Candid Corner
“There is an immutable conflict at work in life and in business, a constant battle between peace and chaos. Neither can be mastered, but both can be influenced. How you go about that is the key to success.”
Phil Knight
The flames of war are raging, but the hope for peace to return to a conflict-riddled Afghanistan has not died either. The issue is not that there is no resolution of the conflict. The issue is that the bloated egos which do not allow relinquishing the seats of power for a compromise have so far had the better of reason and logic. The key question is whether there is a possibility at all of breaking this stalemate?
The conflict is Afghanistan’s own where two parties, the rulers in Kabul and their adversary, the Taliban, are both claimants to the seat of power. The latter were deposed when the Americans attacked Afghanistan after the tragedy of 9/11 while the former are reckoned the product of an excessively rigged election process. Sadly, it appears that neither is acceptable to the other.
Here is a piece of advice. What the Afghan government needs to do is to take off its apparel of hatred which has been woven by the Ghani-Amrullah Saleh-Hamdullah Mohib triumvirate and their close associates in connivance with the Indian terrorists. They need to put on glasses which would help them see the reality as it actually exists on ground. It is only then that they would be able to knit together their best option for negotiating for peace which remains a preferred option of the Afghan people, Pakistan and every country of the region. It is time for the Afghan government to listen to voices of reason and rise beyond an infatuation with positions of power alone. It is Afghanistan which should take preference over individuals.
The conflict continued raging even during the time the US war machine was operating in Afghanistan. It intensified when, through an agreement with the Taliban, the Americans started withdrawing their troops, which is likely to be completed by the end of August later this year. Making full use of the depleting US presence and the security vacuum thus created, the Taliban went into an offensive mould and, after combing off much of the countryside, they took the fight to some major cities including Qandahar, Lashkar Gah and Herat. While the Taliban have made some territorial gains, the towns have not yet fallen to them. They are since reported to have taken over Nimroze, a province near the Iranian border which is also a major trade route.
In the meanwhile, the war of attrition between Afghanistan and Pakistan has intensified with the former blaming the latter for just about every problem it faces. The abnormally malicious intent is patently visible as Pakistan is accused of being the architect of Afghanistan’s woes, ranging from not helping in the peace process to exporting terror and supporting a military take-over to redirecting jihadis into Afghanistan. All these wild accusations appear to be the product of a fictional mind, much removed from the reality obtaining on ground. Let’s do some quick fact checking.
Pakistan, they say, is not helping in the peace process. Not true. It is Pakistan which persuaded the Taliban to sit across the table with the USA. This led to the ultimate signing of an agreement between them which paved the way for the withdrawal of the US troops in return for a commitment by the Taliban not to allow the use of Afghan soil for launching any terrorist attacks. It is Pakistan again which persuaded the Taliban to initiate the intra-Afghan dialogue in Doha which was expected to lead to an agreement between the stakeholders regarding the changes to be incorporated in the constitution and devising a way to proceed further in Afghanistan.
The possibility of forming an interim government comprising representation from all stakeholders including the Taliban was also on the cards so that parties could work together to build understanding and consensus. Unfortunately, once again, because of these bloated egos, the process has remained stalled for over 6 months with little possibility that either party is interested to kick-start it again. In spite of these setbacks, Pakistan continues to reach out to all parties in Afghanistan to work for a negotiated settlement of the simmering crisis. It has no favourites.
Pakistan is accused of exporting terror. The facts are far removed from this fallacious accusation. Pakistan has been a victim of terror for a number of years. It has had to fight a prolonged war with the Tehrik Taliban Pakistan to eliminate this spectre which cost Pakistan more than 75,000 dead and material losses running into billions of dollars. The further reality is that, even now, Pakistan is subjected to terror attacks from inside Afghanistan, across its Western border. This spree is the product of complicity between the Afghan leadership and India with the common motive of destabilising Pakistan. How can a country which has suffered enormously at the hands of terror outfits can be an exporter of terror?
This accusation is beyond reckoning. It is only a ploy used by the Afghan government to divert the world attention from its own failures with regard to loss of writ and inability to extend its control beyond the confines of the capital.
Pakistan is also accused of supporting a military take-over of Afghanistan (by the Taliban). This is plain grotesque. Like I said earlier, Pakistan is the architect of initiating negotiations between the USA and the Taliban on the one hand, and the Taliban and the government in Kabul on the other hand. How can the facilitator of these negotiations, which is also eager for peace to return to Afghanistan and the larger region for economic connectivity to take off, wish that these not be successful? Having changed its pitch from geo-strategic to geo-economic, Pakistan is rooting for expanding the network of connectivity to Afghanistan and beyond to the Central Asian Republics. This is the futuristic vision where it wants to work in partnership with Afghanistan in realising the dream of an economically stable region. The return of peace to Afghanistan is a cardinal pre-requisite which cannot be secured through a military take-over by any of the warring groups.
One other accusation against Pakistan is that it is redirecting jihadis into Afghanistan. Having been a victim of a mass terrorist upsurge over a number of years, the bulk of which was exported from Afghanistan on the behest of India, this is hardly the recipe that it would think of for the cause of peace to prevail, which has been and remains Pakistan’s fundamental objective. It is in this context that, in the last few years, Pakistan has made major amendments to its laws to ensure the stoppage of money-laundering and such other actions which terrorist networks exploit for their sustenance.
Pakistan is also accused of housing the Taliban on its soil. The fact is that, at one time, Pakistan was home to over six million Afghan refugees with half of them still residing here. Neither are they willing to go back home, nor is the Afghan government, despite numerous pleadings by Pakistan, agreeable to taking them back. There are some Taliban families which are also residing in Pakistan, but they are not their fighters. The Taliban military commanders are all based inside Afghanistan from where they are directing the fight. Pakistan has neither housed them in the past, nor is it willing to do so now. The Afghan government should look for them in the vast swathes of land which they control now, or around the cities of Qandahar, Lashkar Gah and Herat which they are threatening to run over.
Here is a piece of advice. What the Afghan government needs to do is to take off its apparel of hatred which has been woven by the Ghani-Amrullah Saleh-Hamdullah Mohib triumvirate and their close associates in connivance with the Indian terrorists. They need to put on glasses which would help them see the reality as it actually exists on ground. It is only then that they would be able to knit together their best option for negotiating for peace which remains a preferred option of the Afghan people, Pakistan and every country of the region. It is time for the Afghan government to listen to voices of reason and rise beyond an infatuation with positions of power alone. It is Afghanistan which should take preference over individuals.
Pakistan’s narrative was never clearer than it is today. Pakistan is desirous for an Afghan-led and Afghan-owned peace and is eager to play a constructive and facilitating role to make that happen. But it is not willing to take blame for false and fictional stories which are orchestrated by wicked minds to drive a wedge between the people of the two countries. In spite of the spoilers and their machinations, I still believe peace can be achieved to the betterment of all, most importantly Afghanistan.
