The issue of renaming the NWFP as Pakhtunkhwah has always led to hullabaloo whenever it has been proposed, whether it is in a constitutional package or raised at the official level. Though most sections of the province do support renaming it as Pakhtunkhwah, some say Pakhtunkhwah, if it is adopted, would be only representative of a specific ethnicity or language. There are sub-castes and communities of non-Pakhtun people in the province who do not speak Pushto. So, according to them, the name Pakhtunkhwah does not represent them. Of course, the people who speak Pushto as their first language are Pashtuns, a word that is sometimes used for people of a specific ethnicity. However, Pushto is more than a language or ethnicity. In a broader sense, it mean a specific culture or way of life. It is true that there are several areas in NWFP where the first language of its residents is either Hindkoh, Siraiki or Kihwar. However, it is also a fact that most of them not only understand and speak Pushto but also follow the Pushto culture and way of life that is commonly called the Pukhtunwali. The main objections or reservations being expressed over the name Pakhtunkhwah by some sections on behalf of the people of Hazara division seem to be based on misconceptions or vested political interests. In Hazara division, Pashto is spoken by considerable number of population as a first language while the Hindkoh speaking people of Hazara (who are in a slight majority here) are also Pakhtuns as most of them belong to tribes which were ethnically Pakhtuns like Tareens, Jadoons, Sawatis, Mashwanies and Tanolis. Most of them not only can understand and speak Pashto but also follow the Pukhtunwali way of life too. Similarly, in Dera Ismail Khan, which is quoted often as an area of non-Pakhtuns in this controversy, Gundapur, Alizai, Khakwani, Mian Khel and Tareen are all Pakhtun tribes and the majority of population, except those who migrated there in 1947, are bi-lingual who speak both Pashto and Seraiki. -ANWAR JALAL, Peshawar, January 7.