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Weighing Alternatives

A diplomatic process remains the only key to resolving the conflict between the Afghan state and the Taliban, as well as providing the United States with assurances Afghanistan will not revert to a terrorist safe haven.

By Dr. Qasim Sodhar | April 2021

Weighing-Alternatives

Though Afghanistan has always remained one of the most important countries on the globe due to its strategic location, it only came in focus when Soviet troops entered the country in 1979. This was famously called the “Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan”. The former Soviet Union media always denied this and claimed that it was not an invasion and that the Soviet troops interfered on the request of the then Afghan government. However, this was a period when two world powers were busy fighting with each other. On the one hand, there was the Soviet Union, which represented the communist forces and, on the other, it was the United States that represented the capitalist block during the Cold War.

It is an open secret now that the religious forces, Mujahedeen, were created and supported by the US in collaboration with Pakistan to fight against the “infidel” Soviet Union, because, according to US propaganda, the Soviet Union was trying to convert the world into a communist society which could follow ‘ungodly’ practices. In this regard, it was very interesting that the religious forces of Afghanistan and Pakistan, including the state apparatus of both the countries, supported America against the Soviet Union in the name of ‘religious battle’, It claimed that at least the Christians followed the Bible and the Soviets were atheists. However, both Afghanistan and Pakistan were exploited by the US and ultimately 9/11 happened which shifted the US policy from supporting the Mujahedeen to crushing them.

babariftikharThough the US left the Afghan people at the mercy of the Taliban after the downfall of the Soviet Union, but again, when the US realized that the same Mujahedeen, who were their creation, stood against the US, it set about capturing Afghanistan with the help of Pakistan. During this period, more than 100,000 US troops were deployed in the country.

It has been widely debated across the world whether the US troops should withdraw from Afghanistan or not. The Taliban want that the US should leave the country as soon as possible, but there is also the question that can the people of Afghanistan be left at the Taliban’s mercy? No doubt, the US is seen as a the colonizing power that has over-run Afghanistan. The US has been trying to impose its decisions on Afghanistan, but rather than taking the Afghan people’s wishes in consideration, every government in Washington has tried to cash in on the Afghan issue for its own political gains.

Donald Trump initiated peace talks with the Afghans and the Taliban in Doha in February 2020. It was decided that the US and its NATO allies would withdraw all troops in 14 months if the Taliban upheld their promises, including not allowing al-Qaeda or other militants to operate in areas it controlled and proceeding with national peace talks. According to the deal, the remaining US troops would withdraw from Afghanistan on May 1, 2021. But, the situation is still not normal in the country and there are no alternates available, except handing power to the Taliban in different parts of Afghanistan. At the same time, as this deal was signed during the Trump administration, which was a clear political move to cash it in on the US elections, now Biden is in power and he does not seem to be in the mood to continue with the deal.

A letter from US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken to Afghan President Ashraf Ghani was leaked, in which he clearly said that it was still not final whether the US forces should withdraw completely or some forces should stay back. This is a clear message to the Afghan President that the new administration in the White House may not go with the previous administration’s policies on Afghanistan. The Secretary of State also said the new administration’s concern was that after their withdrawal, the Taliban may get the benefit of this. Blinken wrote to Ghani that “Even with the continuation of financial assistance from the United States to your forces after an American military withdrawal, I am concerned that the security situation will worsen and that the Taliban could make rapid territorial gains.”

Neither the colonial policies of the US nor the Taliban should be given a free hand to decide the fate of the Afghan people, but it is also a bitter truth that at this stage, only two options are available i.e., either continue with American interference through their direct military intervention and support the pro-America Afghan government, or power be shifted to the Taliban. In both conditions, unfortunately, the Afghan people will suffer. What is required is pressurizing the US, the Afghan government and the Taliban to choose an option that can benefit the people as a whole rather than any particular group or force.

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Dr-Qasim-Sodhar

The writer has a PhD in World History from the College of Liberal Arts, Shanghai University, and teaches at the National Institute of Pakistan Studies (NIPS), Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad. He can be reached at qasim_shu2016@yahoo.com
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