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| India-Pakistan | |
| Afghan situation a US policy failure, experts tell senators | |
| 2006-12-15 | |
| ISLAMABAD: The present situation in Afghanistan is a failure of the United States and its allies in nation building after the fall of the Taliban regime. This was the consensus among experts on Afghanistan who gave their views to the Senate’s Standing Committee on Foreign Relations here on Thursday. These are Pak experts, of course, rather than normal people, so the logic may be a little convoluted in places... They also accused the Information Ministry and military establishment of misleading President General Pervez Musharraf on the issue of Afghanistan. “It is unfortunate that President Musharraf asked President Hamid Kazai to set his own house in order instead of putting blame on Pakistan. The former should have advised the latter to adopt the course of cooperation,” they said. They said that the government should take immediate corrective measures by actively participating in the rebuilding process in Afghanistan to remove “misconceptions” about Pakistan’s involvement in the country. That sounds like a call for direct colonization of Afghanistan, rather than controlling proxies... However, a few of them were of the opinion that Pakistan was at least indirectly involved in Afghanistan by providing safe sanctuaries to the Taliban on the Pakistani side of the tribal areas. No! Reeeeeally? When did that start? They also suggested joint sittings of Pakistan-Afghanistan parliamentary bodies, which they said would help improve mutual relations and people-to-people contact between the two countries. The experts who spoke in the meeting included Ahmed Rashid, Rustam Shah Mohmand, Rahimullah Yousafzai and Hassan Khan. The meeting was called by Senator Mushahid Hussain Sayed, the chairman of the committee, here at the Parliament House to get views on the sensitive Afghan situation so that recommendations could be made to improve the situation. Khalid Khattak, the additional secretary on Afghanistan affairs in the Foreign Office, said that President Musharraf had been misquoted on several occasion on Afghanistan. He also dispelled the impression the Pakistan was supporting a “selective community” there. Pakistan has arrested some 500 Taliban this year on Pakistani soil, mainly Quetta, out of which 400 have been handed over to Afghanistan. Reports of Taliban arrests came at a time when President Karzai was accusing Pakistan of supporting the insurgency in Afghanistan. Ahmed Rashid, a well known writer and analyst on Afghanistan, claimed that the insurgency was a failure of the US and its allies in particular and the whole world in general because they had failed to prioritise nation-building after the fall of the Taliban. “It was also wrong on the part of the US to shift its concentration to Iraq, leaving Afghanistan in the lurch,” he added. Rashid said that there was a common understanding throughout the world that Pakistan was harbouring Taliban on its side of the over 2,000 km border with the help of MMA governments in NWFP and Balochistan. He was also critical of Pakistan losing ground and India gaining with its imaginative policy of winning the hearts and minds of Afghans. He also accused the establishment for misleading President Musharraf on Afghanistan. The establishment told Musharraf that Pushtoons were being deprived of representation in the Afghan cabinet while they are in a majority, he said. “They are no doubt the largest ethnic group in Afghanistan but do not enjoy a majority. As far as their share in the cabinet is concerned, Pushtoons have a major share in key ministries with Karzai at the helm of affairs,” he added. He said that Pakistan could not close its border with Afghanistan but it should at least stop the flow of night vision goggles and automatic weapons into Afghanistan from Pakistan. Rustam Shah Mohmand, the former chief secretary of FATA and former ambassador to Afghanistan, blamed Pakistan for failing to benefit from the goodwill created during the Afghan war. He said that the Afghan resistance would continue against the foreign forces until they leave the war-torn country. Pakistan cannot take another U-turn in its policy and should remove the perception that it is sponsoring Pushtoon elements, he added. Mohmand claimed that the US motive for invading Afghanistan was to topple the “only Muslim government”, exert pressure on Iran and force Pakistan to change its policy on Afghanistan. Rahimullah Yousafzai, a renowned journalist, was of the view that though the Taliban were a predominantly Pushtoon movement with 92 percent of that ethnic group, the Taliban had “very intelligently” maintained it as a pure Islamic movement. “It is not a new scenario as they have been there since 1994 with their centre in Kandahar and its surrounding areas,” he said. Hassan Khan, another expert, said that there was a general perception that Pakistan was behind every bad move in Afghanistan, especially in non-Pushtoon areas, but still Afghans like Pakistan and value its relations with Afghanistan. “There is rampant corruption in Afghanistan with millions of dollars going to private kitties rather than being used for the betterment of the people,” he added. During the question-answer session, the committee members said that these presentations should have been arranged much earlier. They said that Karzai’s “Pakistan bashing” could be a well-planned policy of the US and its allies to make Pakistan a scapegoat. Mushahid Hussain told the meeting that he had invited the Afghan Senate’s foreign relations committee headed by Prof Abdul Rub Rasool Sayyaf to Pakistan.
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| Posted by:Fred |
| #6 There is nothing wrong with US policy in Afghanistan. What is wrong is Paki support for Taleban, while they rake in GWOT money. It will be gloves off should Taleban try another Summer offensive. BTW: Taleban has little support outside of Pashto areas. Afghanistan is generally stable. |
| Posted by: Sneaze Shaiting3550 2006-12-15 18:07 |
| #5 Jeez. How about if we carpet bombed the NWFP and Waziristan 24 hours a day for about 6 months, "experts"? Think that might tip the scales? |
| Posted by: tu3031 2006-12-15 11:39 |
| #4 “It was also wrong on the part of the US to shift its concentration to Iraq, leaving Afghanistan in the lurch.” Boy Howdy! You can bet Senator Feingold soiled himself after he heard that. |
| Posted by: DepotGuy 2006-12-15 11:34 |
| #3 This is all a part of the Paks' propaganda program in support of the Talibs. |
| Posted by: Fred 2006-12-15 08:37 |
| #2 For a relatively small amount of money, the US should create a massive jobs program in Afghanistan. We could take literally hundreds of thousands of men and put them to work on improvement projects that would have a lasting effect on their economy. Everything from clearing fields for agriculture to making mud bricks. The idea is to get them focused on improving their lives, not just supporting whoever is the most heavily armed man in town for the moment. |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2006-12-15 07:55 |
| #1 "Failure" > obviously haven't been reading ASIA TIMES or, gasp, even the GUARDIAN lately have we, Pakis??? |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2006-12-15 00:47 |