Blood brothers and borders
M Ismail Khan
The News, January 16, 2007
Borders are important. Not only to denominate boundaries of political entities called states, but also to regulate economic, political and social relationship among the states. Pushtun tribes living on either side of the Durand Line rightfully takes pride in being blood brothers, but we all must also be proud of the fact that Pushtun tribes living on Pakistan side of the borders are Pakistani Pushtuns, and those on the Afghan side are Afghani Pushtuns. Just as Punjabi speaking people across the Wagah border are Indian Punjabis, and Balochi speaking Iranians are Iranian Baloch. Unless this very basic fact is internalised in collective psyche by each people in each county where we live, we may not be able to live in peace.
Pakistan and Afghanistan share about 2,430 kilometres of border, common history, culture and faith, but the two seldom have had the best of neighbourly relations, except for the brief period when the Taliban took over Kabul -- a story gone so sour that it is better to scratch it from memory. The tense situation that continues to vitiate bilateral relations between Kabul and Islamabad has a long history behind it. At the time of Pakistan's independence, the then government of Afghanistan embarrassed the Muslims of the subcontinent by refusing to accept Pakistan as an independent country. It unilaterally denounced the treaty of 1893 between Afghanistan and British India for the establishment of the Durand Line as the border. Afghanistan was the only country in the world that voted against Pakistan's membership in the United Nations, mainly on the pretext of its territorial claim over 'Pushtunistan'. A lot of water has gone down the Kabul River since then, but the latest smoke emanating from Afghanistan suggests that things have not changed much.
It is in this context that Kabul's proposal for a grand jirga to sort out bilateral issues between the two countries must be viewed. The insistence on a jirga comprised of tribal heads from across the Durand Line when there are two elected governments in the two sovereign nation states functioning seems a deliberate attempt to rekindle sentiments of tribalism and could further complicate matters for Pakistan. This is precisely the reason Islamabad must try to stick with established legal and constitutional mechanism to conduct its relations with Afghanistan, including on issues related to border infiltration and terrorism.
In this connection, Senator Mushahid Hussain, chair of the Senate's foreign relations committee's initiative for parliamentary exchanges is an intelligent move. The NWFP is a full federating unit with a democratically elected provincial government, and the Tribal Areas too are represented in both houses of the parliament and therefore, all public level policy consultation and dialogue should be carried out through elected bodies, with representation of women members as well.
Over the last couple of months Pakistan has been time and again accused of not doing enough to control its side of the border with Afghanistan. The list of accusation ranges from providing sanctuaries to Taliban and some time Al Qaeda remnants, to aiding and abetting radical groups by signing peace deals. On the other hand, Pakistan's own military efforts to establish stronger administrative control over the lawless tracks have met with stiff challenges. In fact, the sacrifices made by Pakistan army in men and material have been significant. Still, there is no sign that things have improved to the degree where the US and the NATO would like to see them. Meanwhile, President Hamid Karzai's barrage of statements is getting stingier. Most of the problems, which beset the tribal areas and the southern Afghanistan, need longer-term solutions. There is no short cut to education, social enlightenment and or national cohesion. The world and its partners in war against terrorism will have to demonstrate more creativity, patience and vision in strategising steps to modernise primitive tribal mindsets. One important step forward in this direction would be abolishment of the FCR (Frontier Crimes Regulations) and the FATA secretariat, and bring the tribal areas under the direct control of the NWFP provincial government.
Usually, a passport and a visa are basic requirements to cross any country's border. Not so, if you are an Afghan national wishing to have some tikka kebab in Peshawar. Daily, an estimated 10 to 15 thousand people cross the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, usually without any documents of identification. Reportedly, the same is the case at Chaman, Spin Boldak or the Arundu Pass. Now if we keep all these border crossing points open and then go on to mine the pastures, we will end up killing goats and wildlife and that's it. However, one must accept that the decision to fence the border -- however symbolic it may appear, it is a good idea. It will at least give people the feeling that a border exists, and that by crossing the fence you are actually sneaking into a brotherly neighbour country, and that you should do so only legally.
Seaports and airports are also considered as borders. Afghanistan is a landlocked country and depends on the port of Karachi for its transit trade. Pakistan could have, if it wanted, easily exploited this vulnerability but it has not. This despite the fact that the so-called Afghanistan transit trade facility has been seriously hurting Pakistan's economy since most of the imported goods are smuggled back into Pakistani markets. Afghanistan remains the leading opium producer and exporter of deadly narcotics, much of it, understandably, must be passing through the porous Pakistan-Afghanistan border.
Now, instead of getting into messy jirga business, what is required is to work towards a proper treaty between the two countries formalising the border. If there has to be territorial adjustment, for instance with regards to the Wakhan corridor and Tribal Areas, it should be done once and for all. Given the variety of stakeholders Kabul has drawn these days, there is perhaps scope for a multilateral agreement involving the two countries, with the United Nation as an honest broker. The border agreement can help build a viable and neutral Afghanistan -- with clearly defined and managed borders.
The writer is from Northern Areas and presently based in Islamabad. He has a background in media, public policy and governance. Email: ismail.k2@gmail.com
No comments:
Post a Comment