Kabul protest

The unfortunate news out of Kabul that a band of mislead Afghans protesting outside the Pakistan Embassy is stark reminder of just how far the divide between the two neighbours is growing.

The protesters who are believed to be supporters of ex-Afghan intelligence chief Amrullah Saleh protested outside the Pakistan Embassy in response to the recent bombings in Kandahar and Kabul which claimed the lives of 60 people, and the latter of which was claimed by the Afghan Taliban.

Mr Saleh has been a vociferous critic of Pakistan during his time as the head of the National Directorate of Security and more recently as a politician with a single-point manifesto of blame displacement.

The fact, though, that propaganda pushed from our eastern borders has taken such a strong foothold amongst the masses in our western border that they believe any untoward incident that happens in Afghanistan is sponsored by Pakistan, is both a cause for concern and a wake-up call to take action. Even though the Foreign Office issued a statement condemning the events that happened in Kabul, the generic tone of it needs to be replaced with a much more emphatic yet sympathetic communication and not focus solely on the UAE casualties.

The need of the hour is to curtail the growing wave of anti-Pakistan sentiment in Afghanistan. This is a time where the country is in a transitional but fragile state and new understandings of political relationships are beginning to mould.

The sentiment that is formed now will be ingrained for the next few generations, and it would serve Pakistan well to steer it clear of negativity towards her while it is still in its infancy.

A comprehensive effort needs to be launched to counter the negative propaganda being pushed by Mr Saleh and his former deputy General (retd) Esa who led the rally outside the embassy. Positive sentiment on the western front is a necessity so that Pakistan can focus on the myriad of internal problems it faces immediately and those that are on the horizon.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 15^th, 2017.

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