--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The Pashtuns feel discriminated against…" description: "\"The Pashtuns feel discriminated against by the Americans because they supported the Taliban and the war is still going on in their region with continue..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ad/ahmed-rashid-19311_bombing_the-pashtuns-feel-discriminated-against_869584.jpg" --- # The Pashtuns feel discriminated against by the Americans… ![“The Pashtuns feel discriminated against by the Americans because they supported the Taliban and the war is still going on in their region with continued U.S. bombing. They are also disgruntled at the overwhelming power of their ethnic rivals the Tajiks, who dominate the security forces in Kabul…” quote by Ahmed Rashid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ad/ahmed-rashid-19311_bombing_the-pashtuns-feel-discriminated-against_869584.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ad/ahmed-rashid-19311_bombing_the-pashtuns-feel-discriminated-against_869584.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ad/ahmed-rashid-19311_bombing_the-pashtuns-feel-discriminated-against_869584.jpg) > “The Pashtuns feel discriminated against by the Americans because they supported the Taliban and the war is still going on in their region with continued U.S. bombing. They are also disgruntled at the overwhelming power of their ethnic rivals the Tajiks, who dominate the security forces in Kabul and control the key levers of political power. Although Karzai is a Pashtun also, many Pashtuns consider him a hostage to the Tajiks and Americans.” [Ahmed Rashid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ahmed-rashid/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote outlines Pashtun grievances: perceived discrimination, alliance with Taliban, ongoing conflict, and rivalry with Tajiks dominating power. **In simple terms:** Pashtuns feel unfairly treated and powerless compared to Tajiks. Key Takeaway Address political inclusion and reduce external interference. Themes ethnic tension political marginalization conflict foreign policy Mood concerned serious Type political analytical When to use this quote - peace negotiations - humanitarian aid - media reporting - policy reform Key Concepts statecraft identity politics Questions to Reflect On - What steps can foster equitable power sharing? - How can external actors support lasting peace? A Different Perspective Complex regional dynamics may oversimplify diverse Pashtun perspectives. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bombing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bombing/) [Israel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/israel/) [Kabul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kabul/) [Pashtuns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pashtuns/) [Political](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/political/) [Political power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/political-power/) [Rivals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rivals/) [Security](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/security/) [Security forces](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/security-forces/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) ## Related quotes > [Pashtun nationalism is reasserting itself. Its political history spans several hundred years. The Pashtuns are angry at the Americans because, one, they're still being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ahmed-rashid/pashtun-nationalism-is-reasserting-itself-its-political-history-spans/) [Ahmed Rashid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ahmed-rashid/) > [We should remember that the Pashtuns are the largest ethnic group in Afghanistan. Of course, many of them did support the Taliban. But you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ahmed-rashid/we-should-remember-that-the-pashtuns-are-the-largest-ethnic-group-in/) [Ahmed Rashid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ahmed-rashid/) > [What everyone underestimated was the acute unpopularity of the Taliban, even in the Pashtun areas. People like myself were saying the Taliban would be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ahmed-rashid/what-everyone-underestimated-was-the-acute-unpopularity-of-the/) [Ahmed Rashid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ahmed-rashid/) > [It seems that the whole world is beginning to decay, and that its putrefaction has chosen to spread outward from here, from the land…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yasmina-khadra/it-seems-that-the-whole-world-is-beginning-to-decay-and-that-its/) [Yasmina Khadra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yasmina-khadra/) > [Oh East is East and West is West and never the twain shall meet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudyard-kipling/oh-east-is-east-and-west-is-west-and-never-the-twain-shall-meet/) [Rudyard Kipling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudyard-kipling/) > [Pakistan is a peace loving, democratic country. Pashtuns want education for their daughters and sons. Islam is a religion of peace, humanity and brotherhood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malala-yousafzai/pakistan-is-a-peace-loving-democratic-country-pashtuns-want-education/) [Malala Yousafzai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malala-yousafzai/) > [The Pashtuns in particular are kind of trapped. They've never accepted the Durand Line nor has any Afghan government historically accepted it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-pashtuns-in-particular-are-kind-of-trapped-they-ve-never-accepted/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Never mind that to me, the face of Afghanistan is that of a boy with a thin-boned frame, a shaved head, and low-set ears,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khaled-hosseini/never-mind-that-to-me-the-face-of-afghanistan-is-that-of-a-boy-with-a/) [Khaled Hosseini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khaled-hosseini/) > [“We Pashtuns are split between Pakistan and Afghanistan and don’t really recognize the border that the British drew more than 100 years ago.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malala-yousafzai/we-pashtuns-are-split-between-pakistan-and-afghanistan-and-don-t/) [Malala Yousafzai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malala-yousafzai/) > [The Pashtun tribes are always engaged in private or public war. 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They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malala-yousafzai/in-countries-other-than-pakistan-i-won-t-necessarily-call-them/) [Malala Yousafzai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malala-yousafzai/) > [“In Our Villages - You killed thousands by thousands, after each thousand, You are killing another one thousand.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abed-rahmani/in-our-villages-you-killed-thousands-by-thousands-after-each-thousand/) [Abed Rahmani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abed-rahmani/) > [My father always says that heroism is in the Pashtun DNA.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malala-yousafzai/my-father-always-says-that-heroism-is-in-the-pashtun-dna/) [Malala Yousafzai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malala-yousafzai/) > [Held in the palms of thousands of disgruntled people over the centuries have been ideas worth millions - if they only had taken the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-hayes/held-in-the-palms-of-thousands-of-disgruntled-people-over-the/) Robert M. Hayes ## More by Ahmed Rashid > [You have a lot of suspicion from the neighbors of Afghanistan about U.S. intentions. Iran is already, to some extent, trying to undermine the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ahmed-rashid/you-have-a-lot-of-suspicion-from-the-neighbors-of-afghanistan-about-u/) [Ahmed Rashid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ahmed-rashid/) > [America does not hold to the colonial tradition. 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Pakistan needs someone who stands up and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ahmed-rashid/our-pakistan-elites-are-spoiled-by-permanent-foreign-aid-and/) [Ahmed Rashid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ahmed-rashid/) > [“Within a few short, dramatic months Afghanistan had been catapulted into the centre of the intensified Cold War between the Soviet Union and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ahmed-rashid/within-a-few-short-dramatic-months-afghanistan-had-been-catapulted/) [Ahmed Rashid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ahmed-rashid/) > [I am confident that there are hedge funds, banks or investment companies that could allocate five percent of their portfolios for risky investments. In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ahmed-rashid/i-am-confident-that-there-are-hedge-funds-banks-or-investment/) [Ahmed Rashid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ahmed-rashid/) > [I think within a year or so, perhaps, if 9/11 had not happened, in Afghanistan would have been a very broad-based general uprising against…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ahmed-rashid/i-think-within-a-year-or-so-perhaps-if-9-11-had-not-happened-in/) [Ahmed Rashid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ahmed-rashid/) > [We should remember that the Pashtuns are the largest ethnic group in Afghanistan. Of course, many of them did support the Taliban. But you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ahmed-rashid/we-should-remember-that-the-pashtuns-are-the-largest-ethnic-group-in/) [Ahmed Rashid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ahmed-rashid/) > [What everyone underestimated was the acute unpopularity of the Taliban, even in the Pashtun areas. 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At present, no major power can find the correct ways and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ahmed-rashid/the-west-would-be-well-advised-to-change-its-approach-towards-failing/) [Ahmed Rashid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ahmed-rashid/) [Explore all 33 Ahmed Rashid quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ahmed-rashid/) ## More Bombing quotes > [While the 1963 Birmingham church bombing is the most historic, there also was a series of church burnings in the 1990s. Recognition of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthea-butler/while-the-1963-birmingham-church-bombing-is-the-most-historic-there/) [Anthea Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthea-butler/) > [As far as I know, the question of whether and how it could be strategically or morally justified was never the subject of open…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/as-far-as-i-know-the-question-of-whether-and-how-it-could-be/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I stated that Hiroshima and Nagasaki are 'among the most unspeakable crimes in history.' 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What…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kofi-annan/the-question-is-the-morning-after-what-sort-of-iraq-do-we-wake-up-to/) [Kofi Annan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kofi-annan/) > [Clinton's bombing campaign has caused all of these problems to explode](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-delay/clinton-s-bombing-campaign-has-caused-all-of-these-problems-to-explode/) [Tom DeLay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-delay/) > [“Be back presently, Florence!” he called to his wife, and stumped out the front door into the noise and panic of a London bombing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-brazytis/be-back-presently-florence-he-called-to-his-wife-and-stumped-out-the/) [Sarah Brazytis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-brazytis/) > [If liberals had been in charge of the Arizona memorial, it would probably have featured an exhaustive exhibit about the internment of Japanese Americans…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mona-charen/if-liberals-had-been-in-charge-of-the-arizona-memorial-it-would/) [Mona Charen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mona-charen/) > [WASHINGTON - Ever since President Obama ordered American warplanes to begin bombing terrorist targets in Iraq and Syria last year, members of Congress have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-baker/washington-ever-since-president-obama-ordered-american-warplanes-to/) [Peter Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-baker/) > [If you're against globalisation, it doesn't achieve much by sort of bombing the head offices of Shell or Nestle. 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