After the incident of 9/11, Afghanistan emerged as a terrorist state before the face of the world. To eradicate the militant factors, the USA initiated a war against terror with the help of her allies on the soil of Afghanistan. This paper aims to analyze the efforts of Pakistan to bring harmony, peace, and development to Afghanistan. The afghan political scenario is a “multi-political scenario” in which different types of stakeholders show their political legitimacy over the masses. The capitalist class led by the USA and the socialist class by the Russians are the negative factors in this regard. Another major group in this regard is the Islamic agenda group, having a culture of arms is also a main participant in the afghan political setup. The political legitimacy of the different groups de-railed whole the system in the verge of chaos. The main focus of this paper is to determine the struggles of Pakistan to restore the true political system in Afghanistan through the participation of all the stakeholders of the scenario.
Pakistan and Afghanistan have had close
relations since their independence of Pakistan. However, there exist some crucial
points leading to deteriorating the relations between both countries. Both countries have many common points of mutual understanding; the people of
Pakistan and Afghanistan have close ties with respect to their religion,
ethnicity, and traditions. These close ties among the masses of both countries
are responsible to make a strong bond of the mutual relationship between Pakistan
and Afghanistan.
Peace and political stability in Afghanistan is the focal point of the foreign
policy in Pakistan. The impacts of the cold war between the two world powers, USA
and USSR can be seen in the land of Afghanistan. The enmity between these
powers brought instability and insecurity to Afghanistan. The USSR war from
1979-1989 and the USA war from 2001-2021 are responsible for the destabilization and
poor government system in Afghanistan.
However, Pakistan always tried to
her best to normalize the situation with positive dialogue and negations
because Afghanistan is a neighbor and a Muslim country (Durrani, M.U etal, 2009).
The tri-party dialogues in Geneva among the stakeholders of the Afghan war of
1979-1989 also bore fruits due to the peace interest of Pakistan in the region.
Instead of serious efforts by Pakistan, some countries like Iran, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan pointed out Pakistan as the partner of the Taliban in
Afghanistan (Sultana, 2015). The USA is also the main participant in the political
scenario of Afghanistan. After the incident of 9/11 the interests of the USA turned
toward the Afghan land. Despite the arms race and the trillions of amount in
Afghanistan, she could not get her interests.
As we consider the point of
legitimacy in the political nature of Afghanistan then it is fact that the
culture of arms always remained as a nominated factor. We cannot eliminate that
culture at all, but reduce it to some extent. It needs to use, the arms
culture in Afghanistan to bring peace and stability in political matters
rather than that destruction. Pakistani premier Imran Khan Niazi stressed the world’s powers to negotiate the matter with positive dialogues instead
of military operations in Afghanistan. But unfortunately, in the matter of the Afghan issue, there are many jihad groups who do not believe in the
negotiations. In the year of 2010, Afghan president Hamid Karzai formed the
HPC (High Peace Council) to dialogue over the issue, but Taliban (the legitimate jihadi group for the
government in Afghanistan) refused to join the council (Kuehn, F. 2014).
Despite
the world’s pressure on Pakistan after 9/11, Pakistan never seeks an Afghan
resolution in military aspects because the instability in Afghanistan is also
dangerous for Pakistan due to the ethnic relations of the masses across the
borders of both countries (Ali, M. etal
2020). Now, it is the obligation of UNO and the world’s economies to restore peace
and development in Afghanistan to eliminate the weeds of the 9/11 incident.
USSR Intervention
in Afghanistan and the Response of Pakistan
The issue of political instability
and mass destruction initiated with the commencement of the USSR on Afghan
soil. Afghanistan has a special geographical location due to its neighboring
with the formal USSR. After world war second the “cold war” between the
world’s powers is witnessed in Afghanistan. USSR struggled to her best to grow
the seeds of socialism in Afghanistan, as the “antagonistic economic
philosophy” of the United States. Many other experts revealed that USSR wanted to
secure the “Ainak Copper Reserves” so; she made the way to Afghanistan (Mazhar,
M.S, etal 2013). However, the role of Pakistan is considered vital to
restoring peace and prosperity in Afghanistan. Pakistan has close relations
with Afghanistan and similarities in religion, culture, and traditions in many
aspects. During the Afghan war of 1979-1989, Pakistan served 5.5 million
afghan refugees; was a great number of people in this regard. Pakistan
facilitated these refugees with all kinds of good (Gray, L.W, 2014).
Pakistan showed her concerns towards the afghan issue and assisted the Taliban
against the USSR intervention. On the other hand India has considered the
assistance of Pakistan towards the Taliban as an anti-state policy
against India (Kuraishi, 2012).
The Role of
Pakistan in the Geneva Accord
The
political role of Pakistan is considered vital in the formation of “The Geneva
Accord” on April 14, 1988. That was a tri-party political commitment to disarm
the region from external intervention. The stakeholders of the accord the
USA, USSR, and Afghanistan consolidated on a framework to pull out the USSR
forces from Afghanistan on the considerations of Pakistan. Due to its
geostrategic position, Pakistan has an important place in the politics of the
region. Pakistan assisted the Mujahedeen groups in the Geneva accord to withdraw the USSR forces from Afghanistan (Hanif, K, etal 2021). The
political shift of Pakistan has the core value to determine the political
dynamics in Afghanistan.
The factor of
Islamization to Consolidate the Powers of Religious Wings
The
factor of Islamization in Pakistan is also a helping hand for the insurgent
groups in Afghanistan. The General Zia-ul- Haq regime especially is an era to
consolidate the Islamic powers of Afghanistan and Pakistan to hold over the
political scene. The term “Political Islam” is a stance to legitimize the
Afghan religious groups in government matters. To mobilize the masses over
the name of Islamization is considered a fundamental factor to maintain the
balance of powers in Afghanistan. Due to political Islam, Pakistan has
assisted the Afghan Taliban to safe their interests against external interventions.
9/11 Incident
and Political Stance of Pakistan
Another
major shift in Pakistan’s political setup occurred over the incident of 9/11.
After the incident of 9/11, a “new political arena” was developed in Pakistan.
Now the directions of this arena turned towards the West as the anti- dynamics
to the Al-Qaeda and Taliban. That was a highly political change
in Pakistan’s stance due to the world’s pressure. Pakistan fought a “double
game” after the 9/11 incident and adopted proxy war strategies against the
USA interests in the favor of Taliban
(Wasi, etal 2021). A new world order was released to eradicate the roots of
terrorism from the world. Pakistan faced serious problems with the insurgent
groups from Afghanistan and also within the country. The president of Pakistan
General Pervaiz Musharraf said “The United States was not only the casualty of
9/11, the attacks hit Pakistan differently, but with the equally savage force we
feel the ramifications to this day. No, another country has faced as many threats
on as many fronts” (Musharraf, 2006). Due to its joining in the war on terror, Pakistan faced many types of national security issues within the country
from religious groups. The government of Pakistan justified its stance
towards the new world order to restore the vote of confidence before its
masses. But the religious groups, civil society, and many political parties
showed their concerns about that change in the policy.
The Share of Pakistan in the War on Terror
The United States initiated its first war of the 21st century
from the soil of Afghanistan. The USA started the Operation of Enduring Freedom
(OEF) against the Taliban regime in Afghanistan. Another major military
formation was also established in the name of the International Security Assistance
Force (ISAF) to conduct strategic operations against the militants’ wings
in Afghanistan, especially in the Southern part of the country and Kandahar
province. ISAF issued a Joint Campaign Plan (JCP) to achieve the objectives of
the Afghan war. ISAF worked on the four points agenda (1) Give a comprehensive
focus on the affairs of the Afghan people (2) to make their best efforts to increase
the logistics capabilities of the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF), (3) To
make the Afghan governance process strong and better, (4), Build the better and
affective relations with the Afghan neighboring countries, especially Pakistan.
That was the ultimate and sudden change in the United States' foreign policy
dynamics toward Afghanistan.
In this war NATO, non-NATO allies, and Pakistan participated.
Pakistan trained the major war groups in Afghanistan from 1979-1989 and shared important information, so that was a critical situation for Pakistan
especially (Sial, S, 2013). Pakistan has faced the multi- directed threats.
These threats were from the religious parties in the country, religious insurgent
groups, afghan Taliban and also from Russia. Pakistan remained
an anti-state against the USSR in the afghan war of 1978-1989. So, that was a
crucial time for Pakistan to save her interests against USSR’s rivalry. On the
other hand, there was also a chance of India’s surgical strike over the
territory of Pakistan due to India’s presence in Afghanistan on the Western
border of Pakistan (UK. Diss, 2019). The long-term strategic partnership between
India and the USSR was also a sign of danger for Pakistan.
The Influence of the Taliban Factor on Pakistan
The Taliban factor is also a
significant factor in the overall strategy of the war. Pakistan has to reduce
the two types of Taliban influences. The first is the physical attacks
of the Taliban on the masses and second is the Taliban myth in
the people of Pakistan. General Zia-ul- Haq, the former chief of army staff
consolidated the Taliban factor with Islamization to hold over the
government, so that was difficult to discriminate between both types of factors
(Sikand, K, 1990). Generally, the people of Pakistan have the anti. US
sentiments so, that was a point of difficulty for the government of Pakistan to
come over these sentiments. To point out these Taliban factors, Pakistan
security forces launched a wide range of search operations in madaris.
Many initial and necessary steps were taken to cut the Talibanization
from the country. Besides the search for madaris, all the madaris were registered
under a single governmental organization “Wafaqi tandem al madaris”
headed by the central government.
Political
Dynamics of Pakistan after 9/11
The
political dynamics of Pakistan shifted towards peace after the 9/11
incident. Pakistan joined the world club against the militants. Afghan
National Security forces, NATO, and Pakistan fought a joint session of war in
Afghanistan. On the other hand, some USA military officers and the civilian
government blamed on Pakistan for the help of the Taliban and Haqqani
network against world interests (ICG, Asia Report, No. 262, 2014). Pakistan
also saved many core objectives behind this joining the war on terror.
Firstly Pakistan got the favor of world powers on the issue of Kashmir, second
is the security of national assets and third is the measurements to boost up
the economic interests. The USA also supported Pakistan with many types of aid
in the form of weapons and handsome amounts due to her cooperation with the USA
at this critical situation. Pakistan has achieved the status of a non-NATO allies
country and gained the sum of Billions of dollars in the form of a coalition
support fund (Fair. C, 2009). The amount of humanitarian aid was also in the
remarkable figures during the days of the war. So, the shift of Pakistan’s national
stance in the favor of the world club has the amalgam of harms and benefits for
Pakistan.
The PTI
Government and Afghan Issue
A
sudden change in the political objectives of Pakistan also occurred after the
general elections of 2018. the ruling party of Pakistan, PTI (Pakistan
Tehrik-e- Insaf) raised her voice against the drone attacks in the tribal
areas of Pakistan. Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf also criticized the
military operation of NATO in the land of Afghanistan. Chairman Tehrik-e-
Insaf and sitting Premier of Pakistan Imran Khan Niazi, blamed the USA
authorities for bloodshed in Afghanistan over the twenty years. The new command
of the Pakistan army also added to the stance of PM Imran Khan Niazi and demanded
for the political negotiations for a sustainable solution to afghan matters.
Another latest political arena jumped into the political system of Pakistan.
The military, civil government, and the masses of Pakistan jointly demanded the
withdrawal of the armed forces of NATO and the autonomy of Afghanistan. The
government of Pakistan also put her frame of action towards the new Afghan
government on the behalf of peace. The civil government in Pakistan wants to
stable the political relations with the new afghan government and the current
authorities of the Taliban regime. Due to the neighboring of Afghanistan, the
role of Pakistan is not deniable. All the peace, progress, and development in
Afghanistan are due to the positive behavior of Pakistan.
Withdrawal of
USA Forces from Afghanistan
After
the US presidential elections of 2020, USA president Joe Biden announced
his plan of withdrawing US forces from Afghanistan. This announcement was
not sudden in this regard, because the congress of the USA and many other organizations wanted to withdraw the armed forces from a non-profitable war.
The Afghan war has become a hanging sword for the US economy. This war brought
the loss of Trillions of dollars in the economy of the USA, in the Statistics of the USA, some 89.42 Billion dollars were spent on Afghanistan from 2002-2012
(Anthony, H, etal, 2012). The former president of the USA, President Obama,
also asked for a review in the US policy towards the afghan war from the
conventional war to comprehensive war strategies, acting on the reports of USA
security advisor.
