A cause of instability

CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

“If the situation in Afghanistan is ugly today, it is not because the people of Afghanistan are ugly. Afghanistan is not only the mirror of the Afghans; it is the mirror of the world”

-Barnett R. Rubin[1]

Afghanistan shares borders with six countries, but the approximate 1500 mile long Durand Line along Pakistan remains the most dangerous. Kabul has never recognized the line as an international border, instead claiming the Pashtun territories in Pakistan that comprise the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) and parts of North West Frontier Province along the border. Pashtun (also spelled Pushtun, Pakhtun, Pashtoon, Pathan) are a people who live in south-eastern Afghanistan and the north-western province of Pakistan. They are one of the largest ethnic groups in Afghanistan. Pashtuns are traditionally pastoral nomads (herders who move frequently to find grazing land) with a strong tribal organisation. Each tribe is divided into clans, subclans, and patriarchal families[2]. Pashtun are made up of about sixty tribes of varying sizes. Each one occupies its own territory. Pashtun are the major ethnic group in Afghanistan. In Pakistan, Pashtun predominate north of the town of Quetta and between the Sulaiman Mountain Ranges and the Indus River[3]. Estimates used by the United Nations put Pashtuns at 38 per cent of the population, making them the largest single ethnic group[4]. Pashtuns controlled political power for most of Afghanistan's history as a state, with the result that their traditions and cultural norms were projected as being synonymous with the national identity of Afghanistan.
The power vacuum after the Soviet withdrawal was bound to generate tremors in the region as well as in the country and the same was accelerated by the break-up of Soviet Union. India is no stranger to terrorism, especially the cross - border variety. Incidents of violence have increased on both sides of the Afghanistan -Pakistan border since the USA led war in Afghanistan. In the last several years, U.S. officials and national intelligence reports have repeatedly attributed the growing strength of Al-Qaeda and resurgence of the Taliban to safe havens in this border region. By early 2009, there was growing consensus in Washington that to win the war in Afghanistan the chaos in Pakistan's tribal areas need to be addressed and the only way to break the stalemate is to take “an Afghanistan-Pakistan approach to this insurgency”[5].
The Durand Line, which marks the western border between Pakistan and Afghanistan was delineated in 1893 by the British, as the boundary between then British India and Afghanistan. Since 1947, the two issues of the legitimacy of the Durand Line and Pashtun nationalism have been of major concern in Afghan-Pakistan relations. These controversies spoiled the relations between the two countries whenever Afghanistan has used covert mechanism to excite sub-nationalism of Pashtunistan[6] in Pakistan. Demands associated with Pashtunistan lost their meaning or to be more precise momentum following the invasion of Afghanistan by the Soviet Union on December 25, 1979. At that time, the Durand Line became too porous in nature, leading to a massive influx of Afghan refugees into Pakistan[7]. Statement of the Problem
This paper seeks to analyse weather roots of instability in the Af-Pak (Afghanistan-Pakistan) border region lies in the historical controversies and aberrations surrounding the pashtun divide which originated from the act of drawing of Durand line.

Hypothesis

The instability in the Af-Pak region has it's genesis in the creation of Durand line in 1893 by the British which led to the Pashtun divide. The colonial strategy of pacification and aligning of own interests have turned the region into dynamic flux resulting from clash of interests of the parochial players of immediate and extended neighbours. These players include the erstwhile USSR, USA and the immediate neighbours Iran and India. The return of stability in the region depends largely upon correcting the historical aberrations surrounding the Durand line and Pashtun divide. The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979 and present day Talibanisation of the state has many a time made this border irrelevant, however the divide still remains a cause of major concern and instability.

Justification for the Study

Afghanistan has played a significant role in the history of Indian sub continent. During the world war II it was able to maintain a delicate balance and hold off the British to the south and the emerging Soviet empire to the north. Its position as a buffer state during the post world war II period was even more significant.
Presently, Afghanistan is in a state of turmoil with genesis of the problem lying in the need of Afghan nationhood and national identification. The artificial division of the region for convenience of governance and part of ‘The Great Game' by colonial British led to drawing of blood stained line in the heart of Pashtun community in the Hindu Kush[8]. The Pashtuns who form a majority ethnic tribe of the region do not regard the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan as a barrier to their free movement. The need of a united Pashtunistan and abrogation of the present day border-the Durand line is a long standing demand. The historical and cultural dimension of Pakistani relations with Afghanistan has been and will remain critical in evolving the dynamics of this region.
The present turmoil due to Talibanisation, extremism and center of terrorism in the region can be traced back to the deviances created by the Durand line. The Taliban is a homogenous organisation made largely of Pashtuns. To bring the region back to the mainstream and address the lawlessness and Talibanisation it is necessary to address the fundamental issues of Pashtun divide and Durand line before multipronged approach can be evolved and adopted to solve this problem. The alarming growth of Al Queda and Taliban in the Pashtun tribal region usually attributed to their messianic brand Islam has also a symbiotic link with the Pashtun separatist movement for the unification of 41 million Pashtuns living on both sides of the border. It is necessary to address the roots of support to these Pashtuns from inside the Pakistan border.
India assumes an important role in ensuring and soliciting peace and stability in the Pak - Afghan border in furtherance to its strategic policies and ensuring containment of extremist Islamic fundamentalism which has its own ramifications on the domestic environment of India. The proxy war in Kashmir being propagated since independence has direct linkages with Pakistan exploiting these Afghans especially the Pashtuns to generate militancy in the state of Jammu and Kashmir. There has been a clear pattern of increase in militancy in Jammu and Kashmir whenever the situation in Pak- Afghan region has normalised.
Pakistan has a dubious role of being a cause, perpetrator and catalyst of Pashtun problem. The successive military and democratic governments have added more fuel to the fire rather than attempting to resolve this problem. The present day turmoil in the region is a reflection of policies adopted by the former and to a great extent role and support provided by the extra regional players to meet their own designs. The role of USA and its policies in temporal matrix have moved from being the perpetrator, to facilitator, to a victim of Afghan turmoil. It started from being a protagonist and then to being an antagonist in a short span of less than half a century. It has a key role to play in the problem of extremism and terrorism in this region.

Scope

This study focuses on examining the historic origins of Durand line and resulting Pashtun divide as an inherent cause of instability in Af-Pak border and its implications in the present day scenario.

Preview

It is proposed to study the subject by analysing and evaluating the following aspects:-

(a) Brief History and Geo-Strategic location of Afghanistan.

(b) The Genesis of Durand Line, the Pakistan factor and Pashtunistan.

(d) Likely options available and the recommendations.

Method of Data Collection

The study is primarily based on information gathered from books written by prominent Indian and foreign authors as well as information available on the internet. Other sources of information are articles written in Indian, Pakistani and Western newspapers. My interview and interaction with prominent personalities and their views on the subject has also helped me in shaping of this dissertation. A bibliography of the sources is appended at the end of the text.

Organisation of the Dissertation

It is proposed to organise the dissertation in the following manner:-

(a) Chapter I: Introduction and methodology.

(b) Chapter II: Brief history and geo-strategic location of Afghanistan.

(d) Chapter IV: The regional and the extra regional players and their roles.

(e) Chapter V: Likely options available and the recommendations.

(f) Chapter VI: Conclusion.

Barnett R. Rubin. The fragmentation of Afghanistan. Yale Univ Press,2002.
Sharifah Enayat Ali. Cultures of the World: Afghanistan. New York: Marshall Cavendish, 1995, p.28.
Mary Louise Clifford. The Land and People of Afghanistan. New York: Lippincott, 1989, p.126.
“Afghanistan Country Profile.” Afghanistan Information Management Service (AIMS). .
General David McKiernan. The top commander in Afghanistan in an interview to the Newshour. <http://www.newshour.com>.
The words “Pashtunistan,” “Pakhtoonistan,” “Pukhtunistan,” and “Pathanistan” are variants of the same word, adopted form the words “Pashtun”, “Pakhtoon”, “Pukhtun” and “Pathan”. The hard sound is used in the north, whereas the soft one in the south. The word “Pathan” is the Indian variant adopted by the British. Ali, Sharifah Enayat. Cultures of the World: Afghanistan, New York: Marshall Cavendish, 1995.
Aslam Saddiqi. Pakistan Seeks Security, Lahore, Pakistan: Green & Co, 1960, p.27; and Dr.Noor-ul-Haq, Pak-Afghan Relations, IPRI Fact File,<http://ipripak.org/factfiles/ff44.html>.
Raja Anwar. The Tragedy of Afghanistan,Translated from Urdu by Khalid Hasan. Chap II, Verso, 1988.

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