India has fenced our eastern border. We have fenced our western border. There is a sea in the south and high mountains in the north.
These were the words uttered by Parliamentary Leader of the main opposition Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and former foreign minister Khawaja Asif while speaking on the floor of the National Assembly during a sitting well before the terrorist attacks on the Chinese interests in Dasu and Gwadar and the Taliban take-over of Kabul.
Nobody gave importance to these words because they had come from an opposition member, but the latest developments in Afghanistan have not only uncovered Pakistan’s directionless foreign policy, it has also exposed the country’s extreme polarisation and disharmony, with liberal and religious sections divided for and against the new leadership in Afghanistan
When the government has adopted a wait-and-see policy, and perhaps rightly so, the opposition parties are also showing extreme cautious in coming up with their clear stance over the recent developments taking place in the western neighbourhood.
The main opposition Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) initially said it would not give a formal response over the situation in Afghanistan till the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) government comes up with a clear-cut policy, but then on 25 August came out with a response similar to the position taken the government.
After a consultative meeting which was presided over by party’s supreme and self-exiled leader Nawaz Sharif via video link from London, the PML-N issued a statement welcoming the dialogue process in Kabul between Taliban and other stakeholders, and hoping that this dialogue will result in the formation of a broad-based government in Afghanistan.
The statement says the PML-N respects the sovereignty of the Afghani- stan and the Afghan people’s right to determine their political future free from any foreign interference and anticipates that the sovereignty of the people and the state of Pakistan shall also be respected reciprocally.
PML-N expressed strong dismay that whereas the global community is actively engaged in deliberating the Afghanistan issue to evolve their own national policies in this regard, the PTI government’s only priority is political victimisation and persecution of the opposition while the Parliament remains under lock and key.
Similarly, the other opposition Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) has merely expressed its concerns over the developing situation in the war-torn Afghanistan and asked t he government to take the Parliament on board before making any decision regarding the new regime under Taliban.
On the other hand, without waiting for Pakistan to take an official position, the religious parties have started hailing and celebrating the Taliban’s “victory”.
Only a day after Taliban’s entry to Kabul on August 15 and without making any effort to reach out other parties despite being a part of the opposition alliance Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), Chief of his own faction of Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (JUI-F) Maulana Fazlur Rehman reportedly wrote a letter to Taliban leader Moulvi Haibatullah and “congratulated” him over the “historic victory”, stating that the ‘Mujahidin’ had liberated their country through their struggle against the foreign invaders and their agents.
The Maulana reportedly wished the Taliban success and offered them every possible support on behalf of his party.
Similarly, a joyous Jamaat-i-Islami chief Sirajul Haq through a statement while felicitating the Taliban, termed the “defeat of the American imperialist force” a landmark victory for the entire Ummah.
Also, the head of the JUI-S Maulana Hamidul Haq held a news conference in Peshawar on the very next day of the fall of Kabul and welcomed the development, stating that only enemies of peace would oppose the Taliban government.
Despite being together against the PTI regime in the country, the nationalist and religious parties have now come face-to-face as reacting to the JUI-F’s act of felicitating Taliban, Awami National Party (ANP) central secretary general Mian Iftikhar Hussain alleged that Maulana Fazlur Rehman had the blood of hundreds of thousands of Pakhtuns on his hands.
The ANP leader who had lost his only son in a terrorist attack and whose party remained the target of terrorism from the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) reportedly claimed that the JUI-F was supporting the Afghan Taliban at the behest of the “establishment.”
The opposition parties are urging the government to convene a joint session of the Parliament, which is already due after completion of the third parliamentary year. They are making this demand despite knowing well the reason as to why the government is not doing so.
Perhaps the government is doing so rightly because of a number of reasons. Firstly, it knows that in Pakistan, there has been no tradition of making a policy through a parliamentary debate. Secondly, it fears a strong backlash of its decision, whatever it turns out to be.
The country’s military and intelligence leaders while anticipating the imminent emergence of Taliban after the decision of the US administration to withdraw from Afghanistan had already advised the political leaders to avoid “divisive politics” on issues of national interest.
During an in-camera briefing to the parliamentary leaders on 1 July, Army Chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa and Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Director General Lt-Gen Faiz Hameed had already cautioned about
the strategic challenges and related policy shift in external relations as repercussions for the country in the aftermath of the withdrawal of US-led international forces from Afghanistan.
The convening of the meeting of the National Security Committee (NSC) on the very next day of the fall of Kabul has so far been the only major activity on the part of the government to discuss the possible options available to the country, which is already facing international isolation.
And after the NSC meeting presided over by Prime Minister Imran Khan, it emerged that Pakistan will not take unilateral decision regarding Afghanistan and its future government as Islamabad will stand by the decision of the world community. National Security Adviser (NSA) Dr Moeed Yousuf has categorically declared that Pakistan is standing with the world community and will stand by whatever decision the international community takes.
Separately, Special Representative for Afghanistan Mohammad Sadiq reiterated the same policy, as did the federal cabinet in its meeting on 17 August, saying that Pakistan will take a decision after consultations with regional and international powers, especially China, Turkey, and the US.
Those having anti-Taliban sentiments in Pakistan are content so far with the government’s cautious approach in contrast with the hasty recognition of the Taliban government when they took over Kabul in the 1990s.
However, the liberals have a feeling the PTI government has a soft corner for the
Taliban and is willing to recognise the new regime in Afghanistan. Their feelings got some justification when the NSC called the Taliban takeover a “logical conclusion to the conflict”.
On the other hand, the pro-Taliban segments of society are of the view that the establishment has still not completely come out of the US orbit and are waiting for Washington’s lead before making the decision.
Officially, Pakistan is urging all stakeholders in the neighbouring country to reach a political settlement, respect rule of law, protect human rights, and ensure that Afghan soil is not used by any terrorist organisation or group against any country.
Pakistan has also reaffirmed it would “continue to work with the international community and all Afghan stakeholders to facilitate an inclusive political settlement” for the representation of all Afghan ethnic groups.
An official press release issued by the Prime Minister’s Office after the NSC meeting said the participants had emphasised that Pakistan remained committed to an inclusive political settlement in Afghani- stan decided that the principle of “non-interference in Afghanistan” must be adhered to.
The NSC emphasized that the international community “must recognise the sacrifices made by Pakistan” over the last four decades, reminding the world that Pakistan, having suffered from the fallout of the Afghan conflict, was keen on peace and stability in the region.Pakistan, however, has played a major and appreciable role in the evacuation of its own and foreign citizens, diplomats, journalists, and staff of international organisations operating in Afghanistan who ran for the exits after Kabul fell to the Taliban.
A special inter-ministerial cell has been established in the Ministry of Interior to facilitate visa and arrival matters for personnel of foreign missions and officials of the United Nations agencies, international organisations, media, and others.
According to the government officials, Pakistan has already issued more than 300 visas to the journalist community only, for which the Committee to Protect Journalists has expressed gratitude to Pakistan.
The PML-N and the PPP are urging the government to come up with a policy statement and develop a national consensus to deal with possible consequences the nation can face after the establishment of Taliban rule in the war-torn country.
Acting swiftly, the PPP convened an extraordinary meeting of its Central Execu- tive Committee (CEC) at Bilawal House in Karachi on 16 August to discuss the situation in Afghanistan and formulate the party’s point of view on it.
In a brief statement issued after the hours-long meeting, the party came out with a call for a democratic, inclusive and pluralistic Afghanistan while showing concerns over the situation in the neighbouring country.
It sounded worry over the implication of the developing situation in Afghanistan, mainly for women, men, youth, and other vulnerable communities of Afghanistan.
A day after the party’s CEC meeting, PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari came up with details of the discussion held under his chairmanship where the leaders including two former prime ministers — Yousuf Raza Gillani and Raja Pervez Ashraf — gave their inputs and suggestions to help devise the formal stance of the past ruling party in the Sindh province of Pakistan.
“It’s time to engage parliament over our foreign policy. We also expect that a number of resolutions which were passed by parliament should guide us to devise the strategy. So, we also demand the government that resolutions on our policy should be followed at this crucial hour”, the PPP chairman said.
The PPP chairman also called for a strong action against militant organisations, stating: “The Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan and other terror organisations need to get a clear message that no such activity would be tolerated here in our country.”
Accusing the Prime Minister of having a tendency to “appease terrorists”, he said Pakistan could not afford to have any “confusion on terrorism” and required clarity on “political thought and policy” in the wake of the situation in Afghanistan.
In July, well before the Taliban takeover of Kabul, the PPP chairman had stated that his party was preparing for and devising policies for Sindh, particularly Karachi, to deal with any “blowback” from the Afghan situation.
The present regional situation has put the already struggling Imran Khan-led coalition government to a real test. For some optimist political analysts, the recent developments in Afghanistan have created an opportunity for Pakistan to end its international isolation.
For this, however, the government will have to make some bold decisions and prepare a contingency plan to handle any adverse reaction from the extremist and radical forces.
