The current spate of violence and bloodshed in Pashtun and Afghan lands on both sides of the Durand Line is not the result of any native societal or cultural phenomenon. Rather it is the result of proxy wars waged in this region by international powers for their vested interests.
This was stated by Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP) Chairman Mahmood Khan Achakzai while addressing a grand jirga organized by the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Fazl (JUI-F) at a local hotel in Peshawar on Friday.
Achakzai said that first, it was the Russian military (then under the USSR) which intervened in Eastern Europe, but neither the American nor European powers ventured to intervene. Soon after, the Soviets invaded Afghanistan.
Subsequently, he said, all secular and religious powers were forced to jump in to contain the Soviets but ended up destroying Afghanistan. The Pakhtun living on this side of the Durand Line were also impacted.
This cycle, the nationalist politician regretted, repeated after 9/11, and its impacts continue to reverberate throughout the region today.
Both America and Russia are responsible for destroying Afghanistan and Pakhtuns, Achakzai maintained.
The PkMAP chief further explained that Pakhtun lands in Afghanistan are strategically important and rich with enormous deposits of various natural resources, thus making them a desirable target.
PkMAP Chairman Mahmood Khan Achakzai addresses the grand jirga summoned by the JUI-F in Peshawar on Friday.
Some powers, he claimed, still want to use Afghanistan as a staging area against Central Asian states. However, he revealed that the interim Afghan Taliban government has resisted these efforts.
Achakzai urged the Afghan Taliban to convene a meeting of all those who were part of the Doha and Moscow dialogues for consultations on breaking out of their diplomatic isolation.
He further demanded that the United Nations convene a special meeting of Afghanistan and its neighbours wherein all the participating states should express their reservations and evolve consensus on respecting each other's sovereignty and independence while adhering to the principles of non-interference and peaceful co-existence.
He further suggested that the United Nations Security Council should take the responsibility of monitoring this process.
Commenting on the prevailing political and economic situation, Achakzai reiterated his stance that Pakistan should not become a tool in any new proxy war. Internally, he urged all institutions to operate within their constitutionally defined ambits.
The sovereign parliament should represent the will of the people of this country, which alone can guide the state out of the poly-crisis it finds itself in, Achakzai maintained.
