According to a news report, Afghan President Hamid Karzai has set the US with terms and conditions for a long term troop presence in Afghanistan. That he wants and demands for national sovereignty to be given back to him while on the other hand is ready to allow indefinite foreign invasion and troop presence are antithetical to each other.
Such demands, it needs to be noted, have been made for a long time now.
Conditions or no conditions, allowing extended US military presence in the region is something that will affect the entire South Asian region. Prospects of further extension in the insurgency can surely be guaranteed as the Taliban have already made this amply clear. And that its aftershocks will prevent peace in the tribal areas of Pakistan that is inextricably linked to the security situation in Afghanistan is inevitable.
All previous endeavours made towards attaining a peaceful resolution in Afghanistan that views of every group either in minority or majority, need to be accommodated and the objectives that are to be achieved should also be presented in a clear transparent manner. Does the fact that a prolonged military presence be beneficial in training the Afghan National Army enough reason for doing so or is there more to it than what meets the eye?
DR SAFA RAHMAN
Islamabad
