The Prominent Leftist Leaders of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa: An Appraisal

Abstract

The history of leftist politics in NWFP (present-day Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) draws significantly less attention in scholarly and academic journals on national and international politics than other topics do. This was because of Pakistan's alliance with the US-led capitalist camp right after independence in 1947, which made it difficult for its leftist leaders to carry out their program. Throughout the Cold War era (1945-93) the leftist political parties in Pakistan in general and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in particular were incapable of consolidating their position in the post-colonial period and consequently remained marginalized in electoral politics. Despite severe state repression and cracks down, many of the notable leftist leaders of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa continued to carry out their work. However, the list of these leaders is very long and could not be covered by a single research paper. Therefore, this study aims at highlighting the family background, biographies, and political achievements of only selected Six leftist leaders of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.