The Afghan conundrum

Peace in Afghanistan means peace in Asia and trouble (fasad) in Afghanistan means trouble in Asia, said Alama Iqbal. Afghans are a great nation. English, Soviets and Americans, all have tried but terribly failed to subjugate them. If history itself is any lesson then others must learn from the past history of Afghans. They are born warriors. This nation is war ravaged; but poverty and strife have only toughened them. A nation that learns to handle starvation without undermining its honour cannot be defeated. There is no weapon in American armory (except the nuclear bomb) that has not been tested on the Afghans but their will and courage could not be broken. Afghans deserve to be respected. The West (Soviet, Nato and the US) keeps coming to Afghanistan but they are destined to fail. This is a strange mystery both ways.
Pakistan, and before it, British, had a very unpleasant history of the North Western front. British brutality had a lasting impact on Afghan minds. An animus and hostile posture by Afghanistan towards Pakistan at its birth in 1947 was not a knee-jerk reaction. It was a calculated, though not necessarily right, step from Afghanistan in the light of past history. From the Durand Line to transit trade, Red Bear to Iron Curtain and from Great Game to the future of the World, all have links with Afghanistan.
Many issues were left unsettled by the British after the 'shameful flight'. Referendum in the Frontier (NWFP) in the summer of 1947 further aggravated the situation after Indian Congress's defeat as the Muslim League middle classes in the province defeated the Khan brothers who took pride in their Afghan connection and ancestry. The start was not very pleasant. An unpleasant episode at Pakistan' entry to the UN created a bad taste. Earlier, the Tarke Mawalat movement of 1919 started at the behest of Deoband religious decree (Deoband had many followers in NWFP) proved an utter failure and left a scar on the minds of Indian Muslims. This movement showed a grave error of judgement and message in its failure, never heeded to. Unfortunately that was not the last one.
The events of July 1977 brought Ziaul Haq to power (in 1999 there was a military regime too). The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979 started an unending era of pain and misery for the Afghans and in many ways for Pakistan too. Pakistan opened its doors to the Afghans. Unfortunately, there were no plans in place for this great crisis. Few dozen camps established around Peshawar soon proved to be insufficient. The Pashtun tradition of hospitality, linguistic bonds and tribal code all were put to use to accommodate these 'guests'. Businesses and homes were opened to Afghans throughout Pakistan. The Afghans, who migrated to Pakistan spread in the breadth and length of Pakistan. From Chaman to Lahore and from Khyber to Karachi, they were everywhere, villages and cities alike. Even today, they are unwilling to go back. Hundreds and thousands of them obtained IDs and were now de facto citizens of Pakistan. Iran also received a large number of Afghan refugees but it had a better plan. They did not allow diffusion of refugees. Iran kept its influence over the leadership and refugees in a calculated and better way.
A large number of Afghan students studied in Pakistan, mostly in Madaris (religious schools), which imparted a particular doctrine suited to the times. International Islamic University, Islamabad, established in early 1980s, after Pakistanis had the highest number of Afghans as students. The people of Afghanistan have a great tradition of scholarship. They have rich minds with fantastic memory. Many of them excelled in law, Sharia and economics and went to the top Western Universities and later served their country. They never felt obliged to Pakistan. They were critical of Pakistan and its policies when engaged in a discussion. Many of them actually believed that Pakistan received a huge aid from the West and the UN but it never reached Afghans. They would not entertain the argument that this 'aid' was channelized through Afghan Jihad leaders and was hardly sufficient to feed over 3 million Afghans. Human mind has the tendency to work under mistaken beliefs and this was not unique to them only. There were many here too much infected. Half-truths, prejudices and false notions provided wrong foundations to our policy towards Afghanistan during the last 30 odd years (after the withdrawal of the Soviet troops).
The so-called strategic depth and alliances forged with fighting jihadi factions and their leaders have proved utterly wrong. It bred the worst kind of mistrust. History showed that no puppet government could be installed in Kabul. The people of Afghanistan are too independent to be controlled by a foreign-aided government. British, Soviets and America, all have failed. So, no more experiments. This is the first lesson. The second lesson is: come what may, an Afghan has a great sense of history. No matter Pakistan has hosted millions of Afghans for the past four decades, an Afghan, howsoever helpless he may be, would still think of himself as the progeny of Mehmood and Abdali. The Afghans ruled most of the Subcontinent for hundreds of years. So he would like to be respected. The establishment in Pakistan therefore must start changing its stance, style and status and stop claiming superiority over people of Afghanistan and begin treating them well and by giving them their historical respect and place. The third lesson is: it is not age of passion but knowledge, science and reason. It is time to reclaim our place in the field of knowledge and humanity. The gulf between our beliefs and conduct needs to be bridged. There is a battalion of pseudo intellectuals and experts on Afghanistan raised during the last 40 years. They can talk for hours in circles with Anglicized flowery English. Despite many experts around, this mess remains unending. It is time to say goodbye to good, bad and the ugly. The Afghans must be left to manage their own business. However, like a good neighbour, Pakistan's role must change its role from an alleged interference to a sincere facilitation with no favourites. These favourites are Afghans too. It is always: they or we. While the state must heed to this serious business after proper study, others, who have traditionally claimed influence over the Afghans as their teachers and mentors must also be harnessed if not banned. No politician, statesman and expert must make any statement and keep contact with any Afghan except through the official channel. It is also high a time to stop finding bloodlines beyond Pakistan. A peaceful and stable Afghanistan is a guarantee to peace in the region and Pakistan.
(The views expressed in this article are not necessarily those of the newspaper)