By bringing home troops from the “longest war”, US President Joe Biden certainly got one thing checked off the campaign trail. So what if this hasty withdrawal comes on the heels of the Taliban reclaiming power in the battle-weary Afghan wasteland! Mr Biden has already announced to the world that America had not entered this war to nation-build. Sadly, not everyone is lucky enough to throw their hands up in the air. With a chaotic civil war threatening to once again spill over into Pakistan, our conditions are far from favourable. PM Khan’s observations regarding the seemingly failing attempts to negotiate with the Taliban could not be more spot-on. Being one of the few harsh critics of looking for a military solution in Afghanistan, Mr Khan is speaking from a position of power. Even recently, he had pleaded with Washington to invite the Taliban to the discussions table before leaving the check posts. The missing 150,000 troops have made all the difference. Why would anyone in their right minds willingly give up power for a political settlement when their capture of Kabul is a done deal? Islamabad is clearly distressed about its western neighbour collapsing in seemingly endless conflict if no immediate measures are taken to restore peace. Key players in Afghan’s hallways of power are reluctant to give up the hot seat. Quite understandable and an ironic ignis fatuus of post-Soviet Kabul. The constant blood-stained tussle between the warlords and the mujahideen then had subjected the poor country to a reign of terror. Compounded with an armed resistance–sponsored by Iran–, senseless whims by some of our own to control the driving seat from Islamabad was the apparent last nail in the proverbial coffin of Afghan peace. However, the Pakistan of today could not be any different than that of two decades ago. Going by the skipper’s firm refusal of hosting American bases, he is not interested in rewriting the ugly history. If our intelligence services are not good enough for the US (compromised to the extent that the serving president voted against taking our government into confidence before the infamous ObL raid), why should we fight their ugly battles? PM Khan has been blaring the same trumpet of sanity for the past few years. The million-dollar question, nevertheless, pertains to whether his voice of reason is actually passing through marble walls. If President Ashraf Ghani is in a mood to listen, he would put an end to the relentless mudslinging. After all, he needs a frontline state like ours in his corner if he wishes to set his house straight. And if by some miracle, Capitol Hill lends us an ear, Mr Biden would give up on the Foucauldian pressure and treat us like an equal. Skipping the PM Khan’s hotline to open a line with his army general was a stunning disregard of his mandate and position as a leader of a sovereign nation. You were right in hotfooting out of the Afghan graveyard of empires, Mr Biden, but is your conscience ready to brave the burden of million butchered? The brutal murder of comedian Khasha Zwan is just the beginning of a very dreary ending! *