Af-Pak is a strange acronym; it tries to cover the two entirely different countries in a single policy statement and strategy.
The situation in Afghanistan is not very stable as is being depicted in the US military estimates, understandably due to responsibility which forces the leader of the world to show some hope in even the most difficult of times.
There are four players at this chessboard: Afghanistan, Pakistan, the USA and the Taliban. Taliban is the common denominator in any negotiable arrangement; the next is Pakistan which has the physical access to rest of the three, thanks to its geography.
The problem here is more of geographical nature than that of a political one. The solution, however, ought to be the political one.
Firstly, Afghanistan is still a quagmire of political chaos, Karazai is trying to establish his writ outside Kabul, and he is usually termed as the governor of Kabul than being taken as the President of Afghanistan. Karazais brother is a factor which is eroding his authority due to massive corruption. Linguistic divide is another one where the people of Turkish origin, Iranian origin or the Central Asian origin are standing quite far apart. The ethnographers only highlight the Pashtun factor and its link with Pakistan as the problem. Biases like these are the real jinx in solving the Afghan issue.
Secondly, the Taliban are no more an ideology in this part of the world. They have become a way of life for those who are left behind by human leap into prosperity and opulence. This is their way of taking revenge from the modern world or for that matter the modern part of it. Pakistan is perplexed over what to do with the burden of history which has different shades from that of Indian to the Afghan invaders. The situation further complicates when it is found that there is no clear cut counterinsurgency or counterterrorism policy of Pakistan. Military cannot be left alone to fight the war of the survival of this country.
The solution of the Afghan problem lies in consensus-politics, and respect for each others sensitivity. Let this issue be curtailed to the Afghan territory that is how it will remain regional.
If Pakistan is also included as part of problem rather than the solution, then the issue will become an international one with global ramifications.
ABID LATIF SINDHU
Islamabad
