By
Sajjad Shaukat
From time to time,
controversy arises between Afghanistan and Pakistan when Afghan officials
refused to recognize the Durand Line which is the 2640 kilometer long and
porous border, situated between both the countries.
The issue again came to
the limelight on June 12, 2016 when Afghan security forces started unprovoked
firing at Torkham border crossing, resulting in injuries to more than 16
Pakistani citizens, including the martyrdom of some Pakistani security
personnel. Pakistan’s security forces were compelled to give response and
skirmishes continued for two days. Afterwards, Islamabad and Kabul agreed for a
ceasefire and the latter recognized Pakistan’s stand regarding the construction
of gate at Torkham border.
In fact, Durand Line is
an internationally established border, but every now and then, Afghanistan
government tries to create ambiguity and fuss regarding the issue, as all the
governments in Afghanistan remained desirous to get access to the Arabian Sea through
Pakistan’s province of Balochistan.
Some of the objections
which emanate from the Afghan side about the validity of the Durand Line are,
firstly the agreement was forced upon the Afghan King, Abdul Rahman Khan, after
negotiations with the British government in 1893—secondly, it was signed only
for a period of 100 years and then expired in 1994 and thirdly, the agreement
was made with the British Government and not with Pakistan, and so in essence,
it can be regarded as invalid.
In response, Islamabad’s
stand on the Durand Line has been that it is a valid international boundary,
recognized and confirmed by Afghanistan on several occasions. Pakistan has
always upheld the norms of international law and has maintained the position of
a successor state to the rights and duties inherited from the British
government in India. Pakistan, as a successor state to British India derived
full sovereignty over areas and its people east of Durand line and had all the
rights and obligations of a successor state. As the Treaty was inked in
Afghanistan and was further ratified in subsequent pacts of 1905, 1919, and
1921, this negates the assertion that it was a forced treaty. At the same time,
no-where in the treaty, a mention of 100 years has been made.
However, creation of
controversy by Kabul over Durand Line cannot be seen in isolation, as it is
part of the double game of the US and India, including Israel which secretly
back the Afghan politicians in this respect.
Pakistan considers that
peace in Afghanistan is a guarantee of peace in Pakistan, therefore, has been
striving for the same in utter sincerity. But, the US and India do not want to
see the peace and prosperity in the region. Sadly, Pakistan’s dominant role in
Afghanistan’s peace process under the Quadrilateral Coordination Group (QCG)
has, deliberately, been sabotaged by killing of the Taliban leader Mullah
Akhtar Mansur in CIA-operated drone attack in Balochistan, which badly derailed
Afghan dialogue process, as Afghan Taliban leaders refused to participate in
the US-sponsored talks with the Afghan government. While, in the recent past,
with the help of Pakistan, a series of meetings were held in Islamabad and
Kabul among the representatives of Pakistan, Afghanistan, China and the US to
develop an understanding for the earliest possible resumption of stalled talks
between the Afghan government and the Taliban with view to ending nearly 15
years of bloodshed in Afghanistan.
It seems that a dual
game is on to pressurize Pakistan to bring Afghan Taliban either for the
dialogue or to take action against them. US, India and Israel have built a
hostile nexus for the Great Game and are pressurizing Pakistan by limiting its
choices.
In this context, trust
deficit has deepened between Pakistan and the America. Therefore, on June 10,
this year, a high-level delegation of the US visited Islamabad and met
Pakistan’s Chief of the Army Staff Gen. Raheel Sharif and Adviser to the Prime
Minister Nawaz Sharif on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz Adviser separately.
During the meeting,
expressing his serious concern on the US drone strike
in Balochistan as a violation of Pakistan’s sovereignty,
Gen. Raheel Sharif highlighted as to how it had impacted the mutual
trust and was counterproductive in consolidating the gains of
Operation Zarb-e-Azb against terrorists. He elaborated, “All stakeholders
need to understand Pakistan’s challenges-inter-tribal linkages and decades-old
presence of over three million refugees—blaming Pakistan for instability in
Afghanistan is unfortunate—target TTP [Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan] and its
chief Mullah Fazlullah in their bases in Afghanistan—Indian RAW
and NDS [Afghan National Directorate of Security] are of fomenting
terrorism in Pakistan.”
US ambivalent policy
about Islamabad could also be judged from some other development. In this
regard, another delegation of US Senators including Senator Lindsey Graham led
by Senator John McCain, Chairman of US Senate Arms Services committee, visited
Islamabad and North Waziristan Agency (NWA) on July 3, 2016. The US Senators
visited areas cleared of terrorists during Operation Zarb-e-Azb. American
delegation appreciated the Pakistan Army’s accomplishment of cleansing the
entire area of NWA right upto the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, after witnessing
the terrorists’ hideouts and communication infrastructure dismantled by the
Pakistan Army.
As a matter of fact,
RAW-Mossad-CIA assisted, the Afghan NDS is inflicting harm to Pakistan. With
latest capture of six NDS supported terrorists in Balochistan, the number of
NDS backed terrorists arrested and killed by Pakistani Intelligence agencies
has crossed over 126. These foreign agencies are also supporting the TTP which
is hiding in Nuristan and Kunar provinces of Afghanistan. Reportedly Mullah
Fazlullah led TTP is being prepared to carry out a fresh wave of terror
activities inside Pakistan, as the latter has become center of the Great Game
owing to the ideal location of its province of Balochistan—Balochistan’s Gwadar
seaport among South Asia, the oil-rich Middle East, and oil and gas-resourced
Central Asia has further increased its strategic significance.
Therefore, operatives of
CIA, Mossad and RAW which are well-penetrated in the ISIS (Daesh or ISIL) and
TTP are using their terrorists to destabilize Tibetan regions of China, Iranian
Sistan-Baluchistan and Pakistan’s Balochistan by arranging the subversive
activities. In this connection, the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is
their special target.
Notably, ISIS claimed
responsibility for a joint suicide bombing of July 23, 2016, which targeted the
peaceful rally of the Shiite minority of Hazaras who were protesting against
the government’s decision of denying their region essential infrastructure
through their plans of rerouting a power line. The twin suicide blasts killed
more than 80 persons.
It is notable that the
porous border between Pakistan and Afghanistan is frequently used by human and
drug traffickers, criminals and terrorists. Their easy access through unguarded
porous border provides opportunity to miscreants to cause havoc inside Pakistan
and Afghanistan. For effective counter terrorism measures strong border,
control management is vital at Pak-Afghan border. But, Afghan rulers are using
delaying tactics in this respect.
Taking note of the
anti-Pakistan intruders, Pakistan’s army had decided that to build a fence
along the border, and to control the border crossings. In this connection, the
strategic project of 1,100-kilometre-long trench with the cost of Rs14 billion
which was initiated along Pak-Afghan border in Balochistan by Frontier Corps in
2013 has been completed this year. In the next phase, the project will be
extended to the entire long border with Afghanistan which had opposed this
plan.
It is mentionable that
the establishment of CPEC between deep Gwadar seaport of Balochistan and the
historic Silk Road city in western regions-Xinjiang of China will connect
Gilgit-Baltistan through Khunjerab Pass. Beijing would also build an
international airport at Gwadar, while the roads infrastructure in Gwadar would
link the communication network of rest of the country to facilitate
transportation of goods. Gwadar seaport would connect the landlocked Central
Asian states with rest of the world. The port is likely to increase volume of
trade, bringing multiple economic and financial benefits to Pakistan. It will
enable high-volume cargo vessels to move in the major oceans, giving China’s
short access to the Persian Gulf and the Indian Ocean.
It is of particular
attention that on September 8, 2015, the ISIS and former Afghan president Hamid
Karzai had refused to recognize Durand Line as the permanent border between
Pakistan and Afghanistan. While, the spokesman for the US Department of State John
Kirby said, the United States has made it clear that it recognizes the Durand
Line as an international border.”
Nevertheless, today’s
world is quite different. Those voicing against the Durand line or in favour of
Pakhtun ethnicity needs to realize the new realities. The reality is that there
are more Pashtuns living on this side of the Durand Line than in Afghanistan.
The referendum of 1947 and the decision of tribal Jirga of FATA are the
strongest and undeniable facts to judge the affinity of Pashtuns. Today’s
Pakhtuns from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Baluchistan and FATA have a strong
participation in all national and federal institutions including Armed Forces,
sports, education, politics and all other walks of life and stand with
Pakistan. They have rendered huge sacrifices in war against terror and entire
nation respects their sacrifices.
Sajjad Shaukat writes on
international affairs and is author of the book: US vs Islamic Militants,
Invisible Balance of Power: Dangerous Shift in International Relations
Email:
sajjad_logic@yahoo.com
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