New/old controversy

EDITORIAL: Our Foreign Office has summoned the Afghan Ambassador Najibullah Alikhel to deliver a strong demarche against what has been called the “irresponsible and baseless” allegations levelled against Pakistan by Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and his National Security Adviser Hamdullah Mohib. The Afghan President, in an interview with Der Spiegel, said Pakistan operates an organised system of support for the Taliban, including logistics, financial support and recruitment. He pointed to the names by which Taliban decision-making bodies based in Pakistan are known, e.g., the Quetta Shura, Miramshah Shura and Peshawar Shura, to back his claim that there was a deep relationship between the Taliban and the Pakistani (deep?) state. President Ashraf Ghani cited Pakistani Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa’s assurance on his recent visit to Kabul that the restoration of the Taliban Emirate was not in Pakistan’s interest although some in the lower level ranks in the army still adhered to the opposite opinion. The Afghan National Security Adviser Hamdullah Mohib, in an address to an event shared by the official Twitter account of his office last week, made similar allegations against Pakistan and went so far as to argue that the Pashtun tribes were not happy with Pakistan (thereby resurrecting memories of the Durand Line controversy) and had revolted, the Baloch were also fighting for their rights, and those who left their wealth and livelihood behind in India (at Partition in 1947) and came to settle in Pakistan are now (or still?) called immigrants (mohajirs). The Pakistani Foreign Office has warned that such statements could undermine mutual trust and vitiate the environment between the two brotherly countries, disregarding the constructive role being played by Pakistan in facilitating the Afghan peace process. The Foreign Office also urged the Afghan leadership to utilise available forums such as the Afghanistan-Pakistan Action Plan for Peace and Solidarity (APAPPS) to address all bilateral issues.

This latest controversy is rooted in the history of Pakistan-Afghanistan relations. Afghanistan was the only country in the world that refused to recognise the newly created state of Pakistan in 1947, based on its rejection of the Durand Line and irredentist claims on the Pashtun areas of Pakistan. Subsequent relations over the years too have provided more than their share of ups and downs. Currently, as expressed by Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa to Afghan President Ashraf Ghani during his recent visit to Kabul along with ISI chief Lieutenant-General Faiz Hameed, Pakistan has not only facilitated the US-Taliban talks in Doha that yielded the agreement on withdrawal of US and other foreign troops from Afghanistan, but also helped bring about the ongoing (resurrected after the brief Eid ceasefire) talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban. Pakistan has been at pains for some time to emphasise it supports an Afghan-led, Afghan-owned peaceful political settlement of the Afghan conflict. This implies not an exclusive Taliban Emirate but some form of power sharing. This was precisely the import of General Bajwa’s assurance to President Ashraf Ghani. Although the latter responded positively to General Bajwa’s formulation at the time, his subsequent interview underlines the deep mistrust and suspicion about Pakistan and its motives amongst the ruling Afghan circles. What the Afghan leadership needs to examine is perhaps the reasoning behind Pakistan’s new tack. The Pakistani military is fully cognizant of the possible fallout for Pakistan post-foreign forces withdrawal if the Taliban push for total victory. Already, in tandem with the withdrawal process, the Taliban have pressed home their battlefield advantage in Helmand and in the north of the country. ‘Talking while fighting’ is a well known tactic, and it seems the Taliban have imbibed the advantages of taking this road. A Taliban general offensive could trigger a fresh refugee exodus, with Pakistan arguably the first destination for desperate people fleeing for their lives, a new phase of the civil war, more deaths and destruction, and the possible repercussions for US-Pakistan relations, already rocky because of Washington’s defeat at the hands of the Taliban. Pakistan’s interests lie in the wisest course of attempting a winding down of the war through a negotiated political settlement. However, this is easier said than done.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2021