Diplomatist Magazine Diplomatist September 2019 | Page 41

SPOTLIGHT
military presence and the influx of aid from the international
community gave the hope of rescuing a country mired in
crisis. Afghanistan has become the focus of the fight against
terrorism, and a new chapter in its political life has begun.
The post-9/11 era began when Hamid Karzai was declared the
first-ever democratically elected head of state in Afghanistan
in 2004. Hamed Karzai’s government came to an end in
2014 while the Taliban was increasingly strengthening and
the situation of Afghanistan was getting worse. Thus, It
disrupted the order and security of the country. In the wake
of the challenging elections in 2014, the national unity
government has come. President Ashraf Ghani as the head
of National Unity government has celebrated the 100th
anniversary of Afghanistan’s independence while the situation
of Afghanistan is plagued by issues such as poverty, illiteracy,
unemployment, drug trafficking, corruption and insecurity. In
a century of Afghan independence, the reproduction of such
malicious dilemmas is disappointing.
Shah and Zahir Shah had pursued a policy of balance and
neutrality in foreign policy until 1973. Gradually, the US-
Russia rivalry in the Cold War era affected the heart of
Asia. Moreover, neighbouring a newly established country
named Pakistan triggered the Durand border dilemma which
has become a contentious issue in Afghan foreign policy
regarding Pakistan. At this time, despite such efforts to
promote neutrality and positive balance until the 1970s, we
gradually saw the penetration of two superpowers and rise
of a communist regime in Afghanistan as one of the world’s
most traditional countries. Then, the foreign relations of
Afghanistan changed dramatically as the consequence of
the collapse of the communist regime in Afghanistan and
the Mujahidin’s takeover of the government. The West and
East bloc competition had another devastating effect on
the security situation in Afghanistan. Afghanistan became
a hotbed for the proxy war of neighboring countries, and
jihadist parties were strengthened by Iran and Pakistan. As
After 9/11, Afghanistan miraculously came out of the grip of the
Taliban which was hugely expensive. The United States’ sustained
release operations to combat terrorism have placed Afghanistan
at the center of the international community’s attention once
again. There was growing hope among Afghans.
At the level of external analysis, a century of Afghan
independence shows that its foreign relations are tied to the
will of the great powers which challenges Afghanistan’s
independence. The geopolitical realities of Afghanistan as the
heart of Asia have played an important role in the play of great
powers at various historical junctures of the last century. After
Afghanistan’s independence in 1919 until the end of World
War II, Amanullah Khan’s foreign policy sought to have a
positive balance with the great powers of the two world wars
including Britain, Germany, and Russia.
To this end, Amanullah Khan gave concession to each
of these countries while he was trying to improve the level
of interaction with the other two powers. Even Nader
a result, competition, conflict and civil war were raging in
the 1990s. In the late 1970s, The Taliban was formed by the
help and support of the US, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan to fight
against the Soviet Union. Taliban used the power vacuum after
the defeat of the communist government in Afghanistan and
became a brutal militant there. This decade of independence
had no meaning for Afghans.
After 9/11, Afghanistan miraculously came out of the
grip of the Taliban which was hugely expensive. The United
States’ sustained release operations to combat terrorism
have placed Afghanistan at the center of the international
community’s attention once again. There was growing hope
among Afghans. The help of the international community
Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Diplomatist • Vol 7 • Issue 9 • September 2019, Noida • 41