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Friday March 29, 2024

Kabul’s unusual closeness to Delhi source of distrust in Islamabad

By Numan Wahab
March 27, 2016

Two Afghan media teachers believe…

KABUL: Two Afghan intellectuals and teachers at the Kabul University’s journalism department believe that roots of Pak-Afghan bitter relations lie in the unusual closeness of the Afghan governments to India, which is causing concerns among the authorities in Pakistan.

Ahmad Zia Rafat and Abdul Waheed Gharwal believe that political tensions with Pakistan could have been avoided through measured bilateral relations with India. They advise Kabul to revise its foreign policy towards India and not to raise the issue of Durand Line, as Pakistan’s stance is right in this regard.

Ahmad Rafat, an expert on Afghan foreign policy, tells The News that the Afghan government’s approach at the time of establishment of Pakistan in 1947 was inappropriate.

Sitting in his office at Kabul University’s journalism department, he says that Afghanistan did not accept the formation of Pakistan in a way, by recognising the Durand Line. This attitude continued till the collapse of Daud Khan’s government in 1978, he recalls.

Rafat, former chairman of Union of Journalists, and ex-spokesman for Electoral Complaints Commission (ECC) 2010, says that he and many other people believed at that time that Afghanistan was hatching a kind of conspiracy against Pakistan by bringing people and groups from outside and providing them sanctuaries.

He admits that those groups were supported by India and Russia and they were involved in propaganda against Pakistan in its areas like Waziristan, Balochistan and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. Afghan government’s policy sowed the seeds of hatred against Pakistan, Rafat adds.

After 1978, he adds, the situation changed when the mujahideen ‘erupted’ and the Afghan government sought help from Russia, Pakistan and other countries. “In the nineties, many Afghan politicians were in disagreement with Pakistan over the structure of their government, being run by Taliban.

“From that time onward, the majority public opinion took a turn against Pakistan, as the Afghans were not ready to accept the government of Taliban and the people firmly believed that Taliban were being supported by Pakistan.

“The rise of Taliban and their control over main provinces intensified hatred against Pakistan, as those who were against Taliban disliked Pakistan also,” he adds.

Rafat calls the post-Taliban times their own era. He says when Hamid Karzai took over after 2001, he raised the issue of Durand Line, and many political analysts believed that it was a mistake on his part.

Rafat says he himself, various historians and political analysts believe that it (Durand Line) is part of Pakistan land. Unfortunately, the public has not been informed about the reality and that is why they are confused about the status of the Durand Line ownership, the Afghan teacher adds.

“The two major concerns of Pakistan known to us are the Durand Line and Kabul’s relations with New Delhi and we believe Pakistan’s stance is right in this regard,” Rafat admits.

He regrets that the Afghan media preach hatred against Pakistan and it has become a popular trend.

He says that President Karzai was a hurdle in trust-building process with Pakistan. Later on, when President Ashraf Ghani was trying to find common grounds between the countries through drafting an agreement on sharing intelligence between the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and the National Directorate of Security (NDS), it was reacted harshly and criticised by Hamid Karzai.

Even in the team of Ashraf Ghani, there are many who say that the Durand Line should not be recognised as the border between the two countries; and that’s why the president is not very clear on the issue, he adds.

Rafat believes that the two neighbours can resolve the issue of terrorism and Taliban by building trust between them. And this trust can only be built, adds the journalism department teacher, if Afghanistan gives two guarantees to Pakistan and in return Pakistan gives one. The first guarantee from Afghan side could about revision of its relations with India, addressing the concerns of Pakistan.

Secondly, Kabul can give an assurance of not raising the issue of Durand Line. However, at the same time, Pakistan should give guarantee that it would not support Taliban. If it happens, believes Rafat, there will be a common ground for both countries which will lead towards a peaceful coexistence and friendship between the two nation states.

About religious relations between the two peoples, Rafat says Afghanistan is more related to Pakistan as both countries have majority of people belonging to the Sunni school of thought. Moreover, both countries have a binding of culture, language and history, he adds.

Rafat says Pakistan should take the first step towards bringing Afghanistan closer to it, as “the tussle has pushed us away from Pakistan and closer to India. If we have a kind of peace, then naturally we will have friendly relations with Pakistan.”

Rafat claims that “in today’s controversies with Pakistan, Afghanistan is not the real player. It has been caught up in proxy wars among Iran, India, Russia and the USA.

“We cannot decide something positive towards Pakistan. It is Pakistan that can extend a hand of friendship to end the conflict in our country,” Rafat concludes.

Joining in the conversation, Abdul Waheed Gharwal, professor and dean of Journalism Faculty, says that the peace talks, coordinated by the Quadrilateral Coordination Group (QCG), are being seen as a ray of hope by the people of Afghanistan. The group consists of Pakistan, China, Iran and the USA.

“Let the process be natural, and let it not succumb to pressures from Pakistan and Afghanistan,” he suggests.

Gharwal says, “In the past, we had an experience of unnatural process of peacemaking. During Mujahideen times in 1992 and 1996, we made attempts for peace among fighting leaders like Gulbadin, Burhanuddin and Mehsud.

“The process was coordinated by the Saudi Arabia and Pakistan governments, and not by the Afghan authorities and the people there. That was why, it could not prove sustainable, and only after some time, they started attacking each other again. Therefore, peacemaking under pressure cannot be recommended,” he adds

The university professor says Pakistan had raised a slogan that Afghanistan’s enemy is Pakistan’s enemy. “If this slogan is translated into reality and the Afghan authorities as well as the people start believing in it, it can provide for a common ground for trust building between the two countries,” he adds.