Saman Hamid
March 8th marked another bleak day for the region as a few men dressed in white lab coats stormed the military hospital in Kabul, killing 30 and wounding dozens. The situation in Afghanistan is anything but stable. This comes in the wake of recent wave of terror in Pakistan claiming hundreds of lives and inevitably leading to “Radd-ul-Fassad” and stringent measures against Afghan refugees cum immigrants and the closure of working boundary. These tensions have adversely effected cross border trade from $2.5Billion to $1.3 billion this year. With the withdrawal of US and UK the Afghan forces are no more than a symbolic presence in the country. The more alarming factor though is the fact that Taliban and IS have ceased control of large parts of Afghanistan and with them various terror networks including the ISIS have strong footing.
The Durand Line was first laid down on November 12, 1893. It was not a border though it was an avenue of perpetual rift between two nations. The Afghans had been undefeated and had caused the Mughals to succumb to their warring tactics were unable to digest the British. There was no formal treaty and no subsequent ratification only difference was that the British developed the Eastern side and linked the region with railways the ensuing prosperity pulled the Afghans towards embracing their identity in the subcontinent as “Pushtoons”. At the time of partition, the newly formed Pakistani state was under the impression that they have a formal border in the form of Durand line. Afghans on the other hand never intended things to be this easy, internal turmoil did not curb their cordial relations with the Indians. Throughout the decades there was unbridled support to our neighbours from the East to those in the West. Indians have allocated INR 3.5Billion to Afghanistan, this is down from INR8.8 Billion since last year this is part of the Bilateral and Multilateral assistance program to foreign countries.
Indians continue to pour in capital away from their own poverty stricken population there are very few people out there who question their motives. Especially in the wake of the American focus on the containment of Chinese advances in global trade. As the CPEC brings in an investment of nearly $50 Billion in Pakistan providing a corridor to numerous trade opportunities to Central Asia. In the current context Pakistan is providing the entire region an avenue for immense economic growth. Unfortunately, the whole situation is not sitting well with those in the West and India’s geostrategic position is also letting her sit and challenge Pakistan and China at this critical juncture. Afghanistan too seems oblivious to the potential perhaps it has a lot to do with the pro-Indian skew of the Ghani regime. Elected since 2014, this current government seems to have a lot to pander about but there is very little substance in what is proclaimed to be success.
There is growing murmur about possible Soviet intervention in Afghanistan if the current downward spiral persist socio-politically. Pakistan has come a long way from supporting the Taliban but the then Karzai and now Ghani led regimes continue their support to Indians. The American role is ever more important in power transition. We are fighting a war that has penetrated our roots and affects the psyche of an average Pakistani. There are debates and a sector that questions the moves of the establishment, in such a state of affairs it is very easy to malign national interest by planting doubts. In addition to this continuous attacks on the general population in large metropolitan areas aids these agents. This when coupled with tension on the Eastern and Western borders strengthens the need for better policies. A balance must be achieved action on the Durand Line is long awaited, the refugees must decide their fate with the state but this should not come at the expense of spreading negative sentiment or reinforcing the intent of revenge any further. We must be cautious with our Afghan brethren and must be mindful of their suffering as well as ours, this is the only safe way forward.
