The modern Afghanistan emerged during the 19th century as a buffer state between the Russian and the British empire. From the beginning it was a theatre for battles between them. It has witnessed incessant coups and counter-coups, civil strife and invasions. Since early 1970s it has remained a conflict zone. Decades of conflict have shattered government and social structures in the country, the world’s fifth poorest. Life expectancy at birth is 43 years, more than 20 years less than any of its neighbours. According to a United Nations report more than 7 million people are chronically hungry, and 53 per cent live on less than a US dollar a day. 25 per cent of all Afghan children do not survive beyond the age of five. 70 per cent of the population suffers from severe malnutrition. Less than a quarter has access to safe drinking water, only 12 per cent to adequate sanitation and 10 per cent to electricity. In some provinces, the maternal mortality rates are the worst ever recorded anywhere.
Buffer no more
In 1973, King Zahir Shah was overthrown in a Soviet-supported coup led by Mohammad Daud Khan. As the country’s role as a buffer state among superpowers began to change, the geopolitical balance crashed. The increasing Soviet influence in the country was worrying for the United States. The US policy in Afghanistan was in line tune with its overall policy towards oil producing countries including those in the Middle East. Access to energy resources has been an important concern for the US. There has been a great awareness in the US that world oil reserves are depleting faster than new discoveries are being made.
During the Soviet domination, the social reforms introduced by Daud threatened the status of traditional tribal and religious leaders. In April 1978, a communist-led revolution replaced Daud Khan with pro-Soviet Noor Mohammad Tarakki. However, he was killed in an inter-factional conflict within the ruling party. This led to a Soviet military intervention on December 27, 1979. Afghanistan thus completely lost its buffer state role and became a frontline state in the Soviet sphere of influence.
Soviet dominance
Anothe leftist coup installed Babrak Karmal, a leader of Moscow’s choice, in place of Hafizullah Amin. The coup raised concerns of possible fallout for Iran and Pakistan. In Iran, meanwhile, the fall of Shah’s regime and the emergence of Khomeini in his place marked a new era. It also caused religious revivalism in Pakistan to surge.
The chaos also made the region a viable area for the global narcotic trade rivalling the so-called Golden Triangle consisting of Thailand, Myanmar and Laos. At its peak it provided 60 per cent of heroin reaching the US and 80 per cent of that entering Europe. Opium cultivation and use were not new to the region. Under the British opium production was licensed. In the 18th and 19th centuries, the British used to import opium from India to China to meet the balance of payments’ deficits resulting from their large tea purchases.
Drug money changed the economic and social scene in Afghanistan. Although only a small group of narco barons reaped the major profits, members of the law enforcing agencies, bureaucrats and hangers on too benefited from the trickle.
The US had started interfering in Afghanistan during the Daud regime. Following the Soviet invasion, the US increased its support to the opposition parties. Using Pakistan as a platform, the US supplied abundant financial and military assistance. This guaranteed the final military victory for Afghanistan’s opposition powers. Also during this period the religious extremists, mainly from the Gulf region, entered Afghanistan and raised the standard of jihad
The Soviet intervention in Afghanistan allowed opium production to increase. It also provided a source of funding for the anti-Soviet war effort and allowed the traffickers to exploit the support to the Mujahideen by Iran and Pakistan, by using those countries as transit routes. The drug problem became even more serious with the civil war.
A chess-board for super powers
When the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan in December 1979 it had to directly confront the domestic opposition including national, tribal, and religious powers, as well as those seeking democracy. It also faced a coalition of countries headed by America and Pakistan. The US had started interfering in Afghanistan during the Daud regime. Following the Soviet invasion, the US increased its support to the opposition parties. Using Pakistan as a platform, the US supplied abundant financial and military assistance. This guaranteed the final military victory for Afghanistan’s opposition powers. Also during this period the religious extremists, mainly from the Gulf region, entered Afghanistan and raised the standard of jihad. Osama Bin Laden was the most active among them. He also set up a fund to enlist volunteers from other countries and to bring them into Afghanistan for Jihad.
To flush out the Soviets, jihadi zealots were brought from all parts of the world to Pakistan and Afghanistan forging a unity among those who had nothing in common execpt a willingness to die fighting for the cause. This convergence, enabled by western powers, not only made the Soviet Union but also made the Islamists aware of the potential of Jihad and the force multiplication effect of networking. Its aftermath included the ascendancy of the Taliban.
The Taliban converted Afghanistan into a breeding ground for militatns with training bases and infrastructure support to extremists from Turkey to Indonesia; from Chechnya to China; and from Eursope to Africa. It became the home of Al Qaeda. The motivation of those who financed and trained them was hardly religious per se. From Al Qaeda to Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan terrorist organisations used the name of Islam to justify terrorism, even though their principal motivation was political.
By 1989, mounting casualties, dissatisfaction among the troops and international pressure had forced Soviet Union to withdraw troops from Afghanistan. The resulting power vacuum in Central Asia caused the disintegration of the Soviet Union and feuding among Mujahideen in Afghanistan.
The US government encouraged its oil giants to humour the Taliban to access the Central Asian oil and gas through Afghanistan and Pakistan. The lure of financial gain and strategic needs combined to make the region important to the outsiders.
Ever since the Central Asian leaders have been obsessed with the pipelines and trade routes. Some of them signed deals even with the Taliban regime.
The writer is the head of the Post Graduate Department of Political Science at BNMU, West Campus