Afghanistan in perpetual turmoil
Col Ghulam Sarwar (R)
Mr Munir Akram is a renowned diplomat and is a former Permanent
Representative to the United Nations for Pakistan. In his recent article
on Afghanistan, he has suggested certain concrete proposals for the
solution of this tangled Afghanistan problem. He believes that Barak
Obama will face daunting challenges while dealing with Afghanistan.
Pakistan, too, under the force of circumstances, will be required to
adopt a comprehensive foreign policy strategy. This innovative strategy
will primarily set aside current political misperceptions and break away
from military missions. Instead, it will make a sincere attempt to
embrace deeper understanding of the culture, traditions, needs and
political motivation of both Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Maintenance of “Status quo” under the circumstances, will be a recipe
for disaster towards achievement of these objectives. Mr Munir Akram
comes out with a number of proposals which merit serious attention. He
suggests that in order to understand this difference between the Taliban
and the Al-Qaeda with a view to eliminating Al-Qaeda, one would like to
understand the Taliban with a touch of objectivity. He feels convinced
that it is Al-Qaeda and not the Taliban, that threatens the US home
lands.
The point to ponder over here is that in case, Al-Qaeda is separated
from Taliban, it will make it easier for the US, Pakistan and allied
intelligence, police and military operations to disrupt the group’s
operational system.
To ensure peace in Afghanistan, it is incumbent on all concerned groups,
to open negotiations with the Taliban, as the insurgency in South and
East Afghanistan was initially confined to Taliban fighters. Viewed in
this context, we see that most Pashtuns there and in the northern
Pakistan, were unhappy at the US-sponsored ejection of the Pashtun
Taliban regime by the Tajik-led Northern Alliance. However, there is no
denying the fact that a series of political and military mistakes were
made by the US-led NATO forces. Added to this, the corruption and
incompetent of Kabul contributed towards alienation of the entire
populace of the region, thus transforming the insurgency virtually into
a Pashtun war of liberation. Munir Akram believes that foreign forces
have never pacified this region and in all probability, US-NATO forces
will not succeed in doing so, either.
It will be recalled that a few days back, the Afghan-Pakistan Jirga had
met to open talks with the Taliban and the US had shown its willingness
to consider this proposition. Judged by any count, this was a welcome
sign of realism. However, the point that merited serious attention was
that while it is absolutely in order to ensure that negations are
pursued from a position of strength, pre-condition could prematurely
doom these negotiations before they could begin. Also, it is clear that
negotiations, cannot be credibly pursued by Kabul, Islamabad, the US,
NATO and not even the UN. For ensuring success of such meetings, it is
imperative that a commission consisting of respected Pashtun leaders,
Islamic scholars and neutral personalities, is created to conduct
unconditional talks with the Taliban and seek an immediate cassation of
attacks and suicide bombings.
The Taliban will expect to share power and will demand the withdrawal of
foreign troops. A reasonable time frame for such withdrawal could be
linked to their cooperation for restoring peace and stability and
creation of a credible Afghan army. In this context, it must be seen
that there is a compelling need to ensure that US-NATO military strategy
is revised. Aerial action should be undertaken as an exception and not
as a rule as it ends up in high civilian casualties. Presently, NATO
garrisons should be deployed in credible strength in a limited number of
locations and these should be used for protective or punitive purposes.
Eventually, a credible and genuinely national Afghan army will enable
foreign forces to undertake an orderly withdrawal from Afghanistan.
Munir Akram stresses the need to reform the Afghan security apparatus.
He holds that the Defence, intelligence, Interior Department, cannot
continue to be left in the hands of the Panjshere section of the
Northern Alliance, as they have an anti-Pashtun and anti-Pakistan
agenda. The officer corps of the fledging Afghan army should reject
Afghanistan’s ethnic composition including the Pashtun, if it is to be a
genuine national institution. In the end, the author suggests that an
effective war must be launched against drugs, criminality and
corruption. This is a principal cause feeding popular disaffection and
insurgency. As hinted earlier, these proposals have been put across by
an accomplished diplomat. So, to examine feasibility of these proposals,
people at the helm should give them a serious thought. |
