Saman Wasae
A country barely afloat on tatters from Western powers; aching to run away, suddenly decides to stab us in the back. Afghanistan opened fire on Pakistan on Saturday, June 11, 2016, when Pakistan proceeded to build the Torkham border gate. Unfortunately this is not news; it is more of an inevitability that has always dangled on our heads as a sword. Afghanistan has always disappointed us a neighboring Muslim brother. Maybe it has something to do with the Durand line or maybe they just love feuds. Pak – Afghan relations have always been hanging by a thread. Had it not been a fragile economy, internal political instability, Afghanistan would have been up in arms with us a long time back. From the very beginning the idea of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) never pleased the Afghans. They supported a separatist movement before KP’s accession with Pakistan, a sovereign state by the name of Pushtoonistan. Even after the accession they never gave up and tried to influence the political process by funding parties that promoted the same idea. In addition to this, Afghanistan was the only country to vote against Pakistan’s entry in the United Nation, in order to fully make their intentions clear they established strong links with India. (India was the only ones to recognize Soviet backed Democratic republic of Afghanistan in 1980)
Fast forward December 1979, suddenly both countries found themselves fighting a common enemy. The Soviets invaded Afghanistan. The enemies of the “enemy” became friends. The porous Pak-Afghan border though enabled Afghan refugees to find permanent home in Pakistan. The repercussion of this support are felt to this day, we would have stood at a very different place had we been less inviting to our Afghan brothers. The turbulence in the relationship experienced temporary relief in late 1990’s when Taliban captured Kandhar. Their vision of peace prompted Pakistan to support their regime and their subsequent advances in Afghanistan’s politics. Everything changed for the worst post 9/11. With the “War on terror”, Pakistan remains embroiled in uninvited guests from across all its borders, implicitly and explicitly. Over the years Pakistan has done all it can to establish cordial relations with its neighbour. Some would say that Pakistan too has benefited from the aid it has received for the rehabilitation of the refugees, truth being told no aid can compensate the economic, social and psychological costs that we had to bare as a nation. As a result of wars in Afghanistan some 1.7 million Afghans still lived in Pakistan, this estimate is from UNHCR in 2012, four years and further deterioration in Afghan situation on, this number is likely to increase. Pakistan is a country with 21% of the population below the poverty line (World Bank analysis 2013-14). A country with means barely enough to support its own population will certainly struggle with refugees. The recent Syrian refugee crisis brings Pakistan’s plight to light in this regard as well, as so many EU countries closed their borders.
It is most unfortunate though two of the worst things to have hit Pakistan since the 1980’s also came with Afghans; drugs and guns. Rocket launchers, rifles, Kalashnikovs, gun culture truly blossomed post refugee migration; this has been one of the root causes of terrorism in Pakistan, not to mention the hike in crime rates throughout the country. It is the latter of the two though along with enhanced problems of smuggling that has been a true menace; drugs. Opium, Heroine, Cocaine, these not only attack the population but also mars our reputation abroad. As no matter how hard our anti-narcotics force tries the war on drugs rages on. In addition to Pakistan’s brave attempts to address all the problems, active steps have been taken towards assisting Afghanistan’s rehabilitation in the global arena.
Our history carries many examples over the decades but for now let us focus on the most recent developments more specifically the efforts of “Committee for Reconstruction and Rehabilitation of Afghanistan (CRRA). A total amount of US$ 385 million has been pledged by the government. A total of 29 x projects are planned out of which 11 are already completed. Relief items such as Wheat, Dialysis machines etc have been provided. Infrastructural advances in the form of roads, buses, radio have been enabled. Schools, universities are being built as we speak. The cost of all this would not have felt as high had Afghanistan as a country would have realized and put an end to all its hostile policies for Pakistan. Our world has always seen pawns and this situation is no different, just a few people making empires subjecting everyone to annihilation in the process. The current Torkham scenario seems to be no different.
The fact that Pakistan has finally found a partner to exploit its geo strategic position in the form of China is simply impossible for India and the US to digest. China would find a trade route for its Western parts and Pakistan would find the miracle to speed its development. India can quite simply not see both its enemies benefiting in any way. The US on the other hand quite simply cannot bear China’s advances in the global economic stage, making it as formidable politically, economically, and socially as US. Why would people prefer to learn Chinese as a second language? Both India and USA are also experiencing strong ties a honey moon period of sorts, the US forgetting the old Indian Soviet ties altogether in the process. Both need each other. One also can never forget the fact that Afghanistan has always sided with India, Indian investment in Afghanistan stands at $10.8 billion as of 2012, over the years both have supported each other. All these factors in perspective, the USA and India are seem to be influencing Afghanistan in their latest offensive against China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). Whether it is internal political turmoil or external threats, there are periodic attacks on what is our sole savior, an opportunity to enable us to break the shackles of external financial dependence, the CPEC. Why else would a country like Afghanistan barely surviving with peace keepers look to deteriorate its relationship with its strategic partner? Afghanistan must realize that by serving US-Indian interests they are also signing their own undoing. The regional connectivity that CPEC offers will help boost Afghan economy as well. This in a way is the building block they need to rescue them from the depths of political turmoil that has grappled them for decades. Above all no one can survive in isolation and Pakistan is in no way a soft target.
