Afghanistan is feeling the burn of its war status quo since the 1978 socialist revolution by the People’s Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA). The said event was named the ‘Saur Revolution’ (Saur is the second month of the solar year). The comrades of this socialist party felt the strongest resistance by the hand of their brother Afghan fellows who were politically engineered Islamists. Actually, the war had many players on Afghan ground. On one side, the USSR supporting the infant socialist revolutionary comrades (Khalqis and Purchamis, which were two factions in the PDPA) of Afghanistan while, on the other, the imperialists under the US command were assisting guerilla fighters who were well known as mujahideen, the Arabic word used for religious holy warriors. Pakistan played a vital role for the imperialist bloc, assisting the anti-USSR groups through the bordering territories of Pakistan. These areas consisted of the Pashtun population, which were not then judged as guerilla fighters on the other side of the Durand Line.
The war lasted for more than a decade. At last, the USSR forces withdrew from Afghanistan in 1989 when the world’s nations agreed on the historic Geneva Accords. The Afghan forces, which consisted mostly of socialist ideology followers, had lost their morale as Dr Najibullah, the then president of Afghanistan, had resigned and left the political ground as a vacuum for his rival mujahideen. This newly formed government of guerillas did not last long; the black era of the Afghan civil war started. The capital city of Kabul was divided among the different mujahideen or ex-guerilla fighting factions. According to political and security observers, this black Afghan era is said to be the root of all evil, leaving millions of people dead with the rest of the population migrating to Pakistan and Iran. Political, social and economic institutions collapsed for the first time. Afghanistan lost its young army and the state became a no man’s land. Then the well-known Taliban movement, believed to be injected again from the Pakistani side, captured more than 95 percent of Afghanistan. I still remember how people praised their activities and how the Taliban head, Mullah Muhammad Omer, was thought to be a saint as the masses across the country were eager to have someone restore peace to their country. The Taliban became harsher and violated human rights laws. The Taliban era soon became a disastrous one when the Northern Alliance resisted the Taliban forces in the north of Afghanistan.
Arab fighters were part of the US-supported mujahideen against the USSR and then created a better understanding with the new movement of the Taliban. Al Qaeda, the world’s top Islamist militant mother organization, took root in the ground from 1979 to 1988. In 1988, al Qaeda formed and announced its formal structure and mission of jihad against the infidels [the US and the west]. The al Qaeda militants were believed to be the original men behind the Taliban. The al Qaeda influence inside the Taliban can be judged easily. The Taliban changed Afghanistan’s name and called it the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. They introduced sharia law in the country, which became practical for the first time on Afghan land. The newly Islamic state of Afghanistan was an imposition on the masses of Afghanistan. They had never been forced to live under such strict laws before in the history of the country.
On November 9, 2001 the World Trade Centre, the twin towers, came under attack, killing more than 3,000 US citizens. These attacks were claimed by al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden who was based in Afghanistan. Before 9/11, the al Qaeda leader was blamed for the bombing on a US embassy in Sudan.
The Taliban’s Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan soon felt the shivers induced by the international community’s meetings and the launching of a war against al Qaeda and the Taliban leadership, believed to be the culprits of the 9/11 attack. The international community launched its attacks under a resolution of the UN, which had already blamed the Taliban for their human rights violations and for being an invading force imposed on the people of Afghanistan.
The international community, with the Afghan leadership from the former mujahideen, socialists and neutral influential figures, held the Bonn Conference, which passed its resolution and formed the transitional government under the leadership of current president Hamid Karzai. President Karzai was then elected by adult franchise from across the country for two terms. Now, he is going to leave the throne for his successor because the Afghan constitution is not allowing him to be president of the country for a third time.
The nascent democratic state of Afghanistan is going to transfer power from one elected president to his successor being elected by means of adult franchise. Democracy is a system approved by social thinkers. The fittest political setup for the masses is always democratic. Afghanistan has evolved from a war-torn nation to a developing one. Its economy has stabilized and foreign aid has let the country build its 350,000 strong Afghan National Security Forces. The coalition forces have already completed the transition of security to the new Afghan Security Forces. They have been controlling the security affairs of the country for more than a year.
Afghanistan’s real economy lies under its ground in the shape of three trillion dollars worth of minerals, which will soon be contracted by regional powers, neighbouring countries and even some western nations. That can change Afghanistan from a war-torn state to a developed nation. We must let Afghanistan live on her own, without any power or influence over Kabul.
Pakistan, an influential neighbour involved since long in Afghanistan’s security affairs, can chalk out a peaceful policy towards Afghanistan because until Afghanistan is not taken as a sovereign state, we will feel the same burn. We will not have a peaceful Pakistan unless our leadership develops a change in its mindset towards Afghanistan.
The writer is a freelancer based in Quetta and works for the Voice of America, Pashto radio service