ALI SUKHANVER
‘A wave of attacks on Afghan police, army and NATO installations in Kabul killed at least 42 people and wounded hundreds, dashing hope that Taliban insurgents might be weakened by a leadership struggle after news of their longtime leader’s death’, reported The Reuters on 7th August, 2015, ‘The attacks on Friday, which included a massive truck bomb in a heavily populated civilian area and a suicide attack on a police academy, were some of the most serious in months and the first in Kabul since the Taliban named a new leader last week. More than 40 police cadets and civilians were killed and wounded in a suicide bomb attack late on Friday at a police academy in the Afghan capital, the interior ministry said in a statement on Saturday.’ Thomas Rutting of the Afghanistan Analysts Network also expressed the same opinion in one of his recent analysis. He said, “The hope of some people was that the death of Mullah Omar would put the Taliban in disarray and possibly weaken them but I think that was a little over optimistic.” It was also a hope of the western policy makers that the death of Mullah Omer would disturb the whole process of peace talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban as these talks are not in the interest of the western forces because the Taliban rely more on Pakistan than anyone else in any type of peace-process. This supremacy of Pakistan is certainly not acceptable to the western countries and as well as to India. In case the peace-talks reach a positive and fruitful conclusion, the credit shall go no doubt to Pakistan. So the western countries apparently express their ‘verbal support’ whenever there are possibilities of any kind of negotiations between the Taliban representatives and the government of Afghanistan; inwardly they are not in favour.
The peace and stability of this region if directly linked with the things in Afghanistan. And as far as Afghanistan is concerned, it needs a very cordial atmosphere between Taliban and the government of Afghanistan. In other words no peace in Afghanistan is possible unless the Taliban co-operate with the Afghan government. If the Taliban are divided into further groups, it will not remain possible for the Afghan government or anyone else including Pakistan to bring them all to table for negotiations. In this situation Pakistan is the only force which can keep different Taliban groups united. Pakistan is very well aware of its important role in maintenance of peace in Afghanistan and it has always been doing all that is possible for the purpose. Pakistan’s efforts not only at official level but also at political level could never be ignored. It is also a fact that it is very difficult for India to accept Pakistan’s supremacy in this matter and that is why she is constantly involved in defaming Pakistan and introducing it as a terrorist country throughout the world with the help of its childish conspiracies. For a peaceful solution of the situation in Afghanistan, India must be kept out of the whole scenario.
Unity of the Taliban is the need of time for a better future of Afghanistan. Instead of handing over the steering of Afghan solution to India, other uniting forces must be given importance. Maulana Samiul Haq is also one of such strong forces. Most of the Afghan Taliban groups honour him a lot and usually never disobey him. Addressing the religious scholars of Pakistan and Afghanistan at Darul Uloom-i-Haqania, last week Maulana Samiul Haq announced full support for the new Afghan Taliban chief Maulana Akhtar Mansoor, and urged all jihadi groups to shun differences and accept his leadership. He appreciated the role of Taliban fighters for ‘forcing’ the US and former USSR to quit Afghanistan. Samiul Haq said it was need of the hour to stand united against foreign powers as they were hatching conspiracies against Afghan people who had rendered sacrifices of their lives for freeing their country from ‘foreign occupation’. Maulana Samiul Haq had always played a very positive role in collaboration with the government of Pakistan for bringing long-term and deep-rooted peace and stability in Afghanistan. It is very easy to visualize the future picture of Afghanistan if the Taliban are divided into hostile groups; hostile to one another and hostile to the government of Afghanistan? If unfortunately it happens so the result will be nothing but a never-ending bloodshed and destruction and the benefit would certainly go to the foreign forces that have been compelled by the Taliban to say good-bye to the Afghan land. Such a horrible situation would simply provide the foreign forces a golden opportunity of extending their stay in Afghanistan to an unlimited period of time. In the present situation, the Taliban will have to be very much careful and vigilant if they want to crush the western desire of ‘Divide and Rule’ in Afghanistan.