
lineages began to challenge the political power of the spin geray, who generally
had not taken advantage of the accelerated economic opportunities. "Business
is not Pukhto," they said.
In the past, ownership of honor (nang), coupled with ownership of land
(zamin), had been the most important prestige factors among the Pakistani Pushtun.
This is changing, and money increases status, even in the political arena.
In spite of this, the Pushtun in both the Settled Districts of the provinces and
the FATAs still cling to the paramount ideal of honor as articulated in the various
versions of the Pukhtunwali. Some "frontier-wallas" may mourn the passing
of the old frontier as they knew it, but for better or worse, the roads have come
in to stay, and they are highways of cultural change as well as conquest and
commerce.
Demands for meaningful regional autonomy within Pakistan continue to be a
dominating force in politics. No Pakistani government has taken a postive view
of the problem since Partition. The battle for the Pakistani Pushtun tribal soul
is far from over.
On the Afghan side of the Durand Line, the Soviet-Afghan War has totally
altered the political picture. The Pushtun (and other Afghan ethnic groups) will
never be the same.
The process began with the coup d'etat of July 17, 1973, when former (1953—
1963) Prime Minister Mohammad Daoud (first cousin and brother-in-law of King
Mohammad Zahir) seized power in association with leftist officers and established
the Republic of Afghanistan.
A second coup occurred in April 1978 which broke the power of the Mohammadzai
Durrani Pushtun tribe, the dominant political force (at least at the center)
for about 150 years. The Democratic Republic of Afghanistan (DRA) was born.
Subsequent sociopolitical and economic reforms introduced by the Khalqi (Masses)
Party alienated virtually every segment of Afghan society. Widespread revolts
swept the country after the summer of 1978, a manifestation of the seasonal
aspects of Pushtun warfare.
The initial series of uprisings followed a traditional Central Asian-Iranian
Plateau pattern. The revolts merely expressed an opinion. They informed the
central government that it had stepped beyond the allowable bounds of cultural
deviance. Such insurrections are not necessarily launched to overthrow a regime
in power.
The new DRA did not respond in the traditional manner by sending just enough
military force into the field to halt the movements, then calling for a Loya Jirgah
(Great National Assembly), consisting of the regional power elites, both religious
and secular. Instead, the Soviet-trained and equipped Afghan armed forces (with
Soviet advisors) bombed and napalmed dissident villages. Much blood was shed,
which triggered off a badal between the government and the people. The spring