US war in Afghanistan: Why is Pakistan getting "concerned" with its peace, security

By Syed Mujtaba*
A war extending almost two decades led by US in Afghanistan has implications for the entire region. Pakistan has been a major stakeholder in the war, and now feels it was dragged into it. Undoubtedly, it played the most significant role in in this war, for which it has also paid a price higher than any other nation involved.
Roots of the US war on terror originate in Afghanistan following the Russian withdrawal from Afghanistan in late 1980s. Pakistan was then a military ally of US, which forced the former Soviet Union make its soldiers return to their barracks.
It is well known how US was responsible for launching the mujahedeen to fight Soviet presence. Osama bin Laden emerged as a prominent figure of the mujahedeen, and became the chief of AI-Qaeda. Tables turned, however, when AI-Qaeda, led by bin Laden, hijacked four passenger aircrafts from four different airfields and crashed them into the World Trade Center in New York on September 11, 2001 resulting in 2,977 casualties.
This, no doubt, was a huge security lapse and heated things inside US. It led US to launch operation 'Enduring Freedom' against the accused bin Laden and his group. The then mujahedeen turned into terrorists in US books. US set its foot on Afghan soil again on October 7, 2001 and the war on terror was “realized”.
US called the war on terror as the need of the time. It was able to gather international support on this, as terrorism had already become a matter of global concern.
US counted on Pakistan support its war in Afghanistan, but the support made it suffer more than any other US ally. Together with US, NATO forces and the Afghan army, Pakistan fought Taliban by providing regional support. This made Taliban to begin targeting Pakistan in attacks on various fronts. These included suicide attacks killing hundreds, instilling fear among the masses.
In a report issued by the Pakistan Ministry of Finance, the country suffered a loss of 123.1 billion US dollars from 2001 to 2017 as a result of this war. Further, about 75,000 Pakistani civilians have lost their lives because of Pakistani involvement in the Afghan war. Meanwhile, US continued to aid Pakistan for its cooperation by providing 33.4 billion dollars from 2002 to 2016.
The consequences of this involvement of Pakistan have been massive, affecting its stability and security. Pakistan is now facing the aftermath of this war on multiple grounds, and has deteriorated its standing in the international community.
According to reports, the Trump administration has been continuing to put pressure on Pakistan, alleging that the latter is harbouring and supporting insurgents in Afghanistan. A similar statement was issued by NATO in 2006, but was reverted, as no “tangible” proof could be found. The government and the army of Pakistan have, of course, denied such accusations time and again. Pakistan has insisted, it wants peace in Afghanistan and seeks political support to end the Afghan war.
The US-Pakistan bilateral ties, in fact, started to tumble in 2011 after a surprise raid in Abbottabad killing Osama bin Laden, and touched the lowest in January 2018, when Trump suspended US security assistance to Islamabad on claims that Pakistan is not cooperating with US against militant groups.
Reflecting to this claim, Pakistan asserted that peace and stability in Afghanistan is a mutual responsibility and it had done everything in its capacity for the stated cause. Indeed, peace in Afghanistan is directly associated with peace in Pakistan and other countries in the neighourhood. Not without reason, Pakistan wants a peaceful Afghanistan.
After Imran Khan became Prime Minister, his narrative on Pakistan on the US-led war became even clearer. He rejected as “unsubstantiated” all rhetoric against Pakistan facilitating terrorism. He stated that Pakistan would not carry the blame of US failures.
Angered at the tweet of Trump targeting Pakistan for “not doing a damn” and “just getting financial assistance of war from US”, Khan retorted, “Trump needs to be informed about historical facts. Pakistan has suffered enough fighting US's war. Now we will do what we think is best for our people." Soon thereafter, Pakistan foreign office registered a strong protest against the allegation.
Imran Khan's stand confirmed that Pakistan, in this region, is too important to ignore.
---
*Socio-political observer based in Jammu & Kashmir

Comments

US govt funding 'dubious PR firm' to discredit anti-GM, anti-pesticide activists

By Our Representative The Alliance for Sustainable & Holistic Agriculture (ASHA) has vocally condemned the financial support provided by the US Government to questionable public relations firms aimed at undermining the efforts of activists opposed to pesticides and genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in India.

Modi govt distancing from Adanis? MoEFCC 'defers' 1500 MW project in Western Ghats

By Rajiv Shah Is the Narendra Modi government, in its third but what would appear to be a weaker avatar, seeking to show that it would keep a distance, albeit temporarily, from its most favorite business house, the Adanis? It would seem so if the latest move of the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC) latest to "defer" the Adani Energy’s application for 1500 MW Warasgaon-Warangi Pump Storage Project is any indication.

Bayer's business model: 'Monopoly control over chemicals, seeds'

By Bharat Dogra* The Corporate Europe Observatory (CEO) has rendered a great public service by very recently publishing a report titled ‘Bayer’s Toxic Trails’ which reveals how the German agrochemical giant Bayer has been lobbying hard to promote glyphosate and GMOs, or trying to “capture public policy to pursue its private interests.” This report, written by Joao Camargo and Hans Van Scharen, follows Bayer’s toxic trail as “it maintains monopolistic control of the seed and pesticides markets, fights off regulatory challenges to its toxic products, tries to limit legal liability, and exercises political influence.”

105,000 sign protest petition, allege Nestlé’s 'double standard' over added sugar in baby food

By Kritischer Konsum* 105,000 people have signed a petition calling on Nestlé to stop adding sugar to its baby food products marketed in lower-income countries. It was handed over today at the multinational’s headquarters in Vevey, where the NGOs Public Eye, IBFAN and EKO dumped the symbolic equivalent of 10 million sugar cubes, representing the added sugar consumed each day by babies fed with Cerelac cereals. In Switzerland, such products are sold with no added sugar. The leading baby food corporation must put an end to this harmful double standard.

Militants, with ten times number of arms compared to those in J&K, 'roaming freely' in Manipur

By Sandeep Pandey* The violence which shows no sign of abating in the ongoing Meitei-Kuki conflict in Manipur is a matter of concern. The alienation of the two communities and hatred generated for each other is unprecedented. The Meiteis cannot leave Manipur by road because the next district North on the way to Kohima in Nagaland is Kangpokpi, a Kuki dominated area where the young Kuki men and women are guarding the district borders and would not let any Meitei pass through the national highway.

'Flawed' argument: Gandhi had minimal role, naval mutinies alone led to Independence

Counterview Desk Reacting to a Counterview story , "Rewiring history? Bose, not Gandhi, was real Father of Nation: British PM Attlee 'cited'" (January 26, 2016), an avid reader has forwarded reaction in the form of a link , which carries the article "Did Atlee say Gandhi had minimal role in Independence? #FactCheck", published in the site satyagrahis.in. The satyagraha.in article seeks to debunk the view, reported in the Counterview story, taken by retired army officer GD Bakshi in his book, “Bose: An Indian Samurai”, which claims that Gandhiji had a minimal role to play in India's freedom struggle, and that it was Netaji who played the crucial role. We reproduce the satyagraha.in article here. Text: Nowadays it is said by many MK Gandhi critics that Clement Atlee made a statement in which he said Gandhi has ‘minimal’ role in India's independence and gave credit to naval mutinies and with this statement, they concluded the whole freedom struggle.

Can voting truly resolve the Kashmir issue? Past experience suggests optimism may be misplaced

By Raqif Makhdoomi* In the politically charged atmosphere of Jammu and Kashmir, election slogans resonated deeply: "Jail Ka Badla, Vote Sa" (Jail’s Revenge, Vote) and "Article 370 Ka Badla, Vote Sa" (Article 370’s Revenge, Vote). These catchphrases dominated the assembly election campaigns, particularly across Kashmir.

Swami Vivekananda's views on caste and sexuality were 'painfully' regressive

By Bhaskar Sur* Swami Vivekananda now belongs more to the modern Hindu mythology than reality. It makes a daunting job to discover the real human being who knew unemployment, humiliation of losing a teaching job for 'incompetence', longed in vain for the bliss of a happy conjugal life only to suffer the consequent frustration.

Edgar Snow's objective view of Chinese revolution 'avoided' uncritical support for Maoism

By Harsh Thakor* As we commemorate the 75th anniversary of the Chinese Revolution, it is essential to reflect on the legacy of Edgar Snow, the first journalist to enter the northwest region known as Red China in 1936. His groundbreaking work brought the narratives of Mao Zedong and his followers to the global stage. A prominent figure in China, Snow was an American journalist celebrated for his 1937 book , "Red Star Over China."

Search This Blog