'Height of stupidity': Sadanand Dhume on Pakistanis mocking Afghans, Pashtuns with 'tandoor' jibe in viral video

Indian-American writer and journalist Sadanand Dhume on Friday said in a post on X that Pakistan's biggest problem is that it only knows how to mobilise its army against a threat by using ethnic instead of civic nationalism. Dhume also hinted at the fact that Pakistan is not the one to learn from its past mistakes. 

He said that this was the same tactic that Islamabad used against Bengalis and Baloch back in the 70s and now foolishly targets Pashtuns. His take came after a video shared by Pakistan Information Ministry officials, including Attaullah Tarar, went viral on social media. The video shows Pakistani youngsters mocking Afghans and Pashtuns using the 'tandoor' jibe while also accusing them of being Indian agents. 

"But using this ethnically demeaning approach on the Pashtuns by calling them beggars or naan-waalas is the height of stupidity. The Pashtuns are a powerful minority with significant representation in the (Punjabi-dominated) Pakistani army. They control the sensitive Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province bordering Afghanistan." 

The writer-journalist added that Pashtun kinsmen run Afghanistan, and not even their worst enemies can deny their fighting prowess. He also mentioned what the Pakistani government should do instead to ease the tensions. 

"Not even the worst enemy of the Pashtuns can deny their fighting prowess. And some of them already have contempt for what they see as the soft, overfed, feminised Pakistani Punjabi elite. Against this backdrop, a wise Pakistani government would bend over backwards not to turn a spat with the Taliban in Kabul into an attack on a domestic minority already smarting over the mistreatment of Imran Khan, himself an ethnic Pashtun."

Dhume further said that what we are seeing instead is Pakistan not only repeating the mistake it made in the 70s but also amplifying it multifold, with ministers sharing a cringeworthy video filled with ethnic stereotypes. "The only silver lining (from a Pakistani perspective) is the heartening sight of many ordinary Pakistanis of all ethnicities calling it out as racist garbage," he said towards the end of his post. 

Read Dhume's full post here

Pakistanis mock Afghans, Pashtuns; watch the video here

People in the video can be heard saying, "You will attack Pakistan. Oh really? Hey, you even have an air force? Oh really? Apart from running a tandoor, do you also fight wars? Oh really? Rajendra, may our Shehbaz Sharif be praised — and when it comes to giving a response, will a man just stop? Oh really? You will become India’s proxy, attack Pakistan, and get away with it? Oh really? Our Field Marshal did not spare your men. Who do you think you are? Operation Ghazab-lil-Haq. Pakistan — you will attack Pakistan?" 

Business Today could not independently verify the authenticity of this video. 

Users slam video as "racist and insensitive"

Many social media users slammed the video as being "racist and insensitive" towards Afghans.

Replying to Tarar's post, a Pakistani wrote, "This is a racist and insensitive video, there is no humor in it. Seriously, is this the level of your content during wartime? It’s disgusting and cheap content, Attaullah Tarar."

Sharing the video on X, another Pakistani user said, "Whoever approved this ad should not be in the Ministry of Information."

Strategic affairs analyst Abhijit Iyer-Mitra also condemned the video for the colonial mindset that haunts Pakistan to this day. "Leave aside the low quality production, this video unintentionally shows you the colonial mindset of Pakistanis. It refers to Afghans as “tandoori chalane waale” - people only fit for baking in a tandoor - not fighting a war," Mitra wrote. 

Another user said, "OMFG, this is so cringe. Straight out of 2015."