AFGHANISTAN,INDIA,PAKISTAN

AFGHANISTAN,INDIA,PAKISTAN

                                                                                                                        10th,September 2014

 

Today on 10th September,2014 the External Affairs Minister of India Smt Sushma Swaraj met the President of Afghanistan Hamid Karzai in Kabul. On this occasion let us explore the relationship between India and Afghanistan :

The relation between India and Afghanistan is not of today but goes back centuries into ancient times. The Ashoka Pillar in Kandhar bears testimony to this fact. This pillar with its engravings was stored in the Kabul museum from where it has mysteriously disappeared. Then lots of Pashtuns like Ibrahim Lodi,Sher Shah Suri and so on ruled various territories in India. The movie Kabuliwala is still remembered by Indians with so much fondness. Nobody can forget the large hearted Pathan Kabuliwala selling his wares in Indian cities. This friendship and love between Indian and Afghanistan is the foundation of strong relation between our two countries. This is a foundation of deep mutual trust which has endured time and is sustained by shared cultural values ,trade and commerce.

Pashtuns were politically unified and Pashtun Kings ruled over 40,000 square miles of territory of what is now Pakistan. The British defeated them in 1867 and pushed them upto Khyber Pass. They imposed a arbitrary boundary called the Durand line. When Pakistan was formed in 1947 the Pashtun territories was given to this Punjabi dominated Government. This was a gross injustice to the Pashtuns which they have not forgotten. Afghanistan protested over this injustice in 1947 and laid claims to Peshawar and also opposed UN membership to Pakistan. Successive Governments in Afghanistan questioned the right of Pakistan to rule over Pashtun territories. They demanded the formation of Pashtunistan to be carved out of Pakistan. Even the Taliban which ruled Afghanistan from 1991 to 1996 never recognized the Durand line.

Pakistan was afraid that this demand for Pashtunistan would further break their fragile country already embroiled in ethnic and sectarian strife and therefore encouraged terrorism in Afghanistan to thwart the legitimate rights of the people of Afghanistan. Pakistan army and ISI raised the Taliban and provided them with arms and support. Thousands of Pashtuns were indoctrinated in Islamic extremism in Madrassas acrossWazirstan. Jihadi organisations in Pakistan were roped in by ISI to provide support in this mission. A entire terror machinery was built by Pakistan. The aim is to wage a proxy war so that Afghanistan would have a puppet Government controlled by Pakistan. The Haqqani group is a particularly virulent group which the Pakistan Govt fully backs. It has staged many terrorist attacks inside Afghanistan killing thousands of innocent civilians. It is pertinent to note that the recent Zarb-e-azb military action against terrorists launched by the Pakistan Army conveniently excludes any harm to the Haqqani Group.

The people of Afghanistan therefore hate Pakistan for annexing the Pashtun territories ,waging proxy war through terrorist organisations and for trying to dominate over them.

 Right from the beginning India has recognised and condemned these nefarious acts of Pakistan. The spread of terrorism by Pakistan into Afghanistan was ultimately going to harm India also. This common concern brought India and Afghanistan closer to each other. India pledged its support to Afghanistan and is taking steps to make the Afghan army strong enough to combat the Pakistan forces. Apart from this India took massive steps to build infrastructure like roads, bridges ,hospitals and medical facilities in Afghanistan. It also aided to strengthen the democratic foundation in the country.

In a recent deal with Moscow, India has agreed to pay for military equipment sourced from Russia to Afghanistan. The equipment will include artillery, helicopters, tanks, and armored vehicles. India will also pay to repair old Soviet hardware left behind after the Russian withdrawal in 1989. The scale and exact composition of the deal have yet to be announced, but it is known that the first order has already been placed. Negotiations are also underway with the US to purchase the military hardware of NATO forces which will be left behind once they withdraw from the region. India had so far hesitated to provide lethal weapons directly to Afghanistan. India and Afghanistan also signed the strategic partnership deal in 2011 which provided for “training, equipping, and capacity building programmes”. This agreement is a milestone in India and Afghanistan relations. Though India has not provided lethal military hardware till date under capacity building clause of the agreement there is no doubt that as the ISAF withdraws and the democratic process stabilises , it will do so in the near future.

 India has also provided $2 billion aid till date to improve the various infrastructures in the country. It also initiated various rural development projects to help fight poverty among the various communities. Building roads and dams, laying power lines, training ministry officials and army officers, and providing free scholarships to Afghan university students. The entire spectrum of India's assistance is a model for nations of the world to learn how sincerity and selfless service is the only way to win heart of any nation.

 Iran on the other side is also quietly working with India in these efforts. Iran has backed the government in Kabul and helped keep it afloat through regular cash payments and over 500 million dollars in aid over the last decade. Iran has funded schools, libraries, clinics, roads, and railway lines. Since at least 2005, India and Iran have been working together on developing a new trade corridor connecting Afghanistan’s major highways to the southeastern Iranian port of Chabahar, greatly reducing Afghanistan’s dependence on Pakistan for access to the sea. Chabahar port is strategically crucial as it gives access route to Afghanistan. The port, which is surrounded by a free trade zone, is vital for transit facility from India to Afghanistan.

 The question which remains to be answered is that why Pakistan is not contributing to the development and prosperity of Afghanistan? It is clear that Pakistan motive is to make Afghanistan its client state. It hides its ugly motives by talking of strategic depth invoking threat from India. Pakistan has already encashed this bogey threat from India many times over. Sucking millions of dollars from the United States over decades. It has pumped this US assistance to raise a army of terrorists which now threatens the entire world. Its nuclear weapons and army hardware has been purchased and  financed by cunningly hoodwinking the naive(it seems) US. However this cannot go for ever. It is time that for the sake of its own survival if not for anything else that the rulers in Pakistan change the course of this destructive trial. It should abandon terrorism,enemity,islamic extremism and embark on a enlightened path consistent with a modern and progressive state. However till they do this Afghanistan ,India and Iran have to remain vigilant.

As Afghanistan prepares for a democratic transition of power, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Afghan President Hamid Karzai today held wide-ranging talks on political and security situation in the war-torn country and agreed to intensify cooperation in areas like security and defence. The highlight of this meeting was that for the first time India has declared that Afghanistan will always be its first strategic partner. As the withdrawal of ISAF progresses it is hoped that India will not hesitate to send troops to Afghanistan to help the Afghanistan forces to fight against any aggression from Pakistan. India should also send manpower to establish schools, hospitals,NGOs and to run various civilian institutions. There is also need to establish a strong intelligence network in co-operation with Afghan intelligence. Joint covert operations are also necessary to dismantle the terrorist cells and network laid down by Pakistan.

 The future of India and Afghanistan is bright and together we would ensure that the region becomes free of turmoil and terror and a place where the citizens of both of our countries live in peace and prosperity.

 

AK BUNDI