Afghanistan in Trouble

By Ali Sukhanver
Pakistan has closed its border with Afghanistan after the increasing tension between the two countries. According to Al-Jazeera the so-called Durand Line frontier drawn by the British in 1896 and disputed by Afghanistan has been witnessing unpleasant reaction of the Afghan government since Pakistan began patrolling along it last year. This 2,600 km long border line has ever been under severe tension. The situation along this border became more tense when on 5th of this May Afghan border forces opened fire on Pakistan’s security personnel guarding a census team in Balochistan’s Chaman area. At least nine people were killed and over 40 others injured as a result of this firing. Pakistan’s military’s media wing said narrating the details that Afghan Border Police had been creating hurdles in conduct of census in divided villages of Killi Luqman and Killi Jahangir in Chaman area on Pakistani side of the border since April 30. After this grave loss the security forces of Pakistan had to pay back in the same coin. Media says more than 50 Afghan security personnel were killed and another 100 injured. However, the Inspector General Frontier Corps Balochistan Maj. Gen Nadeem Anjum said, “We are not happy over their losses since they are our Muslim brothers”. A senior officer of the Pakistan Army General Amir Riaz said talking to the media reporters on the same issue that the situation will remain the same “until Afghanistan changes its behaviour”. He further said that Afghanistan would not benefit from such attacks in any way and that the Afghan government should be ashamed of such acts.
Practically there had been two different incidents along the Durand Line; one of unprovoked firing on innocent Pakistani civilians and second of Pakistan’s response to this injustice; but it is something very unfair that Indian patronized Afghan media is trying to tell the world a one-sided story in which Afghanistan is being portrayed as a helpless and voiceless country which is in serious trouble at the hands of Pakistan. The Indian patronized Afghan media is trying to show the world that picture of Afghanistan which actually never belonged to Afghanistan. The land red poppies, the safe haven of suicide bombers and a paradise of across the borders miscreants is being painted as a very peaceful and safe country where all people are very happy with the Ashraf Ghani government; where the people have no reservations regarding Indian interference in the country; and where the Taliban have comfortably adjusted them with the present political scenario of Afghanistan with US sending more troops. But the realities are altogether otherwise there in Afghanistan. If Afghanistan were really such a beautiful land of peace and prosperity, millions of Afghans living in Pakistan would not have flatly refused to go back to their own country. For the last many decades Afghanistan has simply been a battle-field, a land of war-lords. No institution, no production, no system; Pakistan knows it very well that its own political, social and economic stability is directly linked with the peace and prosperity of Afghanistan; same thing is also to the knowledge of all hostile forces active in Afghanistan. They know it very well that by destabilizing Afghanistan, Pakistan shall be directly affected. Earlier these hostile forces had been trying to play the same game in Pakistan but Pakistan’s security forces and the government did not let them play. So now they are trying to kill two birds with one stone. Blaming Pakistan for Mazar-e-Sharif suicide attack and for other terrorist activities in Afghanistan is also a part of the same game. Sometimes it seems a hobby or a technical compulsion or an instinct of some people that they don’t feel satisfied unless they drag Pakistan and its Army into the affairs which in no way belong to both of them. Just cast a look at the recent suicide attack in Mazar-e-Shareef Afghanistan in which a group of disguised suicide attackers manning national army vehicles targeted an army base. In this deadly attack more than 140 Afghan soldiers were killed and countless injured. US military sources confirmed the presence of some important coalition personnel inside the Mazar-i-Sharif base but they all remained safe and there were no reports of casualties among their number. Just after the attacks a senior American military official in Kabul said that it appears likely the attack was either carried out by or planned by a Pakistan-based Taliban faction known as the Haqqani network which is a U.S. government-designated terrorist organization. The official added that the assault likely took four to six months to plan and that it was also likely the attackers had help in advance from Afghan troops on the base. The same story was narrated by a spokesman of the Afghan Ministry of External Affairs but in different words. He said, “The terrorist attack is a stark reminder of the need to immediately dismantle the safe havens and sanctuaries that support and sustain terrorism in Afghanistan from outside its borders.” All these statements and analysis prove that the actual motive behind this ready-made attack on Mazar-e-Shareef base was to fix and frame Pakistan and to prepare ground for the recent bombing on innocent Pakistani citizens. Blaming Pakistan for all that goes wrong in Afghanistan is not the solution; the Afghan government must try to search for the facilitators of such terrorist activities from within Afghanistan. These facilitators might be among the US troops or among those local Afghans who are playing in the hands of Indian intelligence agencies and might be hidden in the ranks and files of Afghan police and army. Reports say that there are more than 30000 ghost soldiers in ANSF and many more aligned to warlords with tribal loyalties. Even Taliban are also not happy with the Ashraf Ghani government. Ashraf Ghani government must not waste it time and resources in defaming Pakistan for the things Pakistan has nothing to do with. This behaviour of the Afghan government would simply add more miseries to the millions of Afghan refugees in Pakistan.