Anita Wilson
Pakistan and Afghanistan have long standing problems. Afghanistan and it’s sympathizers in Pakistan like Ghaffar Khan family of Charsadda do not recognize the existing borders along Durand Line created by the British over a hundred years ago in 1893 and at various times claiming area up to Attack Bridge/River Indus as their territory.
They called it Pakhtunistan as a Province of Afghanistan. Ghaffar Khan, also known as Sarhadi Gandhi, its greatest proponent, preferred joining India than be a part of Pakistan. He forced the British rulers to hold a Referendum in the erstwhile North West Frontier Province (NWFP) in which an overwhelming majority of Pakhtun voted in favor of joining Pakistan. He refused even to be buried in Pakistan and his grave is in Jalal Abad.
Our other big issue is the Taliban that America created with their sanctuaries in Pakistan to fight against the USSR. They vanquished the Russians after a hard fought unconventional war fought for 15 years and won. They were ruling Afghanistan peacefully and had made it completely opium and drug free wen USA decided to invade them.
General Borris, the last Russian Commander in Afghanistan, warned the Americans in these words, ” We had 150,000 crack Russian Troops and our weapon systems were as good as yours if not better than yours yet we couldn’t control Afghanistan and you with only 50,000 troops think, could overcome them? I suggest u get out the earliest possible.”
US ignored his advice and waged the War under the guise of ISAF for next 15 years and still couldn’t win against the indomitable Taliban. They are still their confined in Kabul, their strength reduced to only 8000, having peaked to 150,000 at one time. They accuse Pakistan for their defeat for playing double and not doing enough.
After US withdrawal from Afghanistan, Taliban sympathizers of ISIS under Abu Bakar Baghdadi in Iraq and Syria in collaboration with India and USA, started their terrorist activities in Pakistan from their basis in Swat, Waziristan and the other tribal agencies of Mahmoud, Khyber, Kurram etc Pakistan Army 1st cleared them from Swat and later under General Raheel Sharif, launched Zarb e Azb and successfully cleared them from all their strongholds from all tribal agencies.
Pakistani Talibans moved to safe sanctuaries in Afghanistan and all over Pakistan and are continuing their terrorist activities from their supported, financed and supplied by sophisticated weapons by India, America and Afghanistan to destabilize Pakistan with a view to ending its Nuclear status and stop CPEC. All our pleadings with Afghanistan to stop the miscreants cross border terrorism but it fell on deaf ears. In response Pakistan has launched Radd ul Fasad to beat their nefarious designs.
Pakistan closed the borders with Afghanistan temporarily which was re-opened after a month, allowing thousands of people stranded on both sides to return to their respective countries. They have now decided to fence it along its “high threat zones”. It is bound to irritate Afghan Government in Kabul but Pakistan is determined to carry out fencing.
Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa said that was working on plans to “evolve a bilateral security mechanism with Afghanistan. A better managed, secure and peaceful border is in mutual interest of both brotherly countries, who have given phenomenal sacrifices in war against terrorism.” These measures are seen to be beneficial to both the countries.
The Parliament has approved the merging of 7 Tribal Agencies into the Province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) but probably the centuries old people to people contact across border is likely to continue and any border control mechanism has a very limited chance of success as on both sides are inhabited by same tribes tied to each by blood, commerce, logistics and numerous services that thrive on the cross border movement which generates revenue for both.
The two countries exchange goods and services across borders worth € 2.7 billion ($ 3 billion) annually. Despite the illegal free trade through smuggling, the two countries benefit a great deal from the cross-border movement. The border restrictions will be able to curb the movement of terrorists as the tribesmen are quite wary of the militants who keep targeting their innocent men, women and children as they did at Parachanar killing 22 and wounding innumerable only days ago.
It must be ensured that the routine trade and commerce must not be affected. A comprehensive Free Trade Agreement may be the answer. It would end smuggling and encourage legal commercial activity and definitely enhance friendly and brotherly relations between the two neighbors.
Writer is a Research Scholar in Department of Political Science, University of Karachi. She can be reached at [email protected]
Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article are those of the author and Balochistan Voices not necessarily agrees with them.
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