Abdul Ghaffar Khan and the PPP?

Question

Do anybody know, if Abdul Ghaffar Khan was a co-founder of the Pakistan People's party (Bhutto)?

I know much about the history of Abdul Ghaffar Khan and his family, but I heard that he was the co-founder of the PPP and I want to know, if that is right.

Answer 1

Also known as Badshah Khan (the Khan of Khans), Abdul Ghaffar Khan (among many other things) organized and led a peace army of 100,000 among the Pashtuns (the majority group in Afghanistan, and quite numerous in Pakistan as well) "against" the British during south Asia's struggle for independence. Their oath: "I shall never use violence. I shall not retaliate or take revenge, and shall forgive anyone who indulges in oppression and excesses against me."
Yes, this is the same Pashtuns who made up much of the Taliban, and known through history as ferocious warriors.


When a group of resisters was fired on, according to one account, the wounded fell down and "those behind came forward and with their breasts bared, exposed themselves to the fire...so that some got as many as 21 bullet holes in their bodies, and all the people stood their ground without getting into a panic.
Awed and inspired by the courage of the resisters, a renowned British regiment refused orders to participate further in the slaughter. (from Reclaiming the Great Khan for History)


When Ghaffar Khan asked MohandasGandhi why recruitment to the NonViolence cause had such rapid success among the Pashtuns in comparison to in India,
Gandhi responded, "Nonviolence is not for cowards. It is for the brave, the courageous..." (same source)

For a more complete picture of the man, see http://www.everything2.com/index.pl?node_id=1268431
Several biographies:


My Life and Struggle, by Abdul Ghaffar Khan
Nonviolent Soldier of Islam, by Eknath Easwaran ( a few reviews)
The Frontier Gandhi: His Place in History, by M. S. Korejo
The Pathan Unarmed, by Mukulika Banerjee

Ms Banerjee found that Ghaffar's pacifism grew out of his concept of jihad, or holy war, because nonviolent resistance "offered the chance of martyrdom in its purest form, since putting one's life conspicuously in one's enemy's hands was itself the key act." (from The Peacemaker of the Pashtun Past)