Play The King

Dr. G. Rauf Roashan

This Article Appeared in the May 1999 of Asian Affairs magazine

War not only continues in Afghanistan, but unfortunately also intensified further in the past few weeks. Afghans, fighters or otherwise get killed in battles for small towns and villages. The warring factions, instead of planning for peace, plan for war and their foreign supporters continue to feed fuel to the fire in Afghanistan. Reports of casualties arrive from Bamyan, from near Kunduz, from Shakar Dara, near Kabul and elsewhere where gunmen fight each other for power.

In interviews and reports to the foreign media, both sides claim that they fight for the people. The people, on the other hand, are tired of the prolonged war in their homeland. They are fed-up with the politicians' lies. They do not want groups to use their name while actually fighting for power for themselves. They are tired of the warlords, of self-proclaimed leaders and of the factions who have consistently fought for the division among the Afghans rather than their unity. They want a Government which will commit itself to work for the people and not against the people. They know fully well that those who grasped power, after the defeat of the communist puppet regime in Afghanistan could not convince the people and the world that they are working with the people and for the people.

On the other hand, the intoxicating effects of power control the behaviour of the so-called leaders in Afghanistan, who are to blame for the protracted civil war. Currently both of the two main groups fighting each other in Afghanistan claim that they have the support of the people. In reality niether of them do. If the people wanted the Rabbani Government there would be no reason for the creation of the Taliban movement. On the other hand, if the Taliban have the support of the people, how is it that the people are still changing sides? The recent fall of Bamyan is but one example. In Kabul, the people assign spies on the Taliban police. They don't want to be caught by the police when they are listening to music. If a Government prohibits its people from listening to music, is that Government working with the people or against them? And the Taliban opposition is busy these days designing an appointed Parliament and a 12-member cabinet including four women. What is this? Child's play? Where else in the world do people have appointed Parliaments as opposed to elected ones. On the other hand, is the world so naïve as to not read through the plot of appointing women to a phantom cabinet in Afghanistan?

And the neighbours of Afghanistan specifically Iran and Pakistan are busy in their own designs for Afghanistan. Pakistan is now sitting with Iran on the issue of a gas pipeline from Iran to Pakistan and possibly beyond into India. This is mainly because, due to the continued infighting in Afghanistan caused partially by the Iranian intrigues, the Turkmen gas pipeline project has not moved forward. And this is what Iran wanted in the first place. The losers in these games are the people of Afghanistan. Losing a profitable gas pipeline going through Afghanistan is a loss to the people of Afghanistan.
Is there a solution to the problems faced by these people? What are the alternatives? It is the elite amongst the Afghans who need to put their heads together and define a clear-cut, just and practical alternative to try and convince the parties concerned, and the world at large that the suffering of the Afghans must stop.
In the past two decades and especially in the past few years, the Afghan political chess game has been played many times over with players from within and without the country. Opponents have played all their pieces from pawn to queen. One piece that has not been played yet is the King. And in a surreal atmosphere of darkness and pain, all the games have resulted in defeat of both the sides.
Big brother countries, the United Nations and the Organisation of the Islamic Conference sent in new players and supported them. But the result was the same. Neighbouring countries especially Iran and Pakistan chose special players, called them 'in charge of the Afghan affairs' and placed them in their Ministries of Foreign Affairs. Supported by their Governments, they too failed to win any match. Afghan northern neighbours, especially Turkmenistan, used their high-ranking officials as serious players who also failed miserably. Ministers of Foreign Affairs of some of the other Afghan neighbours sat at the table and made no progress. UN Special Star-player, Lakhdar Brahimi was sent in. Only after a few moves that too made over a long period of time, he got so puzzled and stunned that it is many months since that anybody has heard from him.

Thus the Afghan chess game is ready to be played anew. A variety of interests of many neighbours of Afghanistan, regional powers and world countries are at stake in that country. Therefore, it is not surprising that the renewed strategic and economical importance of the country coupled with the safe haven it has provided for some wanted Arabs and the issue of cultivation of opium have made the United States review its stand vis-à-vis Afghanistan.
Worth special mention is the United States support recently of the proposal by the former King of Afghanistan to call a national assembly, better known to Afghans as Loya Jirga, to negotiate peace. James Rubin, a prominent spokesman of the US State Department, said in a statement that Washington welcomed the peace-making efforts of former King Zahir Shah and other moderate Afghans. The next day, the US Ambassador to Pakistan, William B. Milam publicly cautioned Pakistan that it risked antagonising his country if it continued to pursue its pro-Taliban policy in Afghanistan. He told the Voice of America that Pakistan had already antagonised other Western countries and now it was creating distance between itself and the United States on account of its support to the Taliban. He said he had clearly informed Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif about the effect Pakistan's pro-Taliban policy was having on its relations with the US. The US Ambassador using the same tone as the spokesman of the US State Department reiterated Washington's demand that a broad-based, multi-ethnic Government be set up in Afghanistan. On the issue of Osama Bin Laden, the United States believe Pakistan can influence Taliban administration to extradite him, but does not do so. Pakistan has been telling its Western allies that Taliban served as a functional Government for a sovereign Afghanistan and that Pakistan cannot influence such a Government.

All of the above happens one week after the publication of Afghanistan's former King's desire to invite Taliban and its opposition to agree to convening of Loya Jirga for the solution of the Afghan problem. Although the initial reaction by the Taliban seems not to be favourable, yet it would appear that the Afghan chess game would now have a prominent piece, namely, the King, which was not played before. The former King, although away from the board for so long, is still recognised by many players. Playing the king as a last attempt could deliver the game for the Afghan nation.

While the most recent proposal should be considered seriously, a word of caution is appropriate. Let the players agree first on the moves planned for the delivery of Afghanistan. Get the nation involved in the game even prior to the game. Move the king prudently and cautiously because after him you may have no other piece left.

Dr. G. Rauf Roashan is an Afghan Scholar living in the U.S. He has no party or group affiliation.