A A Latief u zaman Deva
The Government in Kabul more often than not call Afghanistan as a South Asian country especially after becoming a member of South Asian Regional Association for Co- operation (SARAC) in 2007 without technically attracting the twin criteria of continuum history and bordering the indo- gangetic civilizational moorings and in the imagination of general masses steeped deep in religion, history, geography & traditions it is a west Asian multi-ethnic multi-lingual land locked country, bordering Iran, Pakistan, China, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan, with population of 3.96 Crores ( 2020) spread over 6.53 lakh kms inhabited in thirty four provinces of the country whose ancient king Qais Abdul Rashid is claimed to have met with Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) in 630 BC through Khalid Ibni Waleed before reverting to Islam. The ethnic and linguistic demography is suggestive of a highly diverse profile of the country as it is Pashtun, Tajik, Uzbek, Hazara, Aimaq, Turkmen & Baloch etc who are the prominent Segments of Afghan society comprising 42 %, 27%, 9%, 9%,4%, 3%, 2% and 4% others including Nuristani and Arabs respectively of the population. The data is based on surveys and other speculative methodologies and doesn’t represent the actual ground level position as Census Operations are yet to be effectuated in the war ravaged country & the fact about 04 million Afghan refugees outside the home country with bulk of them in Pakistan and others in Iran and other countries. On the basis of mother tongues (languages) spoken , spread of Pashtuns and verifiable data preceding 1973 ( overthrow of King Zahir Shah by Dawood Khan, a KGB mole in Soviet era) the Pashtuns peg their population around 57%. The interesting feature of Afghan demography lies in Tajik population more in Afghanistan than in their breeding base of Tajikistan and therefore the ground for ethnic Strain between them & Pashtuns who are incidentally half of the Pashtu population of Pakistan.
Neighbourhood relationship
The folk tales in Afghanistan are a singular reminder of the hostility the Iranian ‘& Afghans had for each other in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries when faced with untold tyranny and brutality at the hands of Iranian Safavid rulers and use of mercenaries by them for forcing the subjugated to adopting the faith of the rulers but fiercely resisted by unrelenting people till Safavid rulers driven out while concurrently the people in eastern Afghanistan found themselves relatively at ease & better under Moghul rulers. The ghost of past haunted them when Iran tacitly supported the Russian backed Govtts in Kabul until the latter withdrew in 1989 and the policy repeated by active participation in USA led war of 2001 against the Taliban. During Iran – Iraq war the precariously depleted levels of arms & ammunition of Iranian forces were reinforced by Mujahideen ,with weapons supplied to them by USA-Pak ‘Saudi axis for fighting the Russians, under the euphoria of Islamic resurgence in Iran and by handful for monetary considerations. The Water issues in Helmand province, concern for heroin exports through Iran & mainstreaming of 8000- 14000 returnees’ from Syrian war theatre are the only subsisting unresolved irritations as the construction of Dams etc in all probability shall affect adversely the down stream of water shed in Iran, 90% of heroin in the world market has its origins in Afghanistan and the Iran backed warriors from the Afghanistan trained & indoctrinated by Iran have participated in Syrian conflict which over the years degenerated into a sectarian battle from Arab Spring of 2011.However the Taliban seem to have mended fences with Hazara & others after de- esclation initially followed by the bonhomie in ties with Iran. The status of relations with Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan is satisfying to all excepting the drug trafficking & persistent activities of Islamists without affecting the State to State relations which are unfortunately static and not growing up to the extent of potential based on cultural affinities, unique between the three countries and Afghanistan. The radicalisation of younger generations in central Asia can be pre-empted by moving gradually towards a genuine framework of democratic governance and individual freedoms bordering liberty with reasonable restrictions in the interests of State and local public aspirations within the broader ambit of an all inclusive Islamic faith symbolized in common Architecture, medieval history of the regions, religious practices and the presidential from of democracy acquiesced by all in the region.
A reference in political narratives in Afghanistan is that before the partition of sub-continent in 1947 during a famous sports event held in Kabul when Indian athletes & other players made their presence felt in presence of King Zahir Shah he is said to have had been looking for Pakistani counter parts of Indian teams but on emerging as a Ist Islamic independent ideological State on August 14, 1947 & resultant admission into UN as its member the solitary opposition emanated from Afghan representative in the UN followed by immediately disputing the Durand line of 1893 demarcating the borders between British India and Afghanistan in the provinces of Baluchistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa which on partition & emergence of India & Pakistan as two States was inherited by the latter as internationally settled boundary between the two countries. Before the departure of Britishers from the sub-continent by relinquishing their paramountcy & suzereignty over India; the Afghans at no stage in fifty four years, ever since the settlement made by Mortiner Durand in 1893, raised questions on the validity of Durand line but chose the occasion after partition. Not content with the acrimonious treatment meted out to the new country at its nascent stage the violence was contrived for being unleashed by supplying arms to the terrorists and other extremists for waging war against the State accompanied with attacks on Pakistani Embassy in Kabul and sporadic skirmishes on the border & due to porous geographical features of the Durand line the misguided Afghanis at times by crossing the border entered into FATA now included in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in order to create trouble for Pakistan for which even the founder of Pakhtunistan Faquir of lpi ( Mirza Khan) was recipient of logistics and other support from India. He actually being a spiritual person had gone misled due to language barriers but realizing sooner the religious bindings for extending unflinching support to the ideological State he disbanded the organisation to the chagrin of Khan Ab Gaffar Khan who rightly had opposed the partition on the basis of two Nation Theory but on its happening considered the new State of Pakistan as a Masjid but displaying his incoherent vision the person fighting for joint India as a universalist came out for ethnicity based State. Depending upon the political & ideological orientation of the party coming to power under the king in Afghanistan the covert & overt operations were being organised inside Pakistan particularly in Pashtun areas with a view to destabilising the country . The first prime Minister of Pakistan Liaquat Ali Khan was assassinated in Rawalpindi on October 16,1951 by a hired assassin Syed Akbar, son of an honorary Brigadier of Afghan army from Khost after the deceased leader had manifested the prospective alignment of his country to liberal & democratic order of the west by proceeding on official visit to USA after over two months of achieving the independence. Dawood Khan as a ruler after 1973 pushed for the revival of sabateaur networks who were getting marginalised politically due to islamisation of Pashtun and entry of Pakistan peoples Party(PPP) into the province which inter- alia saw the killing of Hayat Muhammad Khan Sherpo , Governor of the State & Vice Chairman of PPP on the Campus of Peshawar University on February 8, 1975 triggering the State patronized counter retaliatory measures including hosting of Burhan u Din Rabbani, a Pashtun & Ahmed Shah Masood, a Tajik along with their followers in 1974 long back the Soviet invasion of 1979 . Bhutto an Islamist socialist with leanings towards leftists lays dragnet for decimation of Socialists /Communists of Afghanistan ( fellow travellers) for resurgence of Islamic movements which later on consumed him in person due to misuse of the spirit for Islamic revival by General Zia & Afghan State as a whole.
An irony of Pak-Af relations but essentially onus on Afghan leaders albeit representing secular values and dead against fanaticism, extremism nd majoritarianism. This paradigm shift, forced by sponsoring of terrorism by Dawood Govt, supported by Saudi Arabia as its puritanical obligation to confront communism and with active invoulment of USA later on galvanised almost entire rural populations and large swathes in urban areas of Afghanistan against Soviet installed communist puppets forcing Soviet invasion resulting into a Holy war against Afghan communists and foreigners basically fallout of myopic policies of Afghan Govtts under Soviet influence. The Afghan travails as an extension of Superpower rivalry under the shadow of American defeat in Vietnam during the ist phase of Afghan war (1978-1989) is best illustrated in ‘’ Afghanistan the Bear Trap:The Defeat of a Superpower’’ by Brigadier M Yousaf (1992) who is at the end lamenting at the unimaginable death & destruction suffered by the Afghans. King Zahir Shah wasn’t antagonistic to Pakistan as the opposition to its entry into the World body as a member is said to have been the handiwork of executive which could not be reversed after the die had been cast & whenever Pak-Af matters emerged for his individual decisions he stood for neutrality as in 1965 & 1971 indo-Pak battles with positive assurances conveyed to the nearest neighbouring country on its eastern border . The Afghans should learn lessons from the immediate past in order to correct their vision of State to State relations to make it compatible with respect for territorial integrity of countries bordering it & immune itself from the machinations of powers hostile and inimical to them by denying use of its territory & State organisations for fulfilment of designs of aliens otherwise Afghanistan would continue to be endlessly in total anarchy without coming out of messy disorder and chaotic conditions propelling its balkanisation. At best the model of Durrani Afghanistan ( 1747-1826 ) encompassing the existing Afghanistan and Pakistan can be shaped in the form of Pak-Af confederation to fulfill the territorial visions of the people in the two countries.
Mixed outcomes of Soviet invasion
The painful dislocation of people internally to less vulnerable areas followed by massive influx into Pakistan ( 4.5 million), Iran ( over 01 million) and other countries in thousands including India with about 11000 comprising of 8000 non-Muslims persons of Indian origin and back home lakhs of people lost their lives, lakhs suffered critical & major injuries with entire country reduced to stone age socio- economic positions in infrastructure and social services. The two iconic leaders were already in Pakistan since 1974 & now onwards joined by other top leadership of the remaining political & religious parties who, option less & sans understanding of American grand interests related to revenge for humiliating defeat in Vietnam, recruited young Afghans to form ‘’Mujahideen ‘’ brigades for liberation of their country from clutches of infidel communists from 1978 to 1989 & later on intra- Mujahideen battles for control of the State till 1996 witnessing martyrdom of about one million people in all from inception of the movement & untold miseries. No doubt about the Afghan being battle hardened in soul & flesh but the training for use of modern technology based weapons & familiarisation with the nuances of gurila war churned out from the recruits the exemplary Mujahideen not susceptible to material offerings except taking the war to logical conclusion. After Soviet exit the bonhomie amongst all the fighters petered out on ethnic lines with limited impact on Pashtun but almost total transformation in non- Pashtun regions except limited no of Islamists from them. The integrenum between the exit of Soviet union forces and fall of Taliban Govtt saw more casualties both fighters and civilians than in the phase preceding it and the one with the entry of American including NATO troops.The youngsters could have never imagined about their motivators & trainers turning into their tormentors which actually happened after September, 11 and their handlers & senior commanders had no illusions about the untenable fraternity linked to diametrically opposite ends of the war. The infidel communists fought against by all with passion but out of them non- Pashtun become later on the foot soldiers of Northern Alliance- NA- ( non- Pashtun & non- Islamists) in their pursuit for control of Kabul which resulted in total anarchy in the country for about six years leading to ascendency of the Taliban in Kabul reducing even top Pashtu resistance leaders to nullity. The self declared war on terror by USA saw the NA becoming as an ally of America led coalition in war against Taliban who were loners as even Pakistan proved itself a chameleon character in the bandwagon of Saudi Arabia and UAE under American pressure. After the ist phase of the Jihad & rallying of thousands around Mullah Omar, Amir Taliban, a new crop started emerging from Islamic Seminaries, having watched the treachery at the hands of leaders, less Islamists more tribal and ethnic centric, changed the course with their firm support to the Taliban till today where linguistic and ethnic backgrounds have become increasingly unpopular eventually taking control of almost whole country ( 90%) by 2000 with maiden crush on opium from production to trafficking beyond the borders of Afghanistan, national level approach for forging cohesion in the war wrenched Afghan society dehorse divisive rhetoric , administration of speedy justice and accountability but lacked in State craft and appreciation of desirability for outreach to other Segments of Afghan mosaic resulting in Iranian hostility & convergence of interests of anti Taliban & anti Islamists having strategic influences in the country on pliable hands Which got deeply entrenched with the involvement of the State organisations but valiantly met with . Thus at the behest of the vested interests the gullible leaders have fragmented the Afghan community beyond redemption except on the analogy of Hindutva in India the Islamic reformative ideology, to which people in absolute majority are prune to, is capable of reversing the outcome of outside sponsored mischievous political narratives.
A false vanity is being broached in favour of Afghan Jihad by claiming the infliction of defeat on Soviet union & resultant disintegration of the country without taking into account the support the Mujahideen were privileged to from American orchestrated axis in absence whereof Soviets would have singularly vanquished the resistance & if at all it survived the remnants confined to Pashtun areas only and the will with determination to maintain the territorial integrity of the country had long back given in for better living standards amongst the Russians paving the way for central Asian countries to opt for independence without any meaningful hindrance from Moscow while in the case of Chechnya &Dagistan the Russians fought back successfully. The Russian retreat did prove as a catalyst for recreation of passion for endeavours in various parts of the Muslim world without producing any tangible results primarily owing to lack of support on the analogy Afghans got. The complete American withdrawal by 9/11 in 2021 is an outcome of various factors including American fatigue, NATO’S diminishing interests, realisation of fighting wars of foreigners on alien lands and the reinforcements to Taliban from Russia, China and Iran for bloodying the American nose at the hands of Taliban. However the Support by American QUAD against Soviet Union & later on by Russian triangle against America could not have been successful without exemplary Afghan resilience for fighting it till end essentially driven by religious beliefs for liberating their country from foreign occupiers even if it meant staggered resistance spanning over four decades undermining the ethnic divide in the country and widening faultlines at unprecedented levels of human & material loss suffered by Pashtuns only with cascading effects of Islamised endeavours on Pakistan to a great extent & marginally on Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan whose delicate balancing of relations with Russian on one side & Americans on the other spectrum left the Islamic resurgence high and dry otherwise the support on the analogy of Afghans would have turned all the five central Asian countries into Syria and Yemen type inferno. But the hard truth about revolutions & armed struggles biting the hands that have had fed them is eloquently reflected by Afghans born & brought up and educated in Pakistan on returning home back are single largest urban conglomerate celebrating the victories of 3rd parties against Pakistan and illegal Afghan immigrants enjoying State largesse in opposition sponsored agitations’ acting as its bulwark moreso with Pashtun Tahafuz Movement . A real security risk calling for close monitoring & restricted field of living activities followed by earliest repatriation. The unfriendly acts of these immigrants have undoubtedly attracted strong opposition from indigenous communities against them particularly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Call them ungrateful or agent provocateurs the signals are the visible clarion calls for introspection about the benefits if any accruing to Pakistan from the protracted unending Afghan battles against the huge losses in men and resources it suffered second to Afghanistan only in the backdrop of AK 47 culture, drug trafficking & intolerance the fallout of active invoulment of Pakistanis on the side of Afghan Mujahideen otherwise unknown in the country preceding Afghan Jihad against Soviet union.
Puppet State for self exaltation
Quite sometime in past two years Hamid Karzai, two time President of Afghanistan, made startling revelations about dropping of Al-Qaida & ISIS fugitives, being evacuated from Iraq & Syria, by the Air force controlling air space of the country in north eastern areas bordering Xinjiang autonomous state of China, central Asian countries and terrorism infested border areas of Pakistan. What ever the veracity of the Karzai’s allegations the intent behind such a development Prima facie was to utilise these excessively radicalised men for fomenting troubles in Russian Muslim autonomous areas, exploiting uyghur dissatisfaction against China and directing the extremists & terrorists in formerly FATA & disturbed Distts of Balochistan in Pakistan; overtly for establishing an Islamic state; but little these half baked radicals knew about their handlers despite the knowledge in respect of the forces who fought against them in Iraq & Syria but romanticising with the notion of ushering in a new Islamic era in these countries by using gainfully the enemy against mutually acceptable common enemies. Mullah Abdul Salam Zaeef former Taliban Govtt Ambassador to Pakistan attributes the arrival of Islamic state activists on scene in Afghanistan to Intelligence services as a pressure tactics on Taliban who, Mr Zaeef claims, stand decimated by Taliban leaving not a shred of their presence in the rugged regions. Henry Clinton, Secy Foreign Affairs in Obama Administration, has publically admitted to the making of armed forces for fighting proxy wars while ISIS was knocking down the barriers around Baghdad after having run down the Iraqi forces in Mosul & other surrounding areas & getting sophisticated weapons supposedly from Israel. The Tahrikh-I- Taliban Pakistan ( TTP) is an Islamic organisation aiming at the conversation of Pakistan into an Islamic Emirate on the analogy of Afghanistan as envisaged by Afghan Taliban but turned against Pakistan when the said country joined American led forces against Mullah Omar and his administration including other networks considered as extensions of pan world Islamic movement. The Balochistan liberation Army is akin to Tamil terrorists in operations & ideology driven by ethnic & linguistic divisive outdated concepts. Jamatul Ahrar, a diseased sectarian outfit has in its archery the opposite sects as targets . The short sightedness of the providers of safe heavens to these rabid terror groups is that while they claim to champion for an inclusive non – divisive Nation State In Afghanistan they forget the monster they are rearing shall have raison d’etre for application of their ideology within Afghanistan also as a consequence of setting on fire the neighbouring Countries on the self created medieval approaches to life by them. These organisations operate from safe sanctuaries available to them in Afghanistan despite Karzai and Ashraf Gani Govtts pledging to see Afghanistan as a democratic & inclusive non obscurantist State in the comity of Nations but Afghan National security forces hand in glove with the terrorist organisations repaying in kind to Pakistan for hosting Afghans & by extension the Taliban non-combatant leadership . But for changes in foreign policy of Saudi Arabia the world might have witnessed Jundullah, a fanatic movement resisting Iranian hold on Seistan Balochistan on ethnic and sectarian paradigms, fighting Iran from Afghan soil in retaliation to the Houthi, an Iranian backed obscurant terror group in Yemen hell bent on changing the political landscape of Yemen in disproportionate to their population with weapons originating from Iran. The back channel diplomacy between Saudi Arabia and Iran and de’tente in State relations is a gratifying factor for Ummah. The characters glorifying the Afghan invincibility by alluding to defeats Of the British in 1839- 1842, 1878- 1886 & 1919 battles, Soviet Union in 1989 & USA in 2021 are doing disservice to unfortunate Afghans rather than highlighting the advantages of peace in the interests of the whole region. In the circumstances of nefarious roles of foreign Agencies with collaboration of Afghan Govtt or Afghan Agencies or both it is the puppet State itself, more inclined to self exaltation, which is responsible for Afghan quagmire otherwise on one side fighting the ideological war against Taliban you can’t promote the same ideology in the backyard of your neighbourhood as the strategy is proving counter productive by the hardline ideology gaining more ground in the region. Under the cover of strategic interests Afghan Govtt enables various hostile countries to misuse its soil for fulfilment of the respective state policies . Better would it be for the region to conclude a ‘’No covert & overt operations Treaty ‘’ amongst all the countries sharing borders with Afghanistan to facilitate it to move forward for emerging as an economic cum Soft power State in the long run which can fructify by ceding commensurate space to Taliban towards Afghan led & Afghan owned peace process based on Islamic identity of the country with no extra territorial country roles except peaceful co- existence and respect for UN covenants in order to promote beneficial relations with all countries.
The World powers by using the susceptible elements from Afghan Society as strategic assets for pursuing their respective State agendas for forging alliances or destabilising the non- conformist Govtts should instead shift the focus on economic strength of the country in order to eliminate the sickness associated with the place but caught in rivalry between China led alliance and distant USA sponsored forum ;it is ripening stage for Afghans to make election from the two by coming out of the vortex of misuse by all in the name of strategic interests. However a neutral Afghanistan equi- distant between the two world orders is the surest way for regaining the lost glory of the past by opening of surface corridors through its territory from ASEAN, Karachi and Gawadher Pakistan & chabhar Iran for connecting South Asian countries with central Asia, China peninsula, Russia & Europe by joining CPEC and recently announced connectivity & developmental programme by America & European Union together with inter South Asian and Central Asian projects for harnessing Gas, petroleum products and electricity on mutually beneficial measures. This shift calls for statesmanship in Afghanistan which the corrupt & ethnicity centric small leaders can’t provide who shamelessly approach even countries without any fallout of violence in Afghanistan having affected them for perpetuating the disorder in the country as a surest way to retain the power hierarchy permanently and the strategy also suits those interested in use of Afghans as strategic assets to further their respective country specific Agendas. Admittedly only a ‘’Messiah’’ can deliver at this reckoning moment with prospects for millennium changes awaiting Greater Asia.
Momentous day for Taliban
Notwithstanding the widespread ethnic and linguistic faultlines it is the Muslim identity of absolute majority population of Afghanistan dating back to 120000 to 156000 years, since when Prophet Adam is reported to have lived, which should unite the public otherwise presently in unprecedented despair and deprivation but that to happen requires the Taliban to reach out to all stakeholders and reiterate its commitment to honour the rights of ethnic & other minorities and of women within the parameters of Afghan constitution to the extent of its consistency with Shariat and simultaneously bring out the model of Islamic state law by borrowing the relevant provisions from Pakistani and Iranian Constitutions as a biggest CBM for those harbouring misgivings about Taliban rule & also disown the incongruous legacy (1996-2001) considered unislamic viz the perspectives prevalent in the Muslim world with regard to the impugned decrees, judgments, deeds & verbal discourses passed by the inexperienced politicians although in good faith but admittedly with potential for strains on diverse socio-cultural features of the fairy land. The upholding of the principle of ‘’Mushurat”, in modern times elections based on universal adult franchise, is the best answer for those questioning the locus of Taliban and meanwhile join the Govtt by sharing the portfolios on rotational basis till general elections are held under the auspices of an independent Election Commission comprising of members considered ‘’sadiq & Ameen’’ with technical support from technocrats and experienced persons chosen by Govtt Empowered Committee. The blunders committed by Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt under Late Morsi should be avoided as a lesson for the time being & no need for hastening the take over unilaterally not acceptable even to the neighbouring countries. The international community should not interfere with the electoral system as may be chosen & accepted by the majority in the Nation & also the outcome accepted. The status quoists are a biggest impediment in providing adequate representation to Taliban who are virtually in control of rural areas and almost fifty Distts Hqs out of 400 Distts, many of the unconquered Distts falling within the NA controlled Northern Afghanistan . The unpopular people in the Govtt indulge in procrastinating delays for laying down the road map for transition and largely responsible for provoking retaliatory attacks against operations conducted by the State forces against Taliban needlessly. Taming by mellowing the Taliban is needed & to bring them around for getting electoral approval in general elections instead of attempting to split the monolithic structure of the movement and brooding on misguided prescriptions for defeating the Taliban militarily as in Syria without appreciating the finer facts differentiating the two countries. The hawkish protagonists with little value for aspirations of Afghans are increasingly manifesting their inclination for status quo regardless of the adverse consequences it could have on the public, Govtt and the region as a whole. Let the Taliban prove the doomsayers wrong by acting responsibly to prevent the recurrence of chaotic scenes of 1989/1992 – 1996 & maintain cordial relations with the neighbourhood in order to obviate the adverse effects of break down in communication channels Otherwise the bitterness widespread in the country coupled with ever increasing concerns of major countries of the world could be the cause for its fragmentation resulting in integration of Pashtun & Hazara areas in Pakistan and others in the three bordering central Asian countries in the interests of world peace as a lost option.
Taliban shall find itself in the vicious circle drawn by the Ashraf Gani set-up thereby provoking the loosely knitted fighters for fight against the State forces who as per scripts cede space to talibani armed crop for pleading, in the ensuing audience granted by J. Biden to the duo of Ashraf Gani & Dr Abdullah Abdullah in Washington DC today, against the Taliban as unreliable party to the Afghan truce agreement for implementation of which it should reiterate its commitment in unambiguous terms immediately. Both these leaders are reluctant to accept the reality about popular support the Taliban carry & are spoilers of the peace deal along with their backers . A neutral Afghan with impeccable integrity should have headed the forum for concluding the final peace deal as the leadership in the Govtt is more inclined to the military options by considering the USA led coalition as sacrificial goats for fulfilling their goals based on claims of shame electoral dividends but little they realise that it is just 7% of eligible Afghan voters who have participated in presidential elections 2019. The magnitude and sweep of boycott in the elections 2019 is a pointer towards the credibility the general masses have for the Afghan Govtt. Since both parties demand greater share in transition period and unwilling to accommodate the concerns of the parties the Taliban should propose the conduct of referendum about the formation the public desire to hold the interim set up exclusively otherwise the forced seizure of Afghan Govtt in Kabul will be repetition of previous rendezvous of Taliban without recognition by almost all Countries including this time of Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and UAE risking thereby the total isolation with unmanageable consequences especially economic in nature.
The reports suggesting the American withdrawal to be accomplished broadly by July 11 and only tokenistic on September 11 is reminiscent of what it did in 1989 also and on both the occasions hastened retreat resulting in power vacuum without addressing the post withdrawal scenarios & this time around Pakistan likely in a precarious position where Taliban, immune to manoeuvring & dictats and conscious of betrayal by Musharraf setup when against diplomatic norms Afghan Taliban Ambassador was arrested in 2001 & handed over to USA for eventually landing in Guantanamo infamous prison ( My Life with the Taliban -2010- Abdul Salam Zaeef) , expects neutrality from it, the Afghan Govtt and its allies want it to pressurize Taliban into submission before the highly opportunistic & unpopular leadership and the America’s often slanging row to do more for Af Govtt & its proxies but having tasted the treachery in the recent years at the hands of America & its allies neither common masses nor the elected members of democratic institutions want the country to fight other’s battles which it demonstrated by distancing itself from the Syrian and Yemeni conflicts even though as an ideological State it could have intervened for bridging the gaps.
World is looking towards the Taliban and such an occasion has rarely come in recent past in the history of Ummah. A responsible response shall be the harbinger for undoing of Islamophobia.
(The opinions expressed by the author doesn’t necessarily reflect the editorial opinion of Kashmir Despatch. The author is former Chairman JKPSC and can be reached on aaluzdeva_221256 @ymail.com)
