H.Times, 09 Sept 2003: The continuing Pak-Afghan tension is a riddle even for the keen watchers of international affairs. The sacking of the Pak embassy by the Afghan crowds and hurried retreat of the Pak diplomats fromKabullast month has raised eyebrows worldwide. Despite the public apology and grant of compensation by President Karzai, the normalcy between both neighbors is very slow to come by. How is it that the Afghans and Pakistanis treat each other more curtly than Indians and Pakistanis? There are at least three reasons due to whichAfghanistanandPakistanshould have presented a showcase example of good neighborliness to the world community. Firstly, like earlierAfghanistanandPakistando not associate themselves with the rival camps any more. The bitterness witnessed between Sardar Daud and General Ayub during the cold war years need not reappear at this juncture between Karzai and Musharraf. This is because both are friendly and dependent on the sole superpower, theUSA. Secondly,Pakistannot only sheltered about three million Afghan refugees for almost two decades but actively helped them fight the Soviet forces and the Communist regime inKabul. Thirdly, the geo-political configuration of the area is such thatAfghanistanandPakistanare totally dependent on each other for their vital trade and transit routes betweenCentral Asiaand theIndian Ocean.
Despite all these compulsions including the common factor of Islam, how is it that an anti-Pakistan atmosphere is building up inAfghanistan? The reasons could be two-fold. One is immediate and the other is historical. Let us deal with the immediate reasons first. The Taliban despite their flight fromKabul, are still a thorn in the side of bothAfghanistanandPakistan. Both neighbors are out to please the Big Boss, theUSA. But the Big Boss is sore because the Taliban are still thriving in some parts ofAfghanistan. The main culprits Osama and Mullah Umar are still at large. Both neighbors are blaming each other for this serious lapse. The Afghans think that the Taliban and Al-Qaeda elements are hiding in the border areas ofPakistandue to the active connivance ofIslamabad. Instead of catching them, the Musharraf government continues to foster its utility in the eyes of the American policy-makers by posing as most harassed and a threatened ally of theUS. At the some time it continues to make free forays into the Afghan territories in the name of chasing the terrorists, and raise serious objections if the Afghan forces make effort to chase the terrorists across the Durand Line. In this mannerPakistanhas turned its anti-terrorism into a high-class international business.
Moreover, General Musharraf even while traveling abroad does not mince words in running down the Karzai government. While inEurope, he said that Karzai Government’s writ does not run beyondKabuland it is incapable of catching the terrorist
*Dr. Vaidik is an alumnus of School of International Studies (JNU) and an expert onAfghanistan. He is the former Editor of PTI-Bhasha and Nav Bharat Times.
from the border areas. The Pakistanis squarely blame the Karzai government for derecognising the age-old Durand Line by crossing it on the pretext of chasing the Taliban. Before Karzai could react to these baseless insinuations, the ordinary Afghans reacted very swiftly. They attacked the Pak embassy and raised slogans againstPakistan. Poor Karzai, instead of taking an offensive posture towardsPakistan, had to adopt a defensive instance and had to pay a compensation of 56,000 dollars toPakistanalong with a public apology. His Interior Minister also visitedIslamabadto assuage the Pakistani feelings.
Pakistanholds two factors responsible for this anti-Pakistan wave inAfghanistan. One is the group of influential ministers belonging to the so-calledNorthern Allianceand the other isIndia. The Defence Minister Fahim and Foreign Minister Abdullah who worked very closely with President Burhanuddin Rabbani during the pre-Taliban years, it is alleged, are the main pillars of anti-Pakistan policy. It is a fact that non-Pathans are in the majority in Karzai cabinet and the party headed by Prof. Rabbani is not favourably disposed towardsPakistan. How could they be friendly toPakistan, which hoisted and recognized the Taliban who dislodged the Rabbani regime fromKabul?Pakistan’s allegation against these leaders is that they are out to establish the hegemony of Persian-speaking non-Pathans (Tajiks, Uzbeks and Hazaras) over the Pashtu-speaking Pathans inAfghanistan. They are keen to draw a wedge between Musharraf and Karzai, who himself is a Pathan.Pakistanis also incensed about the possibility of a radical change in the character of the New Afghan Army, which is predominantly manned by the Pathans. Karzai might recruit non-Pathans on a big scale at the instance of his Defence Minister, which ultimately will mean the eclipse of the predominance of the Pathans inKabul. This is quite unacceptable toPakistanbecause it has more Pathans thanAfghanistanand through them it enjoys powerful leverage atKabulin many ways. The Taliban were nothing but Gilzai Pathans.Afghanistanhad become a virtual colony ofPakistanin the beginning of the Taliban era.
The Pakistani strategy of using the Pathans could really turn out to be a double-edged sword. The history tells us that whenever strong Pathan leaders ascended inKabul, they raised the banner of independent Pakhtunistan or Greater Afghanistan extending up to the shores ofIndian Ocean. The instances of Amir Abdur Rahman, Amanullah and Prime Minister Daud are a case in point. The unbridled Pathan ascendancy inKabulis a sure recipe for the division ofPakistan. Despite this inbuilt danger, the Pakistani elite is harping on the same old tune. It has not been able to stir out of the stupor of Talibani opium as yet. It does not want to abandon its hobby-horse and appreciate the radical change which has crept into the Afghan political anatomy during the last three disturbed decades. It has not reconciled to the new socio-political phenomenon that no single ethnic group can now establish its hegemony inKabulas it did since the days of Ahmad Shah Abdali. That is why it apprehends the hand of the non-Pathans in every anti-Pakistani move, while the truth is that most of the anti-Pakistan demonstrations, including the recent attack on its embassy were led by the well-known Pathans.
During my last visit toAfghanistanin March this year, I found that some of the most influential Pathans inKabulwere simply repulsed by the very mention ofPakistan. The Pakistani establishment is at a loss to explain the massacre at the Shia Mosque built by the Afghan Hajaras inQuettaabout a hundred years ago. The incident gave a body blow to the image ofPakistanamong its western sympathizers. The Hazaras are also Persian-speaking. It would be ridiculous to blame the so-calledNorthern Alliancefor this heinous act. Who except the remnants of the Taliban and Al-Quada could be responsible for this massacre?Pakistanis unable to pin down the real culprits because it is in league with them clandestinely.Pakistanwill go on suffering such embarrassments as long as it takes the myopic view of the new political landscape ofAfghanistan.
WhenPakistanis hoisted by its own petard as far as the Persian-speaking lobby inKabulis concerned, it resorts to its old game of blamingIndiafor every anti-Pakistan activity, wether it is an attack on its embassy inKabulor on a Shia Mosque inQuetta.PakistanperceivesIndia’s role inAfghanistanas extremely sinister. In its view,Indiais laying down its network of secret services along the Pakistani border under the veil of setting up its Consulates in Jalalabad and Kandhar. One may askPakistanwether it is for the first time that these Consulates have been set up? Do Mazar-e-Sharif andHeratalso lie on the Pakistani border? The main reason behind opening these Consulates is to provide facility for visa, trade, transit, education and medical assistance to ordinary Afghans. Nothing could be a better proof ofIndia’s popularity inAfghanistanthan the fact that the Afghans never attacked the Indian Embassy inKabul, not even during those days whenIndiawas portrayed as the supporter of the Soviet invasion. In sharp contrast, the kind of respectPakistanenjoys inAfghanistanis evident from the fact that Pakistan Embassy was attacked even during the Taliban regime and the heads of its diplomats were tonsured. As of todayIndiais perceived inKabulas one of the rebuilders, whilePakistanas a destroyer ofAfghanistan.
The root cause of the Pak-Afghan conflict lies buried in the godown of history. The successive governments ofAfghanistansince 1893 have remained ambivalent or clearly denounced the Durand Line, which divided the Pathan tribes of the sub-continent. After the creation ofPakistan, at least thrice both countries nearly went to war on the question of Durand Line.Afghanistanwas the only country to oppose the entry ofPakistanin the UN. Even the Mujahideen and Taliban governments, who came to power through active Pakistani support, never clearly recognised the Durand Line. The Afghan irredentism on the question of Pakhtunistan goes as far back as 250 years. The rulers at Kandehar andKabulhave always been eyeing onPeshawaras a part of their Kingdom. The sense of gratitude towardsPakistanfor extending the refuge and providing military assistance to the Afghans is also fast evaporating in the light of new facts emerging from the American sources. The Afghans feel thatPakistanmade more money and cornered more conventional arms during the Afghan resistance rather than during the cold war as it is doing today in the name of fighting t terrorism.Pakistanowes a lot toAfghanistan. It has no business to browbeatAfghanistan
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