Rashid says policy of carrot and stick may restore peace in Afghanistan

Proxies have failed to bring peace to Afghanistan and now the issue must be resolved through political process, said noted author and journalist Ahmed Rashid while talking on “Continuing Search for Stability: Pakistan and Afghanistan” at the Pakistan Institute of International Affairs (PIAA) on Friday.

Ahmed Rashid who is author of a number of books including Taliban: The Power of Militant Islam in Afghanistan and Beyond, Descent into Chaos, Pakistan on the Brink, The Future of Pakistan, Afghanistan and the West, said that proxies did not help in Afghanistan. He said not only Pakistan, but Iran, Russia and some central Asian countries had their proxies in Afghanistan. The option of proxies was a weak option for Pakistan because other neighbouring countries – richer and more powerful – would also use their proxies here, he commented. He said grave mistakes were committed in the Afghan policy. He said in Kashmir the national movement of the Kashmiri people was radicalised but now the Jihadi factor in Kashmir was much weaker. In order to help Afghan Taliban, Pakistan isolated had itself, he opined. He said Gen Musharraf helped in regrouping Afghan Taliban but it did not help. “As a result of this policy, we saw the birth of the Pakistani Taliban who wanted to overthrow the Pakistani state.”

Ahmed Rashid said that majority of Afghan Taliban leaders resided in Pakistan; however, the Pakistani Taliban easily took shelter in Afghan Taliban controlled areas of Afghanistan. He said: “It is a dichotomy that we are hosting Afghan Taliban and the Afghan Taliban are hosting the Pakistani Taliban. The Pakistani government has failed to exert pressure on the Afghan Taliban to hold talks with Kabul. The policy of carrot and stick is necessary for bringing peace in Afghanistan.”

He said: “The military situation in Afghanistan is getting worse. If the situation is not controlled within two to three months, a major town or a province would be captured by the Afghan Taliban and it would have a domino effect. A couple of more provinces would soon fall and there would be panic in Kabul. Taliban have already showed their strength by capturing Kunduz and they have good influence in Helmand. If the town of Lashkar Gah is captured by the Taliban, it will change the whole situation. There is a grave political crisis is Afghanistan. Her government and army are yet to fully function despite the passage of two years. The crisis seems to be growing in Afghanistan. If any American casualty occurred in Afghanistan, the American people will demand withdrawal of their forces. The USA committed grave mistakes in Afghanistan. Their major mistake was to leave Afghanistan too early to go for Iraq. The USA committed the same mistake in Iraq also,” Rashid said.