Comment: The PM, not the president, should have been present at Dr Ghani’s oath-taking

Premier could have bolstered trust, confidence from Afghan side

PESHAWAR: Pakistan could have benefited greatly had Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif represented the nation at the inauguration of Dr Muhammad Ashraf Ghani as the Afghan president. Instead, President Mamnoon Hussain attended the event, which took place in Kabul on Monday.

Compared with President Mamnoon, the PM is popular among Afghans due to his active involvement in politics since the early 1980s. At that time, millions of Afghans had migrated to Pakistan and their leaders maintained close links with those in political or military office in Afghanistan.

In April 1992, when rifts were created between Peshawar-based Afghan mujahidin leaders after the resignation of Dr Muhammed Najibullah (then president of Afghanistan), Nawaz Sharif spent two days at Governor House Peshawar mediating between these leaders. Sharif brokered the Peshawar Accord between the mujahidin leaders and facilitated Professor Sibghatullah Mojaddedi when he took office as president after Dr Najibullah for two months before he was due to hand over control to Burhanuddin Rabbani for a four-month term.

Moreover, when Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif took oath of office in May last year, he received a congratulatory message from the former Afghan president Hamid Karzai.

The transfer of power through peaceful means in Afghanistan this year is unique. Observers say this is the first time in 100 years that Afghans have seen a transfer of power without violence or bloodshed. The Afghans must be lauded for this progress and on this historic occasion, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s presence would have been apt at the inauguration ceremony.

The people of Pakistan and Afghanistan are not just geographical neighbours; their people are intrinsically and unbreakably linked. However, a lack of trust and confidence persists between the two sides, which is harmful to the interests of both countries and their people.

Dr Ghani, an anthropologist and economist by profession, is likely to build on the policies of his predecessor Hamid Karzai. The former president not only restored centralised authority in Afghanistan but even united the Afghan people. Dr Ghani is likely to appease other ethnic communities by posting representatives in important offices.

The Uzbek community will be represented by former warlord General Rashid Dostam, who will occupy the office of the vice president, whereas the Shia Hazara community will be represented by Sarwar Danish as second vice president. Meanwhile, the Tajiks, considered the second largest ethnic community in Afghanistan will be represented by Dr Abdullah Abdullah as chief executive.

Dr. Abdullah remained the runner-up in the 2014 presidential polls. He was on top with around 45 per cent votes in the first round of the polls in April but emerged as second in the round held on June 5. He was reluctant to accept the poll’s results and finally did so after the United States of America mediated between the two rivals. On Monday, he took oath as chief executive along with two deputies.

At this stage, it is premature to comment on the working relationship between Dr Ghani and Abdullah Abdullah, but in accordance with Afghan traditions, they could persevere with this ‘marriage of inconvenience’ in order to safeguard the interests of their ethnic communities and supporters.

While Dr Ghani has spent much of his time outside Afghanistan, serving the World Bank and other international organisations in the West, he has also remained in Pakistan for some time. He is familiar with Islamabad and its versatile civil and military establishment, as well as Pakistan’s Afghan policies and the expectations the nation has from Afghanistan.

A majority of Afghans and Pakistanis desire greater understanding between their countries. When he took office in May 2013, PM Nawaz announced his intentions to join hands with Kabul to tackle terrorism and extremism and his first official trip was to Afghanistan, where he discussed the restoration of peace in the region with Karzai.

Dr Ghani and Abdullah Abdullah remained skeptical about Afghanistan’s relationship with Pakistan during their election campaign. In many Afghan circles, there is unhappiness with the policies of the Pakistani establishment and Dr Ghani’s oath-taking ceremony would have been a suitable occasion to shore up greater trust and confidence. Both countries are confronted by terrorism and extremism, economic disorder, unemployment and illiteracy. Peace in either country is contingent on the other nation. Unless policymakers and rulers in both countries take similar stands, these issues will remain unresolved.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 1^st, 2014.