Abstract
The battle for Pakistan was fought in the whole of India but in the North West Frontier Province (now Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), it acquired a unique character in the sense that here the proponents of the Muslim Nationalism and Pakistan were confronted not with a hostile Hindu majority, as was the case in the rest of India. Rather they had to deal with their fellow Muslim Pukhtuns under the banner of Khudai Khidmatgar Movement. The main political philosophy of the movement and its leader Abdul Ghaffar Khan, since their merger in the congress in 1930, was based on the concept of Indian Nationalism instead of Muslim Nationalism and were struggling for their goal of the United India. This article aims at highlighting the role of the Pir of Manki Sharif in the freedom movement and the creation of Pakistan. In the line of this argument, his crucial struggle that he led during the final phase of the partition drama would be explored. In the larger context it would be discovered to locate and critically evaluate the role he played in popularizing the Pakistan Movement among the Pukhtuns of the settled and tribal areas.
Keyword(s)
Pir of Manki Sharif, Role, Pakistan Freedom Movement, Pakistan