Be careful

The rapidly changing circumstances in Afghanistan indicate the same political and military scenario, and the countries involved are facing the same uncertain situation, as was prevalent in the 1990s. More than 80 percent of districts in Afghanistan are under Taliban control. It seems that history is repeating itself. The US is still following the same policy of abandoning its allies whenever it realises that interfering in a foreign country’s affairs is a mistake. These blunders result in both material and human losses, and the additional long-term diplomatic and political losses at the domestic and international levels. The best example of America’s miscalculation and policy failure is the Vietnam war. The stories about violence against Vietcong guerillas and unarmed civilians are already part of history. Even the US media highlighted the levels of cruelty that was carried out in Vietnam by ‘the most civilised, educated and democratic nation in the world’.

The Afghanistan governments that came to power through the help of the US failed to build a strong and well-trained army which could resist the Taliban and other guerilla groups. The government there, however, has been too quick to blame Pakistan for its political mess. It doesn’t realise that Pakistan is the country which has been dragged into this conflict against its will and has suffered uncountable economic losses. I sincerely wish that our leaders in power hadn't dragged us into the Afghan war. Now, when the US is finally leaving, many experts fear that the situation will turn worse for Pakistan. Our leaders in power have to be extremely cautious in every move while dealing with the US, the Taliban and Afghan leaders.

Sqn Ldr (r) Tarique Mahmood Malak

Rawalpindi