India, Pak must seize Kabul opportunity - The Times of India
Mir Ayoob Ali Khan | Oct 8, 2011, 05.36AM IST
The winter of 1992 was on its last leg when it became clear that the government of Dr Najibullah would fall. The Mujahideen , though fractured in their alliance, were knocking at the doors of Kabul. 'Saudi Gazette,' the newspaper I was working with at that time in Jeddah, asked me to fly to Kabul to cover the historic events.
There were no direct flights between Jeddah and Kabul. The first option was to take a flight to Islamabad, reach Peshawar by road and enter Afghanistan. I submitted my passport to the consulate general of Pakistan which said the situation in Peshawar was not conducive, therefore, I should wait. How long? There was no answer. It was clear that Pakistan consulate was uneasy at the prospect of an Indian journalist representing a Saudi newspaper covering the Kabul transition.
I collected my passport back and phoned the Afghan mission in New Delhi which said it could give me the visa within a few hours. With that kind of assurance I took the next flight to New Delhi. I was given the visa as promised and boarded Ariyana airways flight to Kabul. Though the situation in the city was bad I was able to secure a room at Kabul Hotel where I slept tight through the night. When I woke up in the morning I was confused. I wasn't too sure whether I was in Delhi or Hyderabad. The reason for this was a Hindi film song that was wafting through the room window-Khudagawah, Khudagawah.
India has enjoyed age old relations with Afghanistan. Therefore, it was not surprising to hear Indian film songs blaring in the market or being hummed by the Afghans. Pakistanis , on the other hand, were looked at and met with apprehension. The Afghans I spoke with thought Pakistan had designs on their country.
India had good relations with Najibullah regime and had almost no ties with the Mujahideen. With the 1979 invasion of Soviet army into Afghanistan , India had decided to back the Moscow's puppet regimes in Kabul.
In the middle of April in 1992 when Sibghatullah Modjadidi was sworn in as the first Mujahideen president and Najibullah was forced to take refuge in the UN mission in Kabul the chaos had worsened. A section of Mujahideen backed by Pakistan refused to recognize Modjadidi as their president. They wanted Gulbuddin Hikmatyar in his place. A war broke out on the streets of Kabul. No one knew who was fighting whom.
Cut to 2011. The situation in Kabul is closer to what had happened more than 19 years ago. The US forces plan to pull out by 2014. Ten years of serious military intervention costing about $500 billion did not give them the Afghanistan they had planned to recreate. India, in the meantime, too has invested heavily in Afghanistan, over $1 billion and tried to help the war ravaged country in rebuilding its infrastructure and training manpower. President Hamid Karzai remains a weak leader with resurgent Taliban backed by Pakistan launching one serious military attack after another. In September, the US embassy came under siege for hours in a deadly attack and later former president Burhanuddin Rabbani was assassinated in a suicide bombing.
President Hamid Karzai made a visit to India against this backdrop and signed a strategic partnership agreement under which, among other things, New Delhi agreed to train Afghan security personnel including the army and the police. Pakistan reacted on expected lines. There is outrage at India getting entrenched in Afghanistan. Karzai had to assuage the feelings in Islamabad by saying that Pakistan is a twin brother of Afghanistan and India a great friend. But he would not sign a similar accord with the twin brother.
India cannot forsake Afghanistan. Friendship with Kabul is intrinsic to New Delhi's geo-political plans. But India is also careful in not falling into the trap of sending its troops into Afghanistan under whatever guise in the event of the US and Nato forces leaving that country. It knows that it would further complicate matters. As things stand today it looks that Karzai would not be able to survive the withdrawal of US troops. What kind of a scenario would there be then? Who would be in-charge ? Even if the US manages to keep its military presence there it would not be help leaders like Karzai. Taliban and other groups would make life miserable for the foreign troops. The best possible solution would be to help create a situation where Afghans could have a popular government of their choice. India and Pakistan should seriously think of sitting across the table over Afghanistan as both countries have vital interests there. Instead of competing with each other in Afghanistan, would it be possible for New Delhi and Islamabad to cooperate? It is not impossible.
Since the Great Games of 19th century Afghanistan has been treated as a battlefield to measure the strengths of major powers; not a country that can be sincerely helped to stand on its own feet. May be such an opportunity is emerging again now. Maybe India and Pakistan could seize that opportunity and work as partners.
Mir Ayoob Ali Khan | Oct 8, 2011, 05.36AM IST
The winter of 1992 was on its last leg when it became clear that the government of Dr Najibullah would fall. The Mujahideen , though fractured in their alliance, were knocking at the doors of Kabul. 'Saudi Gazette,' the newspaper I was working with at that time in Jeddah, asked me to fly to Kabul to cover the historic events.
There were no direct flights between Jeddah and Kabul. The first option was to take a flight to Islamabad, reach Peshawar by road and enter Afghanistan. I submitted my passport to the consulate general of Pakistan which said the situation in Peshawar was not conducive, therefore, I should wait. How long? There was no answer. It was clear that Pakistan consulate was uneasy at the prospect of an Indian journalist representing a Saudi newspaper covering the Kabul transition.
I collected my passport back and phoned the Afghan mission in New Delhi which said it could give me the visa within a few hours. With that kind of assurance I took the next flight to New Delhi. I was given the visa as promised and boarded Ariyana airways flight to Kabul. Though the situation in the city was bad I was able to secure a room at Kabul Hotel where I slept tight through the night. When I woke up in the morning I was confused. I wasn't too sure whether I was in Delhi or Hyderabad. The reason for this was a Hindi film song that was wafting through the room window-Khudagawah, Khudagawah.
India has enjoyed age old relations with Afghanistan. Therefore, it was not surprising to hear Indian film songs blaring in the market or being hummed by the Afghans. Pakistanis , on the other hand, were looked at and met with apprehension. The Afghans I spoke with thought Pakistan had designs on their country.
India had good relations with Najibullah regime and had almost no ties with the Mujahideen. With the 1979 invasion of Soviet army into Afghanistan , India had decided to back the Moscow's puppet regimes in Kabul.
In the middle of April in 1992 when Sibghatullah Modjadidi was sworn in as the first Mujahideen president and Najibullah was forced to take refuge in the UN mission in Kabul the chaos had worsened. A section of Mujahideen backed by Pakistan refused to recognize Modjadidi as their president. They wanted Gulbuddin Hikmatyar in his place. A war broke out on the streets of Kabul. No one knew who was fighting whom.
Cut to 2011. The situation in Kabul is closer to what had happened more than 19 years ago. The US forces plan to pull out by 2014. Ten years of serious military intervention costing about $500 billion did not give them the Afghanistan they had planned to recreate. India, in the meantime, too has invested heavily in Afghanistan, over $1 billion and tried to help the war ravaged country in rebuilding its infrastructure and training manpower. President Hamid Karzai remains a weak leader with resurgent Taliban backed by Pakistan launching one serious military attack after another. In September, the US embassy came under siege for hours in a deadly attack and later former president Burhanuddin Rabbani was assassinated in a suicide bombing.
President Hamid Karzai made a visit to India against this backdrop and signed a strategic partnership agreement under which, among other things, New Delhi agreed to train Afghan security personnel including the army and the police. Pakistan reacted on expected lines. There is outrage at India getting entrenched in Afghanistan. Karzai had to assuage the feelings in Islamabad by saying that Pakistan is a twin brother of Afghanistan and India a great friend. But he would not sign a similar accord with the twin brother.
India cannot forsake Afghanistan. Friendship with Kabul is intrinsic to New Delhi's geo-political plans. But India is also careful in not falling into the trap of sending its troops into Afghanistan under whatever guise in the event of the US and Nato forces leaving that country. It knows that it would further complicate matters. As things stand today it looks that Karzai would not be able to survive the withdrawal of US troops. What kind of a scenario would there be then? Who would be in-charge ? Even if the US manages to keep its military presence there it would not be help leaders like Karzai. Taliban and other groups would make life miserable for the foreign troops. The best possible solution would be to help create a situation where Afghans could have a popular government of their choice. India and Pakistan should seriously think of sitting across the table over Afghanistan as both countries have vital interests there. Instead of competing with each other in Afghanistan, would it be possible for New Delhi and Islamabad to cooperate? It is not impossible.
Since the Great Games of 19th century Afghanistan has been treated as a battlefield to measure the strengths of major powers; not a country that can be sincerely helped to stand on its own feet. May be such an opportunity is emerging again now. Maybe India and Pakistan could seize that opportunity and work as partners.
