The self-made-guardians-of-the-world
countries gathered in Chicago in the third week of May to discuss how to keep
Afghanistan under their control after the ultimate withdrawal of their troops
in 2014 and how to ensure that the Taliban do not come in power there once
again. It was decided that according to the programme the process of withdrawal
should be started and the security system of Afghanistan be handed over
gradually to the Afghan army in 2013, and one lakh thirty thousand troops of
Nato should be fully withdrawn from there in 2014. As for keeping Afghanistan
under their control, no such method was devised nor was it announced as there
was no need to declare it nor to devise any such method. Everyone knows what
will happen there. CIA, Mossad and agencies of some other countries will
continue their activities there as they have been doing in other Muslim
countries. On the other hand, Afghan president Hamid Karzai wants that the
Taliban should not be treated as arch enemy rather a dialogue should be
initiated with them and their cooperation should be sought in the establishment
of peace in Afghanistan and its reconstruction.
Perplexity in New Delhi
The news coming from Chicago that
Nato (America) has taken ultimate decision to withdraw from Afghanistan, has
caused perplexity among the political and journalistic circles of New Delhi.
The Times of India has expressed it at its climax. It has written
in its May 23 editorial: ‘Nato should not make haste in withdrawing from
Afghanistan’. Times says that “Nato summit… failed to answer some tough
questions…. Compounding matters further is the decision of new French President
Francois Hollande to pull out all French troops by the end of the year. This
could embolden the Taliban…. the biggest challenge remains Pakistan, which
would demand billions of dollars for its cooperation in the war on terror….
acceding to its demands would be suicidal for Nato.” But the perplexity of
Times is: “A Taliban comeback in Afghanistan would be a huge blow to regional
security, providing a boost to radical Islamists the world over.”
The Government of India shouldn’t
worry
This editorial note of the English
daily informally represents the foreign policy of Government of India. Whenever
it was the talk of withdrawal of occupying forces from Afghanistan during the
last two years, this has been the response of New Delhi directly or indirectly.
But here we don’t intend to comment of this response. Our concern is only that
efforts are being made to make the world afraid of Islamists in the name of
opposing the Taliban. When the media uses the term “Islamic radicalism”, no one
feels difficulty in understanding its real meaning. The Taliban are the people
having faith in Islamic principles in their individual and collective lives.
They had established a government in Afghanistan on these very principles,
which brought an end to international trade in drugs and wiped out crimes and obscenity
from that country. It had put a check on the import of immoral culture of the
west. That is why America spoiled their government by staging the 9/11 drama.
After the end of Taliban rule, our government has invested a lot in Afghanistan
and it is afraid of it. But the Government of India should not be afraid of the
comeback of Taliban rather should have a dialogue with them. Our interests
there can be safer now than earlier. Then an analysis of a government
established on Islamic principles and its performance should be made in an
unbiased manner.
28/05/12 khabar-O-Nazar by Parwaaz Rahmani, sehrozaDAWAT, translated by: Abu Yusuf