FROM KABUL WITH LOVE

BACK FROM KABUL WITH LOVE.

BY PROF. (DR.) KHURSHID ALAM khurshidalam44@hotmail.com

It was another chance for me to visit my war torn fatherland. Though I went to attend a conference on non-violence and Bacha khan. We all returned with loads of love and MILLI IHSASAT.

Their hospitality, Love was overwhelming and left me with the feeling that water cannot be divided by sword.

This is the third big game being played on afghan soil. In the last two the players were either two or three but this time the players are countless and one finds difficult to recognise the real parties.

Every player has its own agenda and Afghans are the guinea pigs. On their blood they want to achieve their national vested interests in this strategically important country known as the heart of Asia.

As the President Karzai told us once that only Afghans can save their country because they will be having Afghan agenda.

I observed this time that there is a huge gap between what is said and what is being done. The discussions were scholarly, with intellectual depth but the ground realities were the same when I visited Kabul 3 years ago.

Afghans are out of political game. In most of the places they had boycotted the elections and instead of deciding their destiny by ballot they have opted for bullet. It is for the first time that Afghans lost its majority in the lower house. In the present situation the future is bleak. They are isolating themselves internationally.

The feelings of Afghans that they are subjected to MILLI SITAM were abundantly visible and palpable. The were vocal too.

The most painful aspect was the paralysis of political activists and think tanks to convert their aspiration in action. At times it looked to me that if they have surrendered without fighting a battle.

They were critical of President Karzai but had no alternative of their own. They were using their intellectualism as sand bags to hide from realities.

I got the impression that President Karzai is against the process of political process and organisation. I hope I am wrong but if it is to the contrary then it is further disappointing.

In the present scenario a government can be run but to steer out the country out of this mess with its geographical integrity looks impossible.

In my opinion the absence of political process and organisation have led to a political vacuum where there is no accountability, transparency to check corruption and nepotism in the government or the road map for the future. Good governance is unthinkable without political process and so the winning of the hearts and mind of the people. There is a huge gap between the ruler and the be ruled.

It will be silliness to question the ability and depth of intellect of Mr.Karzai. His hold on his national history is not in question. Deliverance to the people the fruit of good governance and to secure the future of the country by starting the political process and develop the culture of that in diversity there is unity cannot be ignored.

It is the political forums and institutions that could guarantee the future of the country. It needs teamwork. A single person is just like a king with a crown but no cabinet. The earlier the process of building the institutions is started and healthy political process starts rolling the future will remain bleak.

The priorities are to be sorted out according to its importance. Peace is the priority no 1. It was encouraging to note that every one had realised it, the government and even Second line cadre of Taliban that it is the necessity of the time. They have realised that unless the sword follows the book they are the ultimate looser. It is the time for Mullah Umar and Gulbadeen to listen the scream of history and their followers are duty bound to increase their pressure for national reconciliation.

On the other hand the government and the intellectuals on both side of Durand line need to exert their maximum energy for the same purpose. It needs a multi prong approach to the problem of national disintegration with the realisation that Pakistan and Iran can never be trusted and it is against their national interest to see Afghans national integration. Pakistan is milking USA in the name Anti terrorism while forgetting that this monster is their brainchild.

The security is the other issue. Afghanistan is standing alone between the two poisonous neighbours. They need a strong deterring force to protect aggression or interference from the unfriendly neighbouring countries. While the present training is on they should get the services of the armed forces raised during Dr.Najeeb rule. They had proved their ability to repulse Pakistan’s onslaught on Jalal Abad.

Afghanistan in its present is a truncated states unless it is restored to its historical shape it is an easy victim. Faced with enormous challenges but I am confident of Afghan’s national resilience and historical wisdom if used with care they can sort out their priorities as a nation they will come out with purple colour.

Dated.12/11/10