“Enya never writes a bad melody. That’s first and foremost her secret. As she goes along, she will start changing the dynamics, pushing here and there so that not everything is perfectly in unison. It adds a texture you can acquire only from having different voices. The variations lead to interesting quirks. It is an integral part of the Enya sound.”
Nicky Ryan
Imagine a country that has lived in war-like conditions for most of the past four decades. Imagine a country whose generations were born and bred in the battlefields among untold violence. Imaging a country where not a hope is nurtured and the future is virtually absent from the canvas. Imagine a country where red is recognised by the colour of blood and white by the sheet to wrap the dead. A country that comes closest to this description is Afghanistan which lies just across our Western frontier.
What I see is a period of slight uncertainty which will settle down as soon as the Taliban have taken full charge of the state and they have put together their team to deliver at the grassroots level. There shall then be no looking back as the claimants to the high offices alone with no commitment to service shall bite the dust. Agreement or no agreement, and notwithstanding the spoilers’ machinations, the Taliban are here with relative peace and security assured in Afghanistan, thus generating hope that the two neighbours may begin writing a new chapter in the history of their relations
It is also a country with whom Pakistan has had hostile and acrimonious relations through most of the past seven decades. Is it that we are about to witness a change occurring in the nature of these relations? Is it that we shall be able to surmount the bitterness of the past to lay the foundations of peaceful and harmonious co-existence between two neighbours? Well, we may not have to wait long to see which way the tide shall flow.
Afghanistan was the only country which opposed Pakistan’s admission to the United Nations back in 1947. The rest of the world was on one side and Afghanistan on the opposite. That may have sowed the seeds of the animosity that followed, taking one shape or the other with the passage of time. What was a constant was the bitterness. It only kept varying in toxicity during different phases. Tragically, the two neighbours could never become friends to shape their destinies together for the betterment of their impoverished people.
The second advent of the Taliban may have sent shock waves across certain sections of the Afghan society, but it also comes laden with the hope that things may not be the same as they were when they first ruled the country. If one were to accept numerous proclamations emanating from the Taliban leadership ever since they walked into Kabul after overpowering the better part of the country within days, and without any bloodshed or violence, one could gain a fair bit of confidence that peace may, after all, return and the Taliban may not repeat the horrible spectacle of their last tenure in power.
What is expected of the Taliban now that they have taken over the country? They have already stated some of their intentions in unequivocal terms. They have announced a general amnesty. They are venturing into making an inclusive government and have offered their adversaries to join in to take the country forward collectively. They have agreed to engage in a comprehensive dialogue to tide over the differences that may exist between various schools of thought. They have imposed no unusual curbs that would rattle the world. There is general peace prevailing in the country and life has returned to near normal: schools are open, offices are working and businesses gradually picking up. They have made appointments to some key positions in the power echelons. For the rest, they are awaiting the complete withdrawal of troops from the Afghan soil.
This is so far as the stated intentions of the Taliban go. A serious question that arises pertains to the intentions of those who have been administering Afghanistan over the last two decades, and who have now been invited by the Taliban in fulfilment of the objective of forming an inclusive government representing all stakeholders of the country. Apparently, a large number of them have principally agreed to do so, but a disturbing factor in this regard could be the conditions they may impose before making any such move: award of the highest offices in the inclusive government.
The question is who has won the war and who has been ousted from the seat of power? Consequently, who has the legitimate right to rule: the Taliban who are the winners, or the defeated and disgraced leaders of the former government? As long as this question is not settled, and the authority and legitimacy of the Taliban not recognised, I believe there is little prospect of putting together what is generally referred to as an inclusive and multi-stakeholder government.
Even otherwise, the demand for forming an inclusive government defies logic and reason. By what rationale can a defeated lot be imposed on those who have won the war and who have absolute control of the country to the elimination of all adversaries who have either fled in disgrace, or who are busy exploiting the existing conditions for sneaking in for a place in the government?
This becomes particularly relevant when the USA, the European Union and other countries together with international donor organisations have slammed a ban on providing much-needed funds to Afghanistan to run its day-to-day affairs. This is the one exploitative tool which the Western countries and institutions are using in a bid to force the Taliban to bow before their demands.
Do I see this happening? The answer is an assertive no. This is not likely to happen. The Taliban are made of a different mettle. They have clarity of purpose and their mind works in a different way. They are not the ones to compromise for the sake of getting some paltry funds. Notwithstanding their being right or wrong, one can say with relative certainty that they will not compromise on their principles under any pressure.
I don’t see them offering the choicest positions to the now disgraced members of the former government in a bid to form a so-called inclusive government for currying favour and approval of the West. It is also feared that if the Taliban would accept certain demands to appease them, another list of demands will be handed over for implementation and this process may continue to perpetuity. Obviously, the Taliban are unwilling to get trapped in this vicious cycle of moving from meeting one demand to the next and, in the process, losing legitimacy before their people.
So, what is likely to happen is simple. The requisite offers will be made to various stakeholders to join the new government. If they don’t forfeit their ludicrous demands of getting the highest public offices, the government will still be made without their inclusion, but a caveat will be kept for them to join as and when it may be expedient for them. The formation of the government will not be delayed inordinately for any reason. It is also understood that it will be a powerful and effective government that would be geared to tackling the urgent needs of the people on a priority basis which shall come forth as the defining difference between the Taliban government and the ones under Karzai and Ghani which administered the country over the last two decades.
Just like their behaviour during the tenures of their government, the leaders of an array of dysfunctional political groups have exposed their real nature: they are not concerned about joining the government to work for the betterment of the people, but insist on lucrative positions so that they could again indulge their old habits. This is bound to trigger a clash between two distinct mindsets: one devoted to service of the people and the other consumed with the attainment of personal benefits.
What I see is a period of slight uncertainty which will settle down as soon as the Taliban have taken full charge of the state and they have put together their team to deliver at the grassroots level. There shall then be no looking back as the claimants to the high offices alone with no commitment to service shall bite the dust. Agreement or no agreement, and notwithstanding the spoilers’ machinations, the Taliban are here with relative peace and security assured in Afghanistan, thus generating hope that the two neighbours may begin writing a new chapter in the history of their relations.
