Afghanistan: Phoenix rising from the ashes

1 October 2010, 18:00 PM

Air Cdre (Retd) Ishfaq Ilahi Choudhury

Left: Map of Afghanistan showing the Regional Commands (ISAF RCs) and the Provincial Reconstruction Teams (ISAF PRTs), April 2009. Right: Grade 4 girls learn to read and write in Pashto at an all-girls school on March 23, 2010, in Nangarhar province, Afghanistan. (Julie Jacobson/Associated Press)

THE Afghans have once again proved many pundits wrong. Sceptics who were predicting that the Parliamentary election on September 18th cannot be held in the face of the Taliban resistance were disappointed. The Taliban failed to cause any dent on the Afghan resolve and despite scattered violence, the polling went ahead smoothly. Peaceful holding of the election is, no doubt, a big achievement for the Afghan people and the government. It is true that there were many problems in the election. There were forged voter ID cards, ghost-voters on the voter-list, ex-Warlords and ex-Taliban seeking votes, poor voter turn-out on the Election Day and numerous complaints of voting irregularities. Yet, hundreds of candidates, including women, contested the election, thousands held rallies and campaigned for their candidates and in the end, millions went to the polling stations. This was proof enough of the peoples' desire to see a modern democratic Afghanistan, rather than a strict Islamic theocracy that the Talibans offer. One has to view the democratic gains in the light of historical perspective too. Afghanistan had no democratic experience; its long history had seen only autocratic rulers whose whims were laws. Limited democracy in the mid-20th Century during the period of King Zahir Shah and President Sardar Muhammad Daud was interrupted by a Communist coup in 1978. Since then the country had been sliding into a vortex of violence and lawlessness. CIA-funded Jihad (1979-1992) by the Mujahedin severely damaged the physical infrastructures of Afghanistan. The country continued to suffer during the Mujahedin rule (1992-1996) due to incessant factional fighting. Then the Taliban destroyed whatever survived when they came to power in 1996. With no constitution, parliament or the law court, no bank and treasury, no international trade and commerce, virtually no communication with the outside world, Afghanistan became a failed state. With schools and colleges shut for years, a generation grew up uneducated. With virtually no economic activities, once proud and self-sufficient nation was reduced to penury. The Taliban provided sanctuary to Osama bin Laden and his Al-Qaeda militant outfit in Afghanistan. The Taliban, a group of madrassa students with Salafi-Deobandi ideology, were trained, armed and tutored by the ISI, the intelligence agency of Pakistan, to create a puppet regime in Kabul and provide what Pakistani strategists termed as "Strategic depth". The world community refused to recognise the Taliban government although they had established their control over most part of Afghanistan. Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and the UAE were the only countries that had recognised the Taliban government. Their 5-year rule (1996-2001) in Afghanistan was a nightmare for the people, especially the poor, women and children. The Taliban were driven out of Kabul in December 2001 by the joint Northern Alliance and US-led NATO forces. Unlike Iraq, the NATO forces in Afghanistan, known as International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) are legally covered by the UN Security Council Resolution No. 1386 passed on 20 December 2001. Since their ouster from power, the Taliban, along with the Al-Qaeda leadership, had sought sanctuary among their sympathisers in Pakistan. The Pakistani military, especially the ISI, continues to support the Taliban. With safe and secure bases and logistic re-supply, Taliban have regrouped, rearmed and are increasingly active in the Af-Pak borders. Many speculate that with the withdrawal of the US Forces in July 2011, the government of President Hamid Karzai will collapse and the Taliban will be back in power in Kabul. I would argue that a growing democratic environment and a surge of development activities that we now witness will be the strongest deterrent against the Taliban, and in that effort all of us should extend our help to the Afghan people. Since 2001, Afghanistan had seen remarkable all-round progress. The country had its first democratic constitution in 2004 drafted by a consensus of popular representatives (Grand Council) and then had the first elected Parliament in September 2005. President Karzai, was re-elected in January 2010 in a closely-contested fight against Dr. Abdullah, his onetime foreign minister. Despite allegations of fraud and irregularities, Dr. Abdullah did not challenge the outcome of the election, nor there was any popular protest against it; the world community accepted the result. In fact, the Afghan elections were far more transparent than what we saw in the 1980s during Ershad's regime or in Iraq during Saddam era or witnessed in countries such as Egypt, Syria or Libya and Myanmar. The recent election saw a large numbers of female candidates campaigning for parliamentary seats. There were religious and ethnic minorities too who contested; there was even a Sikh lady who ran for the Parliamentary seat, not with the hope that she would win but to let it be known that the community exists and would like to be heard. There had been positive changes on economic and social front too. Afghanistan registered a GDP growth rate 7% over the last decade. Beside the State Bank, there are a number of private and foreign banks operating in Afghanistan, including BRAC Bank of Bangladesh. The government has its own micro-credit bank that targets the poorest populace. The trend-setter was BRAC Afghanistan, an overseas component of BRAC that since 2002 had been working in the remotest regions, providing micro-credit, running non-formal schools, providing primary healthcare and host of other services. Bangladeshi employees of BRAC, including females, Hindus and Christians, have been working completely immersed with the local population without any fear or prejudice. Other signs of economic recovery are clearly visible. New roads and highways, airports and airlines, shopping malls and commercial complexes, hospitals and housing estates, all point to a boom in the economic front. On the agricultural front too, the recovery is visible. There had been an average annual 5% growth in agricultural products. Many irrigation networks destroyed during the Civil War are now restored. The farmers that had no option but to cultivate poppy are being weaned to produce cereals, vegetables and fruits. Afghan apples, grapes and pomegranates are finding new markets in the West. Education has seen a grand recovery. New schools and colleges are coming up. There are dozens of Universities and institutes of higher learning, including branches of foreign universities. Kabul University has nearly 7000 students, of whom 1700 are women. Thousands of Afghan students are going to India and the West to pursue higher education. One of the biggest problems is the shortage of teachers in Afghanistan. Here too, BRAC is involved BRAC and BRAC University are jointly training Afghan teachers. The two institutions are also involved in training the Afghan Government officials in better governance. BRAC University's School of Public Health admits Afghan students in its MPH programme. One does not fail to notice in these young people a strong faith in the future of Afghanistan. There has been a revival in the social and cultural sectors too. Museum and art galleries are restored and so are the theatres and sports stadiums. Young Afghans are playing in the Rock Bands and the folk hero Khushal Khan Khattak had a grand revival. The Taliban had banned all kinds of sports, including such innocuous pursuits as Kite flying. The Afghans are back in the sports arena with renewed spirit. Afghanistan became the first and only country in SAARC to get a Gold medal in individual event in the Beijing Olympic. They are doing well in football and cricket too. They already in top 12 team in cricket and hope to attain 'test' status by 2012. Continued presence of foreign troops had been a bone of contention. The ISAF would have to stay till the Afghan national army is ready to shoulder the security responsibility. All indications are that the Army is growing in numbers and quality. Afghan army now operates sophisticated western weapons. The Air Force pilots are now flying the helicopter gun-ships. It is reported that the Afghan Special Forces, with the help of the CIA, are already operating inside Pakistan's FATA region hunting down the Taliban and Al-Qaeda fighters. Like in Iraq, as the ISAF draws down, Afghan national army would assume command. In case of Afghanistan, of course, the main problem is with Pakistan and its covert support for the Taliban. Unless that connection is severed, it would be very difficult for the Afghan Army to fight an uneven battle. The conduit of supply and logistics that runs through the Pak army must be cut; that is what the Americans are trying to achieve by its "carrot and stick policy" towards Pakistan. The world community is standing by the side of the Afghan government. The US, EU, Russia, China and India, in a rare confluence of interest, are engaged in massive rebuilding works in Afghanistan. Bangladesh too could use this opportunity to seize a share of the reconstruction works. Most major nations have opened their embassies in Kabul; unfortunately, we are yet to do the same. Time to get engaged in Afghanistan is long overdue. The author is a Security Analyst and Registrar, BRAC University.