In death, a Pashtun poet’s message resonates much louder

Millions of Afghans on both sides of the Durand Line and around the world are mourning the death of Gilaman Wazir, a Pashtun poet, activist, proponent of non-violence and member of the Protection Pashtun Movement (PTM).

Wazir was attacked in the Pakistani capital Islamabad on July 6 and succumbed to his injuries three days later. Born in 1994, he grew up near the Durand Line in North Waziristan, part of the region formerly known as FATA, or the Federally Administered Tribal Areas. The region was governed by the inhumane British-era Frontier Crimes Regulations (FCR) between 1901 and 2018. Growing up under the FCR, Wazir’s childhood and adolescence were further affected by the presence of numerous terrorist groups, including the Afghan and Pakistani Taliban and Al-Qaeda, in addition to US drone strikes and brutal military operations by the Pakistani army, making Waziristan “the most dangerous place in the world.” Life there deprived Wazir of formal education after the third grade. Yet he learned first-hand about politics, war, terrorism and injustice. Beheadings, kidnappings, bombing of villages and towns, repeated displacements were the bitter experiences of his life. Although he grew up in the shadow of war and terrorism, he became a voice for peace, democracy and human rights. In an interview, he spoke about how during his childhood, he and other residents of Waziristan were treated like terrorists.

Like many others from his region, Wazir was sent to Bahrain by his family in his early twenties to ensure his safety and support them financially. While in Bahrain, he used social media to advocate for the PTM and raise funds for their peaceful resistance movement against what they saw as “extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances and state terrorism in the region.” His support for the PTM led to his imprisonment and subsequent deportation from Bahrain. After being sent to Pakistan as a prisoner, his Pakistani passport was confiscated by the government.

Wazir became a more active member of the PTM after that. He participated in all the rallies and sit-ins, reciting his poems, challenging the Pakistani establishment for supporting terrorists and urging people to raise their voices for peace. What made him famous among Afghans was his commitment to the shared history of Pashtuns on both sides of the Durand Line, his advocacy for the rights of Afghan women and his love for the Afghan national flag. He would recite his poems at rallies and sit-ins and post them on social media, all to make his voice heard. He would speak out vehemently about the alarming impact of Pakistan’s policies in the tribal areas, the presence of terrorists in the region and the treatment of Afghans, especially women, by the Taliban. His message was clear and his poetry resonated with the masses, reaching millions on social media platforms.

“God, dismantle your regime, Girls locked up, whisper the pain,” he wrote. “You have closed the doors of girls’ education, May God close the doors of Paradise in retaliation.”

With the Afghan flag in the background, Wazir once recited on social media: “My lemonade blooms with a love so deep for her, in my dreams I sing of the dungeon of Afghanistan. You asked who wrapped the Pashtuns’ mind in shadow, with a whispered breath I spoke of the blade of the mullahs.”

In another video, he can be seen in Waziristan, where Pakistan had bombed a Pashtun Jirga led by Ghazi Mirzali Khan, also known as faqir of Ipi in 1949. Mentioning the incident, Wazir says that “Pakistan was founded on the shedding of Pashtun blood.”

Wazir has been imprisoned several times by the Pakistani military. His last imprisonment was between July 2023 and February 2024. He endured six months of torture before being released. “They were torturing me and asking me why I called myself an Afghan,” Wazir told the media after his release.

After the news of the Wazir attack broke, Afghans from all walks of life and around the world – especially Pashtuns – including former Afghan President Hamid Karzai, Ashraf Ghani and Vice President Amrullah Saleh, expressed their sadness and concern. This was the first time that Afghan politicians, athletes, artists, religious figures, military personnel, men and women had come together to pay tribute to the political struggle of a young Pashtun nonviolent activist.

The news of Wazir’s death sparked a massive show of solidarity to pay tribute to his work and life. Many people across the Pashtun lands mobilized to fight against state terrorism. From Islamabad to Peshawar and all the way to Waziristan, hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets to pay their respects as Wazir’s hearse drove by chanting “Yeah jo dehshatgardi hai, iske peeche wardi hai“(It is those in uniform who are behind the terrorism).

Wazir, the youngest of nine siblings, left behind his young wife and five children. He was buried in his village, his coffin draped in the Afghan tricolour, in accordance with his wishes. Tens of thousands of people attended his funeral, and his mother was the only person to tell Manzoor Ahmad Pashteen, the leader of the PTM: “Stay strong. I will accompany you myself.”

Baitullah Hameedi is a New York-based academic and former professor at Kabul University. The views expressed are personal.