Democracy conquers Afghanistan
By. JAVED ALI KALHORO
The writer is Journalist and Ph. D student at NDU, Islamabad
He can be reached at
[email protected]
The essence of democracy around the globe is the popular sovereignty that
the people enjoy it independently. The people of Afghanistan are well aware
about the sweet test of democracy but unfortunately-have never tested it.
The recent Afghan election results were in the situation of doldrums, but
the main political leaders; Ashraf Ghani and Abdullah Abdullah have paced
in front to give full cover to the fragile democratic system of
Afghanistan.
One must appreciate that the Afghans showed great courage by participating
in elections and casting votes in April and then again in June despite the
threats by Taliban. Putting the life risk aside, Afghans entered the
polling centers and chose the democracy as the future of their land which
has always been used as playground for the international political game
players. The election shows that the democratic setup in Afghanistan is
"somehow" taking its roots. There have been corruption in the country and
the factor will remain the same for next almost two decades but the people
of Afghanistan are endorsing the elections and feel proud on casting their
vote, even knowing the fact of corruption and embezzlement. There must be a
sense of realization that Afghanistan is not a failed state. The country is
devastated and may remain the core of conflicts till the next decade, but
the Afghans have decided their future to make the country stable and
prosper.
Zardasht Shams, an Afghan correspondent for the daily beast [international]
says, "To be sure, the fledgling Afghan democracy is at a critical
juncture, and international mediation might prove helpful in resolving the
crisis, but if that means sidelining the legal electoral institutions like
the Independent Election Commission (IEC) and the Election Complaint
Commission (ECC) entirely, it will be a major blow to the democratic
process. Afghans will lose faith in it and the credibility of modern
political institutions will crumble".
During my last visit to the U.S., I met with a 55-year-old Afghan non-
immigrant, Khan Jahanzebdaud in Virginia. Khan said, "Most of the Afghans,
who left the country during last decade or in the 90's, are now planning to
go back to Afghanistan because they can see the better and visible future
of the country, post U.S withdrawal".
Khan Jahanzebdaud belongs to Sheikhabad; almost 75 KM away from Kabul; the
capital of Afghanistan. Khan left the country in 2004 when he lost his wife
and his only daughter in worst clashes in the country. Currently he is
living in United States and rides a taxi as a source of income.
Like khan, there are thousands of Afghans who have left the country and
shifted abroad to live a secure and comfortable life. Khan says that At
least our lives were secured than in Afghanistan. After the loss of my wife
and daughter, I had two options, either to commit a suicide or leave
Afghanistan; I opted to leave for Pakistan first, and then realized that
the time is even worse than to be in Pakistan. Finally, I had to come to
the U.S to live the life the way it should be lived.
The social, economic and political future of the South Asian region depends
upon a stable Afghanistan. Not only external but also internal security of
Pakistan, India and is entirely dependent on the security of Afghanistan.
Tahir Nazir, a research fellow at SASSI, Islamabad says, "The Afghan end-
game is offering a golden opportunity to Pakistani decision makers to
rethink and kick start a fresh beginning with Afghanistan by forgetting the
hard memories of the past. The fresh start should be based upon the notion
of mutual respect, non-interference and mutual prosperity".
There is no doubt that a stable Afghanistan is the need of the hour for the
South Asian region especially Pakistan and this can only be possible if our
neighbors enjoy the same rule of law and politically democratic system.
Pakistan is the next-door neighbor of Afghanistan; a place where the
militants feel more secure than any other part of the region. They easily
cross the border to settle down in Northeast Pakistan. Therefore Pakistan
will have to play its pivotal role in making Afghanistan more stable by
developing its diplomatic and defense relations with the country. Pakistan
will have to realize that just issuing some positive statements about
Afghanistan are nothing but fooling it. The country will have to make sure
its defense co-operation with Afghanistan in order to maintain its border
more secure and must stop the militants using its land against the rest
stake holders of the region. The democratic setup in Afghanistan will
ultimately benefit Pakistan in terms of diplomatic co-operations. Both the
countries do understand each other's problems and psyche therefore they
will have to live under well-reputed political setup which is called the
democracy.
ENDS
