Afghan Crisis and the Unclear American Policy towards Pakistan! By Hafeez Hassanabadi

Afghans are highly weary of 39 years’ external and internal wars and their immediate neighbors, Baloch and Pashtun are also in a constant state of virtual hysterical condition.

Internationally, big powers America, Russia, India and China are also unhappy with the current situation. But no solution of the problem is in the sight in the near future. Rather, there is every possibility that it can get more complicated in foreseeable future.

 Keeping in view the possible challenges, the Afghan government issued a statement in which it raised the concerns over Taliban release. “Last year Pakistan released 26 senior Taliban leaders and they all rejoined Taliban fight”.  Similarly,   Afghan President Karzai, in a letter to Pashtun leader Asfand Yar Wali in Pakistan offering condolences on the death of party workers of Mr. Wali during a Taliban attack, asked him for a joint deliberation on Afghanistan issue.

Here we’re to deal with two important questions to see (1) to what extent the Pashtun leaders of Pakistan are influential to control the Taliban and (2) what would happen to President Karzai’s appeal?

It is a bitter reality that Pashtun leaders of Pakistan and Pashtun general public are poles apart in their thinking about Afghan people when it comes to Afghanistan issue: Pashtuns leaders’ thinking reflects Pakistani rulers’ point of views; meanwhile a common Pashtun regards Afghans as sincerely as of a brother.

This was the contradiction that four months back, this scribe in an article on Afghanistan issue, “The Afghan Crisis, A matter of Concern for America and Russia” informed that “All those efforts that America is exerting through Afghanistan government for talk with Taliban and getting their fugitives released from Pakistani jails seemed to result into a zero sum game as it is the game that Pakistan exactly wants to be played for dissipating American and Afghani energy and time”.

The statement issued by Afghan rulers today reflects exactly the same concerns we predicted a few months back.  With American money and unduly Afghan government’s recommendations, Pakistan has created the hell of difficulties for them. The main reason why we termed the release of Taliban prisoners as a zero sum game was that we all alone knew that either our Afghan friends are forced or in a hurry to understand the disposition of Pakistani rulers which caused them to overlook some very important facts.

They failed to make sure who determines the status of these people after their release? What level of talks they’re supposed to conduct and with what sort of guarantee? Do their ‘known sympathizers’ make them the right people to assume mediator role between Afghanistan government and Taliban? Does Pakistan abandon its expansionist attitude towards Afghanistan? Who would take the responsibilities of these people, if they started creating problems for people tomorrow? Do the Pakistan rulers have the similar opinion of resolving Afghan crisis as international community do?

Has the Pakistani propaganda machine against America and western nations come to an end designed to churn out jihadists and used for pressure tactics in time of need?

Several other questions of similar nature could have been devised to measure the merit of such risky steps. The zero sum result of such steps, taken without proper homework, was predictable.

The misery is that the Afghan government is wasting its precious time at a time when it has to resume the gigantic task of Afghan security next year from ISF.

Meanwhile Pakistan, apparently undated with lots of Problems, doesn’t seem to be in a hasty mode; as it is the most successful Party given its negative role in the circle of Afghan crisis. In my previous article I had already mentioned that.

The Afghan Taliban is destroying everything by spending a single Dollar against the millions of American Dollars that both America and its allies are spending together to bring peace in that country.

Similarly, In Pakistan too, thousands of madrassas have been established to monger hatred against other religions where only two times’ bread is provided. The students of these madrassas are fanatic robots controlled by their religious peers. They never hesitate to accomplish whatever task their spiritual peers ask them to carry out.

The same Mullahs, hardly miss a day chanting slogans against America after five times prays a day, are partners in every government in Islamabad.  Sometimes they do express their sympathies with Afghan nation posing as innocents but on the other hand, they’re the same culprits who churn out Jihadists. Apparently they go nowhere for jihad after they finish their Jihadi courses, as Afghanistan is the closest field to them and besides this, they get every logistic support that come in the mind; so they chose to flock there to fulfill their Jihadi wishes. They learn Afghan language like Colonel Amam. They easily adapt themselves with the environment, as they’re almost identicals.

In this hellish Jihadi war, almost entire Pashtun nation is burning. When a Taliban gets killed, he is a Pashtun, when an Afghan soldier fight against him and gets killed is also a Pashtun. Similarly, across the border into Pakistan, a Pakistani Taliban is a Pashtun when a FC fights him is also a Pashtun.  The same FC Pashtun Personnel are also used for military operation in Balochistan fighting the Baloch freedom forces about whom Pakistan says they are its enemy.

If you meticulously analyze this entire conspiracy scenario, you will find that the forces (Baloch and Pashtuns) who have been affected by Durand line are the main catalyst of all it. Durand line is a double edged sword hanging over Pakistan’s head. Pakistan would continue to face its possible existential threat to its artificial state unless that issue of Durand line is resolved!

It was a collective misfortunate of Daud Khan, Shaheed Dr. Najeeb and Hamid Karzai that the Pashtun leadership has been collaborating with Pakistani state in deep conspiracies, or it has utterly failed to unite its nation on the two sides of the border to rise up against their national enemy. The sincere sentiments of common Pashtuns that call Afghanistan as their homeland, have been exploited as mere a slogan to canvass votes for reaching to Pakistani assemblies where constant conspiracies have been hatched against their ancestral homeland.

Even though Karzai appeal is a genuine effort, but Pakistani rulers are counting the days when America and its allies are exhausted and quit the area and it would be assign the rehabilitation task of Afghanistan as a big brother as usual and earn free dollars.

Now the question rises here is that what should be done to bring peace in Afghanistan?

Five things must be kept in mind while devising the policies. But we do not want to indulge into other related details which might alert the enemy:

First, there should be no doubt by world community, including America and Afghans about the fact that Taliban and Pakistani secret agencies are collaborating with each other for a single joint interest and their command is controlled by a single hand, that is Pakistan.

Second, Pakistan’s interests are totally different from that of world community in Afghanistan. For details please refer to my article, “The only solution to the afghan problem".

Third, the key to success in this war lies with only Baloch and Pashtun freedom movements. Unless world powers, particularly America deliberates seriously on that issue and takes concrete steps, there will no peace in the region - uncertain policies it continues to make America   dependent on Pakistan. At the initial stage of this scheme, unequivocal and direct support to Baloch freedom movement must be rendered and the Pashtun be persuaded to think in that line of scenario. Pakistan’s fanatic religious proxy war can only be defeated when an ever-green national ideology of freedom movement is made a reality. This is the only ideology that can fulfill Afghans’ both, patriotic and religious ambitions.

Fourth, America and international community must know that Pakistan, as a security state, with the current geographical entity, cannot bring any change to its policies, because, based on expansionist foundations, its state structure does not allow its army to stay behind it. When the army does not budge behind, it will unavoidably seek inappropriate means to sustain its leisure faire political activities and luxurious life style which includes support and sanctuary to terrorists group as proxy warriors. 

Fifth, it is necessary to make sure that both Pakistan and Iran are fully observing the principles of international laws, while conducting mutual relationship and dealing with their internal affairs respectively. 

Unless things are observed from that angle and every phenomenon is separately analyzed and Policies are devised accordingly, the double standard will continue to persist.  All will issue stern statements against Pakistan; however, they still support Pakistan in different aspects. It will also be asked to persuade Taliban for dialogue. However, in response it will express its goodwill but behind the scene, it continues to pursue its diabolic scheme of ‘destroy everything’ and render all into helplessness with wide open eyes.

During all this while it releases some Taliban and they will soon rejoin their friends just like their counterpart extremists in Balochistan where they were released on bail under a deliberate scheme to defame the secular Baloch freedom movement and they were used to stoke up sectarian violence there.

Translated by Archen Baloch