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Ashraf Ghani’s outburst: How should Pakistan handle the situation?
Global Village Space |
Imtiaz Gul |
Political temperatures spiked to unprecedented levels with a May 31 terrorist attack in Kabul that has left about 150 people dead. Afghan President Ashraf Ghani gave out this figure in his inaugural speech to the delegates from 23 nations at the Kabul Process Summit on June 6.
With this attack, the death toll in six high-profile attacks in the capital since January touched a gutting figure of nearly 400. The human losses across Afghanistan in the first five months of the year stand close to a staggering 800 civilians (almost 3,500 fell to terrorism in 2016).
The claimant for this carnage was Daesh and not the Taliban, who denied any role, which explains the demands made by Rabbani and others for an investigation into the violence.
In his speech, Ghani, the host, surprisingly unleashed an unprecedented open attack on Pakistan for what he said was “waging an undeclared war of aggression” against his country”. Wittingly or otherwise, unfortunately, Ghani painted Pakistan as black as he could. But his words were contradictory too; we don’t want to be drawn into a blame game, he said, but in the next breath he spoke of “undeclared aggression by Pakistan”.
Read more: Threats to regional peace: The implications of a disrupted Afghanistan
The president’s anti-Pakistan tirade came against the backdrop of a spiraling security crisis, extreme political polarization in Kabul itself and acute differences with his own Chief Executive Dr. Abdullah Abdullah and foreign minister and head of the Jamaat-e-Islami, Salahuddin Rabbani. The latter has demanded an investigation into the deadly attacks and the dismissal of National Security Advisor Hanif Atmar. Rabbani told the press on June 5 that the attacks in Kabul might have been carried out in collusion with some security agencies. Ironically, security officials had told the media that the Haqqani network and the ISI orchestrated these attacks.
Strangely, the claimant for this carnage was Daesh and not the Taliban, who denied any role, which explains the demands made by Rabbani and others for an investigation into the violence.
What to make of it?
Who is calling the shots in Afghanistan, Ghani, India or the US, which pays most of the $5 billion or so for the Afghan security forces?
Ghani’s latest speech makes one shiver. What are he and his cohorts up to? When blaming Pakistan for the ”undeclared war of aggression” are they (a) Ruling out the role of geopolitics around Afghanistan; (b) Exonerating themselves of their own responsibility, i.e. acute political differences and polarization; (c) Accusing Russia, Turkey, Iran, and China for supporting Pakistan in this “war of aggression”? Ghani’s statement would also imply that all five regional countries have concocted a well-veiled global conspiracy against Afghanistan and his government; (d) Denying flat out that Afghanistan is part of the Indian policy of boxing in Pakistan (Ghani’s June 6 speech being the latest example); (e) Not realizing the colossal security costs for the hapless millions of Afghans as a result of their current policies?
Read more: Kabul Process: Afghanistan’s refusing to admit the buck stops home
The Gordian knot
Let us look at the paradoxes of the current situation in Afghanistan. Ghani renewed his invitation to the Taliban at the Kabul Summit for peace talks at a “mutually agreeable” venue, promising the insurgents they eventually will be allowed to open a representative office if significant progress is made.
A Taliban spokesman rejected Ghani’s latest offer (which the president called the last chance) for a peace dialogue and denounced Tuesday’s gathering in Kabul as another attempt to “endorse and prolong foreign occupation” of Afghanistan.
Only a day earlier, US Defense Secretary Gen. James Mattis rejected the Taliban as interlocutors saying to the media at Sydney, “we are up against an enemy that knows it cannot win at the ballot box, that’s why [it] uses bombs… The bottom line is that we are not going to surrender civilization to people who cannot win at the ballot box.”
It also probably is instructive for Afghans to look at Pakistan through their own prism. Applying the Indian lens on Pakistan will only continue hurting Afghanistan and its people.
Read full article:
Ashraf Ghani’s outburst: How should Pakistan handle the situation?
Global Village Space |
Imtiaz Gul |
Political temperatures spiked to unprecedented levels with a May 31 terrorist attack in Kabul that has left about 150 people dead. Afghan President Ashraf Ghani gave out this figure in his inaugural speech to the delegates from 23 nations at the Kabul Process Summit on June 6.
With this attack, the death toll in six high-profile attacks in the capital since January touched a gutting figure of nearly 400. The human losses across Afghanistan in the first five months of the year stand close to a staggering 800 civilians (almost 3,500 fell to terrorism in 2016).
The claimant for this carnage was Daesh and not the Taliban, who denied any role, which explains the demands made by Rabbani and others for an investigation into the violence.
In his speech, Ghani, the host, surprisingly unleashed an unprecedented open attack on Pakistan for what he said was “waging an undeclared war of aggression” against his country”. Wittingly or otherwise, unfortunately, Ghani painted Pakistan as black as he could. But his words were contradictory too; we don’t want to be drawn into a blame game, he said, but in the next breath he spoke of “undeclared aggression by Pakistan”.
Read more: Threats to regional peace: The implications of a disrupted Afghanistan
The president’s anti-Pakistan tirade came against the backdrop of a spiraling security crisis, extreme political polarization in Kabul itself and acute differences with his own Chief Executive Dr. Abdullah Abdullah and foreign minister and head of the Jamaat-e-Islami, Salahuddin Rabbani. The latter has demanded an investigation into the deadly attacks and the dismissal of National Security Advisor Hanif Atmar. Rabbani told the press on June 5 that the attacks in Kabul might have been carried out in collusion with some security agencies. Ironically, security officials had told the media that the Haqqani network and the ISI orchestrated these attacks.
Strangely, the claimant for this carnage was Daesh and not the Taliban, who denied any role, which explains the demands made by Rabbani and others for an investigation into the violence.
What to make of it?
Who is calling the shots in Afghanistan, Ghani, India or the US, which pays most of the $5 billion or so for the Afghan security forces?
Ghani’s latest speech makes one shiver. What are he and his cohorts up to? When blaming Pakistan for the ”undeclared war of aggression” are they (a) Ruling out the role of geopolitics around Afghanistan; (b) Exonerating themselves of their own responsibility, i.e. acute political differences and polarization; (c) Accusing Russia, Turkey, Iran, and China for supporting Pakistan in this “war of aggression”? Ghani’s statement would also imply that all five regional countries have concocted a well-veiled global conspiracy against Afghanistan and his government; (d) Denying flat out that Afghanistan is part of the Indian policy of boxing in Pakistan (Ghani’s June 6 speech being the latest example); (e) Not realizing the colossal security costs for the hapless millions of Afghans as a result of their current policies?
Read more: Kabul Process: Afghanistan’s refusing to admit the buck stops home
The Gordian knot
Let us look at the paradoxes of the current situation in Afghanistan. Ghani renewed his invitation to the Taliban at the Kabul Summit for peace talks at a “mutually agreeable” venue, promising the insurgents they eventually will be allowed to open a representative office if significant progress is made.
A Taliban spokesman rejected Ghani’s latest offer (which the president called the last chance) for a peace dialogue and denounced Tuesday’s gathering in Kabul as another attempt to “endorse and prolong foreign occupation” of Afghanistan.
Only a day earlier, US Defense Secretary Gen. James Mattis rejected the Taliban as interlocutors saying to the media at Sydney, “we are up against an enemy that knows it cannot win at the ballot box, that’s why [it] uses bombs… The bottom line is that we are not going to surrender civilization to people who cannot win at the ballot box.”
It also probably is instructive for Afghans to look at Pakistan through their own prism. Applying the Indian lens on Pakistan will only continue hurting Afghanistan and its people.
Read full article:
Ashraf Ghani’s outburst: How should Pakistan handle the situation?
