Daily Times

The historic Afghan presidential elections were on April 5, 2014, which saw more than seven million Afghans cast their vote. According to preliminary reports, the turnout was more than 58 percent. This, in a developing country with a history of three decades lost in deadly war. It was a tough response the Afghan Taliban received from the Afghan public. The Afghans have made history by showing their willingness to usher in a stable, democratic Afghanistan. The longest queues on election day made for breaking news on media channels throughout the region. To be honest, nobody had predicted such a huge turnout. The Taliban, which were the only resisting force, had promised much violence on election day.

According to a tribal chief and Afghan political analyst Ghulam Farooq Khan, the peaceful Afghan elections and a greater vote cast showed “a thumbs down to the Taliban by the people of Afghanistan”. He adds further, “Even though Ashraf Ghani and Zalmay Rassoul were believed to be popular candidates, everything changed once Abdullah Abdullah’s anti-militant stance became known and got people out to truly make a greater portion of the vote be cast in his favour.”

All three leading candidates held popular rallies across the country and every candidate visited his supporters. A two-month long campaign left no corner of the country uncombed. Zalmay Rassoul’s bad luck was the fact that he was touted as a “President Karzai supported” candidate at a time when Karzai’s stance was very soft toward the Afghan Taliban. He even released their top commanders from Bagram prison. This caused outrage among the Afghans and the coalition countries, which had been involved in the war on terror. Karzai’s opposition to signing the Bilateral Security Agreement with the US was another reason.

The case of Ashraf Ghani was felt in the same way. As the greater number of Afghan Taliban are Pashtuns, people thought Ghani too would go soft on the Taliban militants. Abdullah Abdullah was viewed as more of a strict Afghan in comparison to Ashraf Ghani for bringing peace among Afghans and leading Afghanistan towards becoming a more sovereign nation of the region. Ashraf Ghani’s vice president, an ex anti-Taliban commander, Abdul Rashid Dostum, did not get much attention from the masses of Afghanistan.

The only true candidate, Abdullah Abdullah, who was born to a Pashtun father and Tajik mother, belonged to the former Northern Alliance, well known for being an anti-Taliban resistance force under the leadership of the (late) Ahmed Shah Massoud. Though he has not gained the needed percentage to be elected president in the first phase, he is still ahead of his rival by more than 10 percent of the total votes.

Another thing that is historic for the Afghans was the show of Afghan unity by the masses during the presidential election; they voted on the basis of an exclusive programme instead of personality or ethnicity. The greater percentage for Abdullah Abdullah proved that he was never a candidate from the Tajik populated northern areas but an Afghan who is believed to be able to lead the nation. He seems to be someone gaining votes under the umbrella of Afghan ‘nationality’. I still remember Abdullah’s Pashtu conclusion in presidential campaign speeches and talk shows.

The second round will be announced after the conclusion of the first round. Even now, as I type this opinion, I have received news from a well-known colleague that Zalmay Rassoul and the other candidates are in contact with Abdullah Abdullah. This news was confirmed by Zalmay Rassoul’s spokesperson Javid Faisal while talking to a Kabul-based media organisation. The same kind of news I have heard about the fourth [in vote gain ranking] presidential candidate, Abdul Rab Rasool Sayaf, who also has influence among the Afghan masses and has already secured more than seven percent votes from the polls held this month. Once these contacts tighten, I am sure Abdullah Abdullah will get the second round’s result in his favour. This should only be considered a prediction.

Pakistani observers are closely watching every political step in Afghanistan. Keeping in mind the historical democratic transition of power in this war-torn country, what should Pakistan’s foreign policy be towards this neighbouring country?

The response to this question is simple: a peaceful Afghanistan is in the interests of Pakistan, the region and the world. The turnout of the Afghan masses in the presidential election is a sheer outcry of their anti-war and anti-Taliban feelings and views. It is the exact time for Pakistan to respect this neighbouring infant democratic state’s sovereignty and a government formed as a result of the current polls. Pakistan must not let the anti-Afghan forces find safe havens inside its boundaries. The policy of ‘live and let others live’ should be adopted by the Pakistani state despite our earlier ‘strategic depth’ mindset. This so-called mindset is now a bigger threat for our own sovereignty and prosperity in the form of the Pakistani Taliban and more than 60 non-state actors’ militant organisations, which have allegedly targeted and killed more than 60,000 innocent Pakistanis. A safe and peaceful Afghanistan will be a great route to the Central Asian states for Pakistan for energy needed by the nation.

The writer is a freelancer based in Quetta and works for the Voice of America, Pashto radio service