H R
T Y
C S O P V O E T R L S I G
TO
Pakistan has always wanted
a weak Afghanistan and has
been supporting a proxy
war by using terrorism as
an instrument of foreign
policy. Building democratic
institutions and smooth
transfer of power in 2014 to
Ashraf Ghani as President in
Afghanistan has been possible
due to the strong presence of
US and NATO forces.
monarchy lost its symbol of unity in
a country where a fragile peace had
to be maintained between diff erent
ethnic groups. The major ethnic
groups are Pashtun, Tajik, Hazara,
Uzbek, Aimak, Turkmen, Baloch
and others. Dari (Afghan Persian)
and Pashto are the offi cial languages.
Most of the Afghans are bilingual.
In hindsight, this overthrow of
the monarchy by President Daoud
heralded the transition towards civil
war and anarchy. He was himself
overthrown and killed by the Saur
Revolution in April 1978 which led
to the four decades of civil war, terror
and Islamic fanaticism.
T h e r i s e o f t h e P e o p l e ’s
Democratic Party of Afghanistan
(PDPA) was during the coup of 1973 which supported
President Daoud Khan in establishing the fi rst Republic
of Afghanistan. This communist party was supported by
the Soviet Union was made up of two major factions, the
Parcham (banner or fl ag) and Khalq (Masses or People). The
PDPA established the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan,
with Nur Muhammad Taraki as its fi rst President. Taraki was
assassinated by Hafi zullah Amin a fellow Khalaq member
in September 1979. His extremist policies led to the Soviet
invasion on 27 December 1979 that killed Amin and installed
Babrak Karmal as president.
This Soviet invitation to intervene was a watershed. It was
at the height of the Cold War where the Islamic revolution in
Iran made the US lose its lynchpin in its Middle East Policy
in 1978 followed by the Soviets moving into Afghanistan.
This made Pakistan into a frontline state for the US and Saudi
Arabia to fund the Islamic fundamentalist groups called the
Mujahideen to fi ght the communists. This funding of the
Islamic terror machine in Pakistan had its consequences in
Jammu and Kashmir as well. 1979 was the year when the
terrorist became the ruler in J&K and the ethnic cleansing
and genocide of Kashmiri Hindus began.
The Soviets forces left in 1989, a civil war where several
Afghans were killed, displaced and the destruction of the
country. President Najibullah became President in 1987 until
1992, a year after the disintegration of the Soviet Union. His
death showed the brutality of the Islamic fundamentalist
regime on 27 September 1996. Their destruction of world
heritage Buddhist statues at Bamiyan was a signal to the
world that they would stop at nothing. The civil war continued
for control between the Northern Alliance led by Ahmed
Shah Massoud and the Taliban a
creation of Pakistan’s ISI of Pashtun
students of extremist Madrasas
continued until 1997-98. From now
the extremist form of Islam took
root with Al Queda creating a strong
network in the region. This made
the region as the training ground
for international terrorists with the
production of narcotics.
9/11 made a tectonic shift
with the US slowly realizing that
support for terror not only aff ected
regional neighbors like India but
reached the shores of the US. The
US bombed Al Queda camps and
removed the Taliban from power. In
December 2001 the Afghan Interim
Administration under Hamid Karzai
was installed. Pakistan has always wanted a weak Afghanistan
and has been supporting a proxy war by using terrorism as an
instrument of foreign policy. Building democratic institutions
and smooth transfer of power in 2014 to Ashraf Ghani as
President in Afghanistan has been possible due to the strong
presence of US and NATO forces. The Taliban supported
by Pakistan terror infrastructure has been and is a huge
destabilizing force. The decision by the US to withdraw and
hand over power to the Taliban can be a setback. But the issue
is how long would the US commit its military, the Afghans
will have to govern themselves some time. The Taliban is
Pashtun, extremist Islamic group owing to its allegiance to
Pakistan and will the Northern alliance be given any power-
sharing. How can this region see peace and stability in the
future?
At this point, Afghanistan is at the crossroads whether it can
reconcile diff erences and form a national unity government
or will break up on ethnic faultlines of Pashtunistan and
the Northern Alliance. Afghanistan is a good case study to
understand the role of communist parties versus the Islamic
fundamentalistic groups in national development. For India,
a strong, independent and modern Afghanistan is in our best
interests, whereas for Pakistan a weak Afghanistan that will
allow Pakistan to get its strategic depth vis a vis India is its
goal. The region and Afghanistan are important for India and
the world to ignore.
* Author is a University Professor in International
Relations and Politics, teaching and supervising research
for the last three decades.
Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Diplomatist • Vol 7 • Issue 9 • September 2019, Noida • 39