The writer is an Express Tribune staffer who has a master’s degree in Security and Intelligence Studies from the University of Pittsburgh. He tweets @shahzebshaikha
Though this is still a developing story, Pakistan must make clear its interests in a future Afghanistan, with or without US presence in that country. Diplomatic niceties like ‘Afghan-owned’ and ‘Afghan-led’ do not mean anything if we intend to act otherwise behind the curtains. We must state — publicly and privately — to our Afghan counterparts that we would not tolerate an Afghanistan whose soil is used to plan and execute attacks against Pakistan. And that in case of a future civil war, similar to the one following the Soviet withdrawal in 1989, we would not extend a welcome to any potential Afghan refugees. We have suffered enough by hosting three million of them; a whole new generation has been born and bred here. We already have young and unemployed people of our own and cannot bear the burden of millions more.
If the Afghan peace process will be Afghan-owned, then that country must take ownership of its people, and also allow existing refugees to return. This is imperative.
Our historical ambition of becoming a gateway to Central Asia has always been hampered by an unstable and dangerous Afghanistan. No trade and no natural resource pipeline can be realised until our north-western neighbour is militant-free. But this is a far cry. It seems that people in that country — through decades of war — have been socialised to get their terms accepted through the barrel. Pakistan should put to rest any grand ambitions of becoming the gateway to Central Asia because Afghanistan is bound to remain war-ravaged and its insurgents, bloodthirsty.
Our course must be, at a minimum, to remain as a facilitator in this unrewarding peace process than as a spoiler. There is no longer a strategic depth to be sought. Afghanistan has become anti-Pakistan on its own; India or any other country for that matter, don’t need to do much about that. As is being reported, Afghanistan might be engaging in the same proxy tactics that we have mastered all these years. Some might say we’re getting the taste of our own medicine; others might say, well, it’s about securing one’s interests using all means necessary. The point is that an unstable neighbour by no means serves anyone’s interest.
Through our interactions with the Afghan leadership, the Pakistani government and military must send a strong message to Kabul that any evidence of its involvement in an act of terror on Pakistani soil will be responded to in an appropriate manner; that all options will be considered. It’s time we set this benchmark; that if we don’t militantly interfere in your affairs, you shouldn’t either.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 22nd, 2014.
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@author,
"Through our interactions with the Afghan leadership, the Pakistani government and military must send a strong message to Kabul that any evidence of its involvement in an act of terror on Pakistani soil will be responded to in an appropriate manner; that all options will be considered. It’s time we set this benchmark; that if we don’t militantly interfere in your affairs, you shouldn’t either."
Good points and I hope you will also agree with the following hypothetical statement by the Indians as a "mirror" image of your statement:
Through our interactions with the Pakistani leadership, the Indian government and military must send a strong message to Islamabad that any evidence of its involvement in an act of terror on Indian soil will be responded to in an appropriate manner; that all options will be considered. It’s time we set this benchmark; that if we don’t militantly interfere in your affairs, you shouldn’t either.
@stevenson: u ppl hv NO money to build that wall b/w Af-Pak... u can only afford the compound ones in abottabad, for ur esteemed guests! :)
@Bakhtiyar Ghazi Khan: More than half the comments here are from Indians since they are obsessed with Pakistan. It doesn't make a difference since Afghanistan is more or less a puppet state of India and they will always do what India tells them. That's why Afghanistan is ranked in the bottom 3 of worst corrupt nations on earth along with North Korea and Somalis. The best Pakistan can do is to deport all the Afghan refugees and build a big wall to keep them from coming back.
haha after decades of funding taliban militias in afghanistan you expect the afghan people to be generous towards you? i think that's a bit much to ask for.
the problem is; while india invests billions in afghanistan for the right reasons we are investing our foreign paisa in there for the wrong reason. we have never spent a penny on afghanistan's welfare because the ISI is convinced that the only way to be friends with afghanistan is to take their most brutal, tribal pashtoon leaders who hold the most intolerant and downright racist views and make sure they stay in power. and then pakistan is all paranoid that if afghanistan has the right to democracy they will betray pakistan and side with india, what a silly country.
bakhtiyar ghazi khan i encourage you to review your perception of history. ISI general hamid gul himself ADMITS that the pakistani establishment must support the afghan taliban and their right to discriminate against tajiks and hazaras because 'it is in pakistan's national interest'. pakistan is solely responsible for ethnic cleansing of the hazara people as well as its own people. talk to anyone from the tribal areas in pakistan and they will tell you that it wasn't the drugs and the afghans who destroyed their area, it was the taliban. the isi is complacent.
@Bakhtiyar Ghazi Khan: So what are you going to do about it?
@objective observer: Yesterday you were an Indian, now today you are pretending to be Pukhtoon. We don't need non-Muslims to interfere and destabilize Muslim nations like Afghanistan and Pakistan. India was one of the nations which supported the invasion of Afghanistan and the ethnic cleansing of Pukhtoons. I hold India directly responsible for the refugee situation and the massive loss of Pukhtoon life in both Afghanistan and Pakistan.
So does this mean that you are once again looking for a vassal state in Afghanistan whose rulers will have to seek Islamabad's Ok on decisions with regard to the foreign, defense and domestic policies of Afghans? I don't think Pakistan has learned anything from history, both of the past and the recent kind. I can assure you this - Indians, Iranians and Russians will doe everything possible to ensure that the regime has enough strength both financial and military to withstand any aspirations by Pakistan on the Afghan soil. Any compliant regime will be short lived as has been the experience of Mullah Omar and his merry men.
I request Pakistani establishment that whatever happens to Afghanistan in future, please do not give asylum to any Afghan! And start making rapid efforts to expel existing Afghan refugees back into their countries. These people are the most ungrateful lot. Period. Pakistan Zindabad
We must state — publicly and privately — to our Afghan counterparts that we would not tolerate an Afghanistan whose soil is used to plan and execute attacks against Pakistan.
Then why do you expect the world to tolerate Pakistan who's soil is used to plan and execute attacks against everyone else
Let the Afghans sort out their own problems without external influence. Pakistan has found dabbling in Afghanistan affairs an irresistable temptation, with tragic consequences for the people of both countries. A man in a house up in flames cannot help anyone and would be better off trying to salvage whatever is left within. a policy of non interference will help both countries.
"an unstable neighbour by no means serves anyone’s interest" - this is classic example of pot calling the kettle black.
I believe the author's point was actually that Country 1 has the right to interfere in the affairs of Country 2 if Country 2 is interfering in the affairs of Country 1. Who started it is a dubious question... the reality is that Iran/Afghanistan/Pakistan/India all fund and support militants/insurgents in the others' country. But Pakistan usually gets the worse flack in the media.
Mr Shaikh, please stop sprouting immature ideas on Paki national issues. From the time of Qutab-ud-Din Abak (whose grave is in Lahore) for a thousand years, the lands of the Paki Islamic Republic have been totally Afghanised. Whether it was the Turks, or Tatars, they all brought to the Uplanders (the Pakhtoon, the Hazara, the Uzbek, Tajak) and the Lowlanders (the Pubjabi, the Sindhi, the Kashmiri, the Baluch)) the civilizing mission and unity of that civilization.
It was an accident of history that the Brutish occupied half the patrimony of the Paki-Afghan peoples, while the other half was schematically deprived of development by the predatory excesses of the Brutish and the Ruskis. The Pakis and the Afghan people are ONE NATION UNDER GOD.
Remember it is on account of its conquest by the Brutish that the southern portion of the UNITED ISLAMIC REPUBLICS is called Pakistan, while the northern part is called Afghanistan. There are so such people as Afghans. The people there are mostly Pakhtoons, Hazaras, Tajiks and Uzbeks. The Pakis are mostly Pakhtoons, Punjabis, Kashmiris, Sindhis, and Baluch.
Remember even in the present dark days, Afghania is the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, and Pakia is the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Together, they constitute the United Islamic Republics.
Remember, three times fate tested the will of the Paki-Afghan peoples on the Planes of Panipat, and three times they were not found wanting. They were small in numbers but they prevailed by their will, and the spirit of the civilizing mission. Remember the northern boundary of the United Islamic Republics is Amu Darya and the eastern boundary is on the Planes of Panipat.
Stop or you'll scare the Afghans.
"Afghanistan has become anti-Pakistan on its own; India or any other country for that matter, don’t need to do much about that." Better Pakistani establishments do something practical about anti-Pakistani sentiments from all neighbors including China & the world at large.
@Mujtaba: We all know how the borders of modern Afghanistan were created in part by the British in collusion with the then Amir. Why does it bother you when a Pakistani advises you on Afghanistan's interference in Pakistan? After all, Indians have not only been advising the Afghanistan authorities but some would argue influencing all of their actions ever since the British left the region. So please do look at the history of Afghanistan's interference in Pakistan since 1947 including failed actions in border provinces of KPK and Baluchistan. Instead of trying to do India's bidding and in the process destabilizing itself, the Afghanistan regime should focus on what is best for its own people. I am sure even Afghans understand that running to Pakistan for shelter and for livelihood while still working against Pakistan makes no sense.
Wow, so basically you want Paksitan to act as the "foreign hand" in Afghanistan...behave the very same way that we spend everyday criticising the US for acting in the same manner.
And the suggestions passes from east to west. India keeps on saying this to Pakistan since 60 yrs and now Pakistan is passing on the comments on Afghanistan where it supported the harsh Taliban regime. You can't keep poking others and expect no or favorable reaction. Pakistan as a nation never learned from it's mistake instead continues to make more and more grave mistakes.
Interesting article - however I suspect many of Pakistan's neighbors have similar concerns about Pakistan. Certainly the portion of the article indicating that militants are preventing pipelines as well as tolerance for allowing militants to use sovereign territory to attack their neighbors. Suggest you fix your own house before focusing on Afghanistan.
Dear Mr. Shahzeb,
Let me make it short: today computers can outstand human minds in playing chess, but it's still like climbing a tree and then believe that you are getting nearer to the moon. You me have a degree from a US university, but it seems to me that you'll need a little bit more studies before advising on Afghanistan. Please revisit your history books and check since when and why and how the state of Pakistan was created. Also, if possible,please check a short history of Afghanistan.
Very best regards,
A. Wali