Afghanistan in Search of its Lost Identity: Can a “Robust” Peacekeeping Operation Help?
| Autor | Hassan Abbas |
| Páginas | 3-21 |
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I am indebted to Professor Ian Johnstone of the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy for guidance in writing this article. Initially the article was written as a course requirement for “Seminar in Peace Operations” taught by the professor. It has been updated for the purpose of this publication.
Hassan Abbas. Visiting Fellow at the Harvard Law School; MA in Law and Diplomacy (Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University); LLM in International Law (University of Nottingham); MA in Political Science (University of Punjab); Adjunct Faculty Member at the Pearson International Peacekeeping Institute, Canada; and a police officer by profession. Also regularly writes for Pakistani and US papers as a freelance journalist. E-mail: hassanabbas12@hotmail.com
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Afghanistan, a victim of “great games”, is yet again faced with a momentous challenge. It is desperately in search of its lost identity. It has reached the most crucial phase in the historical current, which witnessed its transformation from the status of the “heart of Asia” to the “hub of international terrorism”. The tragedy on September 11 exposed Afghanistan’s entrenched linkages to international terrorism and forced the world to focus on this failed state.
The United States led war against terrorism rescued the country from the clutches of extremist Taliban regime and terrorist Al-Qaeda network, though some pockets of resistance are still there. In the midst of this endeavor, the Bonn Agreement revived hope for a better future for Afghanistan. Many analysts expected a robust and assertive United Nations peacekeeping operation to tackle the situation after the downfall of Taliban in November 2001. But finally it turned out that all the concerned parties agreed to constitute a UN mandated International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in place with a restricted mandate for a six-month time period, as an immediate option.
The paper will analyze the pros and cons of the strategy already in place and will argue in favor of an expanded and directly UN controlled and monitored peacekeeping operation. It will objectively evaluate a view held by many that the operation in its present form is not the best of options and may even backfire. It can be argued that it has “lingered” on successfully so far as the US ground forces combating terrorists are also present in the conflict theatre, a factor which has indirectly strengthened the image and role of security forces in Kabul.
The paper will also draw upon lessons learned from previous and relevant peace-keeping operations and will reflect upon key issues generally involved in peace operations such as consent, impartiality and peace versus justice. Previous UN involvement in the country will also be evaluated where relevant. Finally, the paper will recommend what criterion should be adopted for expanding the role of peacekeepers and how can it be turned into a full-fledged operation.
Famous Indian poet and philosopher Dr. Mohammad Iqbal, who is known for coming up with the idea of Pakistan, described Afghanistan as “the heart of Asia” in his poetry while Lord Curzon, the British Viceroy of India called it the “cockpit of Asia”1 . Marco Polo described the far north-east corner of Afghanistan, which is surrounded by Tajikistan, China and Pakistan, as “the roof of the world”. Afghanistan’s location on the crossroads between Iran, the Arabian Sea and India and between Central Asia and South Asia has given its territory and mountain passes a strategic significance since the Aryan invasions 6000 years ago.
Due to its geographical location, it was always vulnerable to outside interference whenever there was internal instability. On the other hand, great powers of the yester years had hegemonic designs for this place for different reasons: for instance, the Tsars of Russia had made no secret of their desire to expand their empire southwards towards the warm waters of the Indian Ocean. The Russian-British rivalry for control over this land in the 18th and 19th century is a historical fact.
Modern Afghanistan encompasses 245,000 square miles and is a landlocked country. It is separated by a north-south divide along the massive Hindu Kush mountain range. A rough division shows that to the south of Hindu Kush live the majority of Pashtuns and some Persian speaking ethnic groups and to the north live the Persian speaking Hazaras and Tajiks. The ethnic division of the land is crucial to understand the link between Afghan ethnic groups and the people from same ethnic communities living across the borders on almost all sides of the country.
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The ethnic composition of Afghan population according to United Nations Office for Drug Control and Crime Prevention (UNODCCP)2 is:
| Population | 25,824,882 (July 1999 est.) |
| People | Pashtun 38%, Tajik 25%, Uzbek 6%, Hazara 19%, minor ethnic groups (Aimaks, Turkmen, Baloch, and others) |
| Languages | Pashtu 35%, Afghan Persian (Dari) 50%, Turkic languages (primarily Uzbek and Turkmen) 11%, 30 minor languages (primarily Balochi and Pashai) 4%, much bilingualism. |
Professor Nigel J. R. Allan, an old marine commando who did his field research in Afghanistan during the war years (1979-89), and presently a faculty member of the Department of Environmental Design, UC Davis, interestingly maintains that Afghanistan is a ‘space and not a ‘place’. He further said,
‘With 55 ethnic groups speaking 49 languages it has no internal consistency to warrant being a nation-state. Every part of Afghanistan is culturally connected to a contiguous place.’3
Afghanistan’s monarchy was established in 1919, though the Afghan state in some form or the other was in place since 1747. The monarchy was in the hands of Durranis, a hardcore Pashtun tribe. The governance pattern and policies of King Amanullah and King Zahir Shah and the public reaction to these approaches is crucial to understand the present day Afghanistan, especially in terms of
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Urban-rural divide,
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dominant role of Pashtuns in state and society,
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political frustrations of Tajiks and Uzbeks,
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the role of Loya Jirga as a traditional policy-making and conflict resolution authority,
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the prevailing political culture and influence of conservative religious approach.
The nature of King Amanullah’s policies4 can be gauged from his following radical policy decisions:
• For the first time in Afghan history a written constitution was drawn up and the inspiration was the then contemporary Turkish secular model.
• An independent judiciary with a system of courts and a secular penal code was introduced.
• A chain of schools was established, including some for girls. Teaching staff was brought in from France, Germany and India.
• Special emphasis was laid on women rights.
• He instructed the members of Loya Jirga (comprising of conservative religious leaders and tribal chiefs) to dress “black coats, waistcoats and trousers, shirts and ties, black boots and homburg hats”!!
• In the social domain, he abolished (women) veils and instructed all residents of Kabul to wear western dresses.
In Afghan terms this was extreme radicalism. Soon there were revolts in different parts of the country against foreign influences. Many thought he had renounced Islam and embraced Catholicism.5 The reactionPage 6 to his modernization drive was so severe that he had to abdicate in 1929. This episode in the history of Afghanistan speaks volumes of the tribal and conservative reality of Afghanistan. He was forced to leave the country at this juncture despite the fact that his economic policies were working well – the country had become largely self-sufficient and free of public debt at the time.
The other relevant example is that of King Zahir Shah who was proclaimed king in 1933, few hours after his father was assassinated. As he was very young at the time, his uncles ran the country as per the tribal customs till 1950s.6 A new constitution in 1964 was one of his most significant contributions. He constituted a 7-member committee, guided by a French constitutional lawyer, to draft the constitution. It transformed the country into a democracy with the provision of elections, a parliament, civil right provisions, special provisions for the emancipation of women and above all universal suffrage, which was unheard of in that part of the world till then.7
It was not a mere exercise in state-building. He on one hand co-opted the liberal and progressive elements in constitution-making process...
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