Daily Times

The frustrated and immature statements of the Afghan and Indian leaders in the Heart of Asia Conference in New Delhi raised important questions about the agenda behind the intentions of both the states in introducing a new concept of countering terrorism vis-a-vis neighbouring states in South Asia. The provoking and misleading statements issued by President Ghani and Mr Modi enraged the citizens of their own states that such statements may further intensify the tensions. There are plenty of statements and debates in social media asking whether India has hired the Ghani administration to be part of its chorus in promoting terrorism and instability in South Asia, or why India uses a poor and a war-torn state as a training ground for its sponsored terrorism in South Asia. Some analysts in Kabul believe that India used the Heart of Asia Conference as a political platform to declare Pakistan as a terrorist state and tight the rope of US containment of China in South and Central Asia.

Afghan President opened the Heart of Asia Conference with inflammatory and derogatory remarks against Pakistan and snubbed the $500 million development aid from the country, saying that amount can be spent better on controlling extremism and radicalization in Pakistan. “I engaged Pakistan, I went to GHQ, met the military leadership, because each country has their own distinct place for institutions. My message was that there was a window. It could be broadened to a door or a corridor, or it could shut. We did everything to ensure peace with Pakistan. 2015 and 2016 have been extremely difficult years, and the violence that has been inflicted on our people needs to be registered. To be quiet when people are dying is not acceptable. I am an elected political leader; I need to reflect my people’s sentiment. Because the question of terrorism is not just a threat to us but Pakistan and the Asian region, and hence the need for a public statement,” said President Ghani.

Having addressed to the inaugural function of the conference, Mr Modi said the world should collectively demonstrate against terrorism in South Asia. “Silence and inaction against terrorism in Afghanistan and our region will only embolden terrorism and their masters,” he added. Mr Modi said India is committed to a durable peace in Afghanistan and announced plans to connect India and Afghanistan via air links, as well as discussed the possibility of trilateral cooperation over the Chahbahar port. Pakistan reacted immediately to Mr Ghani’s statement saying, “allegations against the country do not work, but instead concentration on undermining terrorism should be positive.” Mr Sartaj Aziz said that Mr Ghani was siding with India in saying what he did in a country “which is hostile to Pakistan.” However, a number of Afghan analysts supported President Ghani’s statement and said any further efforts to strengthen relations with Pakistan would not be effective. The results of the conference were no doubt unfruitful, and declaring a specific country for terrorism sponsorship that lost more than 60,000 civilian and military personnel during the last 15 years war on so-called terrorism in Afghanistan did not receive basic support from the participant states. Political commentators also termed the conference as a political platform to score points that will neither benefit Afghanistan nor the region.

On the international level, major powers like China and Russia rejected this concept of counter-terrorism. Russia said it was wrong to criticise Pakistan. Special Representative of the Russian President, Mr Zameer Kabulove said that the statement of Pakistan’s envoy at the conference was friendly and constructive. Experts understand that this conference was, in fact, the ‘Heart of India’ conference, in which Mr Modi and his Afghan partner tried to paint a transmogrified picture of Pakistan in the region. However, India’s inconsistent policy against its neighbours can be judged from the fact that the country wants peace in the region, demands the elimination of terrorism to stabilise Afghanistan on the one hand, but uses Afghanistan as a breeding ground for terrorism against Pakistan and Afghanistan on the other. India trains the ISIS and TTP terrorist groups to carry out suicide attacks against the civilian population in Afghanistan. The above-mentioned all statements of the Indian and Afghan leaders may further cause an escalation of tensions between India, Afghanistan and Pakistan as both Mr Modi and President Ghani have set out on a dangerous mission against the wishes of their own people. In a frustrated mood, Mr Modi’s recent statement about the human rights violation in Baluchistan did not receive particular support he expected in Sharam El Shiekh, Egypt, but one thing is clear that world leaders understand that India is making things worse in South Asia as the country continues to support the ISIS, TTP, Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), and other sectarian terrorist organization in Balochistan.

Last week, Afghan politicians and civil society recently expressed deep concern on the statement of their country’s illegitimate president (whose term had ended long ago) in the Heart of Asia Conference. They criticised Mr Ghani’s statement against a country that hosted and still hosts 3 million Afghan refugees on its soil. They warned that such a statement from an illegitimate president does not represent the Afghan nation. On the question of legitimacy, Afghan parliamentarian and politicians said that Mr Ghani’s government is illegal as he has not touched a single article of the Constitution of an amendment to create the post of chief executive. Therefore, his recent statements against a neighbouring state represent his personality alone, not the whole nation. However, President Ghani, while assuming office, took his oath according to Article 63 of the Constitution, but he neither supervised the implementation of the Constitution nor tried to provide food, economic and physical security to the people of Afghanistan, therefore, losing his government’s legitimacy. The potential gains of the Taliban in Helmand and ISIS in Jalalabad, Kunar and Nuristan, the capture of Kunduz, Sangin and parts of Badakhshan province, kidnapping for ransom, drug trafficking, and the emergence of a new anti-Pakistan Taliban group in Paktika province, have all raised serious questions over the legitimacy of the unity government.

Moreover, Mr Ghani’s special representative for reforms and good governance, Mr Ahmad Zia Massoud recently criticised the policies of the Unity Government on nepotism, drug trafficking, and so called nationalism. Mr Massound said corruption in three branches of the government prevented good governance from being institutionalised in the country. Mr Massoud is not the only partner of the Ashraf Ghani government criticising the wrongly designed policies, and the mission Mr Ghani has set to isolate Afghanistan on an international level; there are dozens of Afghan government officials and politicians who view the unwise policies of the Unity Government against the interests of their country. Mr Ghani and his partner war criminals are following the policy of support and sponsoring one terrorist group against another across the country. They support ISIS against the Taliban group, and a particular Taliban group against another Taliban groups, which causes fatalities, displacement of thousands of poor civilians and loss of lives.

The writer is author of Fixing the EU Intelligence Crisis, can be reached at zai.musakhan222@gmail.com