Mohammad Afzal Khan Bangash ( ps, محمد افضل بنګش; April 16, 1924 — October 28, 1986) was a
Pashtun
Pashtuns (, , ; ps, پښتانه, ), also known as Pakhtuns or Pathans, are an Iranian ethnic group who are native to the geographic region of Pashtunistan in the present-day countries of Afghanistan and Pakistan. They were historically re ...
Marxist
Marxism is a Left-wing politics, left-wing to Far-left politics, far-left method of socioeconomic analysis that uses a Materialism, materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to understand S ...
political activist serving as an office-bearer in the
National Awami Party
The National Awami Party (NAP), translated from Urdu to English as National People's Party, was the major left-wing political party in East and West Pakistan. It was founded in 1957 in Dhaka, erstwhile East Pakistan (present-day Bangladesh), by A ...
(NAP), and later, along with his colleague
Sher Ali Bacha
Sher Ali Bacha ( ps, شېرعلي باچا), commonly known as Bachajee (), was a Pakistani Pashtun politician, poet and human rights activist. He was one of the founding members of the Mazdoor Kisan Party (MKP) and the Pashtunkhwa Milli Awami Par ...
, as the co-founder and president of the
Mazdoor Kisan Party
The Mazdoor Kisan Party (MKP; ps, مزدور کِسان ګوند; ur, ; lit. "Workers and Peasants Party") is a communist party in Pakistan. It was founded on 1 May 1968 by Afzal Bangash and Sher Ali Bacha. Other prominent leaders included Is ...
(MKP).
Early life and career
Mohammad Afzal Khan Bangash was born on April 16, 1924, in
Kohat
Kohat ( ps, کوهاټ; ur, ) is a city that serves as the capital of the Kohat District in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. It is regarded as a centre of the Bangash tribe of Pashtuns, who have lived in the region since the late 15th century ...
, British India. His father was Mohammad Akbar Khan Bangash, an advocate.
Afzal Bangash became one of the leading lawyers of
NWFP
NWFP may refer to:
*North-West Frontier Province, a province of British India, and later, Pakistan
*Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (; ps, خېبر پښتونخوا; Urdu, Hindko: خیبر پختونخوا) commonly abbreviated as KP o ...
and during Ayub Khan's rule, he was offered the judgeship of the
West Pakistan
West Pakistan ( ur, , translit=Mag̱ẖribī Pākistān, ; bn, পশ্চিম পাকিস্তান, translit=Pôścim Pakistan) was one of the two Provincial exclaves created during the One Unit Scheme in 1955 in Pakistan. It was d ...
high court. He declined the offer, choosing instead to concentrate on pleading cases of peasants who were being evicted by Ayub's land reforms.
Political life
Bangash joined the
Communist Party of Pakistan
The Communist Party of Pakistan ( abbr. CPP; ur, کمیونسٹ پارٹی آف پاکستان) is a communist party in Pakistan.
History Founding
The CPP was founded in Calcutta, India, soon after the establishment of Pakistan on 6 March 1948 ...
(CPP) soon after its formation in 1948 and became a member of its
NWFP
NWFP may refer to:
*North-West Frontier Province, a province of British India, and later, Pakistan
*Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (; ps, خېبر پښتونخوا; Urdu, Hindko: خیبر پختونخوا) commonly abbreviated as KP o ...
committee.
In 1957 he was elected as the first General Secretary of the
National Awami Party
The National Awami Party (NAP), translated from Urdu to English as National People's Party, was the major left-wing political party in East and West Pakistan. It was founded in 1957 in Dhaka, erstwhile East Pakistan (present-day Bangladesh), by A ...
(NAP). He was responsible for organizing the peasant committee in NWFP.
In the 1965 Pakistani presidential election, Bangash served as
Fatima Jinnah's provincial chief campaign manager in her campaign against
Ayub Khan
Ayub Khan is a compound masculine name; Ayub is the Arabic version of the name of the Biblical figure Job, while Khan or Khaan is taken from the title used first by the Mongol rulers and then, in particular, their Islamic and Persian-influenced s ...
.
In the 1967 NAP split, Afzal Bangash and
Sher Ali Bacha
Sher Ali Bacha ( ps, شېرعلي باچا), commonly known as Bachajee (), was a Pakistani Pashtun politician, poet and human rights activist. He was one of the founding members of the Mazdoor Kisan Party (MKP) and the Pashtunkhwa Milli Awami Par ...
, who were active in peasant committees, decided to follow the
Khan Abdul Wali Khan
Khan Abdul Wali Khan ( ps, خان عبدالولي خان; 11 January 1917 – 26 January 2006) was a Pakistani secular democratic socialist and Pashtun leader, and served as president of Awami National Party. Son of the prominent Pashtun nat ...
faction. However, the NAP leadership soon decided to bar Bangash and Bacha from simultaneously working in peasant committees while being members of the NAP. As a result, they decided to leave the NAP and found the
Mazdoor Kisan Party
The Mazdoor Kisan Party (MKP; ps, مزدور کِسان ګوند; ur, ; lit. "Workers and Peasants Party") is a communist party in Pakistan. It was founded on 1 May 1968 by Afzal Bangash and Sher Ali Bacha. Other prominent leaders included Is ...
(MKP) on May 1, 1968. The MKP was to become the largest and most militant party with a Marxist orientation in the history of Pakistan. Although Bangash was recognized as principal leader of the MKP, he did not hold any official position until July 1979 when he was elected its president at the party's second congress.
As a trade union organiser, Bangash was founder-president of the
Sarhad Trade Union Federation. He also edited the weekly MKP magazine ''Sanober''.
Travel abroad
On October 16, 1979,
Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq
General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq HI, GCSJ, ร.ม.ภ, (Urdu: ; 12 August 1924 – 17 August 1988) was a Pakistani four-star general and politician who became the sixth President of Pakistan following a coup and declaration of martial law in ...
declared martial law and intensified political repression. A number of serious charges were drawn up with which to frame Bangash in military courts, however they remained internal and were never made public.
Afzal Bangash had numerous health problems, including chronic bronchitis, asthma, kidney failure, stroke, near blindness, diabetes, heart disease and hypertension. These health issues prompted him to travel abroad to the United Kingdom in 1979, to receive treatment. While staying in the UK he decided against returning to Pakistan for the time being, due to the situation in Pakistan. Instead, he remained active abroad in mobilizing opposition to the military rule of Zia-ul-Haq. During these years he also traveled extensively throughout western Europe, and made trips to the Soviet Union, Czechoslovakia, Poland, the United States, Cuba, India and Mongolia.
He also traveled to Afghanistan. After the
Saur Revolution
The Saur Revolution or Sowr Revolution ( ps, د ثور انقلاب; prs, إنقلاب ثور), also known as the April Revolution or the April Coup, was staged on 27–28 April 1978 (, ) by the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA) ...
in 1978,
Hafizullah Amin
Hafizullah Amin (Pashto/ prs, حفيظ الله امين; 1 August 192927 December 1979) was an Afghan communist revolutionary, politician and teacher. He organized the Saur Revolution of 1978 and co-founded the Democratic Republic of Afghanist ...
had come to power and during Bangash's visit to Afghanistan they spoke together. Amin wanted Bangash to turn the MKP into a Pakistani party allied with his
Khalq
Khalq ( ps, خلق, ) was a faction of the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA). Its historical ''de facto'' leaders were Nur Muhammad Taraki (1967–1979), Hafizullah Amin (1979) and Sayed Mohammad Gulabzoy (1979–1990). It was also ...
faction thereby extending the revolution into Pakistan. However, Bangash refused this and instead admonished Amin advising him to take local culture and norms into consideration.
In 1981 the MKP helped found the
Movement for the Restoration of Democracy
The Movement for the Restoration of Democracy (MRD) ( ur, اتحاد برائے بحالی جمہوریت), was a historically left-wing populism and massive socialist political alliance formed to oppose and end the military government of Presid ...
(MRD), and Bangash worked with
Benazir Bhutto
Benazir Bhutto ( ur, بینظیر بُھٹو; sd, بينظير ڀُٽو; Urdu ; 21 June 1953 – 27 December 2007) was a Pakistani politician who served as the 11th and 13th prime minister of Pakistan from 1988 to 1990 and again from 1993 t ...
during that era.
On 31 March 1985, in London and together with
Ataullah Mengal
Ataullah Mengal (; 24 March 1929 – 2 September 2021) was a Pakistani politician and feudal figure. He was the head of the Mengal tribe until he nominated one of his grandsons, Sardar Asad Ullah Mengal, as his tribal successor. He was also the ...
,
Mumtaz Bhutto
Mumtaz Ali Khan Bhutto ( ur, ممتاز علی بھٹو , sd, ممتاز علي ڀٽو) (28 November 1933 – 18 July 2021), was a Pakistani politician who served as 8th Governor of Sindh and later the 13th Chief Minister of Sindh. He was als ...
and others, he formed the
Sindhi–Baloch–Pashtun Front
The Sindhi–Baloch–Pashtun Front (SBPF) was formed in London on 31 March 1985 by Afzal Bangash, Ataullah Mengal, Mumtaz Bhutto and others to counter what they perceived as a Punjabi establishment's hegemony of Pakistan
Pakistan ( u ...
(SBPF) demanding a confederal structure for Pakistan to guarantee the rights of smaller nationalities and counter what they perceived as a Punjabi establishment's hegemony of Pakistan.
Return to Pakistan
After the lifting of martial law and induction of a civilian government in 1985, political activity was revived in Pakistan and in mid-1986 Afzal Bangash returned to his home country. He resided at his house at Kohat Road in Peshawar and remained involved with merging leftist parties including supporting the fateful decision to merge the MKP with
Khan Abdul Wali Khan
Khan Abdul Wali Khan ( ps, خان عبدالولي خان; 11 January 1917 – 26 January 2006) was a Pakistani secular democratic socialist and Pashtun leader, and served as president of Awami National Party. Son of the prominent Pashtun nat ...
's
National Democratic Party (NDP) thus creating the new
Awami National Party
The Awami National Party (ANP; ur, , ps, اولسي ملي ګوند; lit. ''People's National Party'') is a Pashtun nationalist, secular and leftist political party in Pakistan. The party was founded by Abdul Wali Khan in 1986 and its curr ...
(ANP) and ending a nearly two decade-long dispute with Wali Khan. Other parties included in this merger were a faction of the PNP and Rasool Paleejo’s
Awami Tehrik
The Pakistan Awami Tehreek commonly known as PAT ( ur, پاکستان عوامی تحريک) (''Pakistan People's Movement'') is a political party in Pakistan, founded by Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri, took part in general elections in 1990 and 2002. ...
. Wali Khan became the first president of the ANP while MKP’s
Sardar Shaukat Ali was elected as its General Secretary.
Death
Bangash died of kidney failure on October 28, 1986, in Peshawar, Pakistan. Nearly one hundred thousand people turned up at his funeral and several hundred thousand mourned in villages and towns both inside and outside NWFP. The present chief minister, governor as well as several provincial ministers and members of the assembly came to pay their respects.
He was originally buried in his ancestral graveyard in
Shadi Khel village, Kohat, but later on his remains were transferred to
Hashtnagar
Hashtnagar (Pashto: هشتنګر, more commonly known as اشنغر in Pashto) is one of the two constituent parts of the Charsadda District in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The name Hashtnagar is derived from the Sanskrit अष्टनगरम् ''A ...
. Recently, his remains have been transferred back to Shadi Khel in Kohat, in accordance with the burial wishes of Bangash.
Political views
Although Afzal Bangash had a good grasp of the fundamentals of revolutionary theory and Marxist method of analysis, he never pretended to be a theoretician. He detested the idea of revolutionary theory without practice, and laid great emphasis on revolutionary militant action. Apart from writing articles in Sanober, he also translated an Urdu book on historical materialism into Pashto.
Bangash did not consider himself a Maoist, and was opposed to the
Chinese invasion of Vietnam, in contrast to many of his colleagues who endorsed it. He did not believe in importing or exporting revolutions, but instead believed in indigenous struggle, with mass mobilization of oppressed people through an astute leadership. In an agrarian society the vanguard of such a struggle would be the peasantry.
[Dr Mohammad Taq]
"Afzal Bangash: the Marxist maverick"
'' Daily Times'', 28 October 2010. Retrieved on 2016-09-20.
References
External links
Afzal Bangash: A Life Dedicated to Militant Struggle Feroz Ahmed,
Economic and Political Weekly
The ''Economic and Political Weekly'' (''EPW'') is a weekly peer-reviewed academic journal covering all social sciences, and is published by the Sameeksha Trust. In January 2018, academic Gopal Guru was named the new Editor of the journal. Guru wil ...
, Vol. 21, No. 51 (Dec. 20, 1986), p. 2219
Afzal Bangash Speaks: Class Struggle, Not a Tribal War Pakistan Forum, Vol. 2, No. 9/10 (Jun. – Jul. 1972), pp. 14–18. Published by:
Middle East Research and Information Project The Middle East Research and Information Project (MERIP) is a non-profit independent research group established in 1971, that has released reports and position papers on various Middle East conflicts. Its most prominent publication is ''Middle East ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bangash, Afzal
1986 deaths
Pakistani communists
Pashtun people
Pakistani democracy activists
1924 births
Mazdoor Kisan Party politicians