Amir Abdul Rahman, Karzai and the Wild West
Dr. G. Rauf Roashan
Any keen student of history would easily find parallels in the era
of the last 19th century Amir of Afghanistan and those of contemporary
Karzai times. An even keener observer would extend the parallel also
to the American Wild West era of the rule of the gun, Billy the Kid,
local sheriffs, US marshals and gunmen of all sorts.
During an adventurous period in the life of Abdul Rahman Khan towards
the end of the 19th century and before becoming King of Afghanistan,
his political intentions and achievements became subject of much contemplation.
Not unlike Karzai who lived in Pakistan, he too, lived abroad, in Russia
in self-exile. Not unlike Karzai, he too, entered the country armed
only with resolve and surrounded by only a few supporters. In a detailed
description of his life and adventures in a book called the "Crown
of Histories" Abdul Rahman Khan himself has described the social
and political atmosphere of Afghanistan then, which in many ways are
similar to that of contemporary Afghanistan of the Karzai era.
The many heirs to the throne of Afghanistan after the failure of King
Timourshah's sons to rule over a united country and submitting to any
one member of the family being the ruler, had fractured the country
into many regions each headed by a warlord of the Durani tribe or fiefdoms
ruled by local Khans and Mirs. Amir Dost Mohammad Khan's relative success
to reestablishing of a semblance of security (1843) and a central government
was marred by his sons' lust for power and infighting. (He had 20 brothers,
married 14 times and had 52 sons and daughters and had distributed his
country mostly among his sons distributing also his army among them.)
His grandson Amir Yaqoub Khan (1879) had succumbed to colonial designs
and signed the shameful Gandumak treaty with the British generously
giving away Afghan authority and land to British India as if the country
was his own land to give away. Real power had become elusive and literally
jumped from one ruler, one prince or a chieftain to the other together
with shifting loyalties of tribes and tribal chieftains and especially
warlords. Foreign powers also intervened and especially the British
decided much of what had happened in Afghanistan. The central government
did not have true hold over the periphery and armies built rapidly by
the rulers in Kabul melted away even more quickly in the face of war
and shifting loyalties and foreign intervention. Two European powers
namely the British and Russia were poised from the north and southeast
to win the prize land of the Afghans located at the gate to the gem
colony of India. Afghans were divided mostly by their loyalty to a variety
of princes and local warlords and Afghan courts were poisoned with intrigue
and conspiracies.
Now all of the above in many ways resemble the situation in contemporary
Afghanistan where more than two decades of war broke down the foundation
of civil society in the country and gave rise to emergence of divisive
trends as well as devastating infighting for power based on religion,
language and ethnicity as well as warlordism. Foreign intervention was
not unlike the era of Amir Abdul Rahman Khan.
Amir Abdul Rahman Khan returned from Russia with vague hopes of playing
a role, any role in uniting the country. Karzai returned to Afghanistan
on the back seat of a motorcycle to play a role, any role in defeating
the Taleban and finding of a solution to the Afghan quagmire. Many circles
accused Amir Abdul Rahman Khan as being a British puppet that was brought
to power by the British. There are many who accuse Karzai as having
been brought to power by the United States. Abdul Rahman Khan has vehemently
denied any British role in bringing him in from Russia to become ruler
of Afghanistan. Karzai attributes his ascension to power in Afghanistan
to the Bonn meeting and later to two Afghan Loya Jirgas, or Grand National
assemblies. Abdul Rahman Khan in his book consistently touches on his
benevolent intentions for the progress and prosperity of Afghanistan
and tries to portray himself as a progressive, just and knowledgeable
ruler. He takes pride in keeping the delicate balance between the Russian
intentions of expansionism towards the warm waters of the Indian Ocean
and the British desire to keep Russia away. He mentions the issue of
receiving a considerable annuity from the British, not as a salary,
but as a fee for keeping Russia away from India. He further mentions
his ruthless justice regarding his enemies and enemies to the country's
peace and security. He admits even killing his enemies himself. In his
day, the King could be guard, the judge and the executioner at the same
time. He takes pride in being all of the above, yet he explains his
endeavors to bring civil rule to his country, equality and justice together
with economic prosperity. He seems, however to be obsessed with the
country's need for military preparedness against foreign invasion and
therefore its need for arms and an ever-ready army. He speaks of the
many contenders for power during his time in many regions, districts,
provinces and localities and his effective military dealing with them,
so much so that he gets to rule the country for a long period of 21
years leaving behind his elder son with ample experience in the running
of the affairs of the government and his other sons ready to help and
uphold their elder brother's rule. Thus Abdul Rahman Khan laid down
the foundation of a new government and a new administrative system.
He inherited a kingdom that lacked an effective system of government
and in actuality lacked infrastructure for social and economic development.
Perhaps he could not foresee into another century of Afghanistan's history
whereby one of his compatriots would rise to power in a situation that
was almost exactly like those when he, Abdul Rahman came to power about
one hundred years ago.
Karzai's era is marred by a variety of warlord military intervention
and politics as well as foreign intervention and remnants of another
foreign organization that was provided an opportunity to use Afghan
land as base for its worldwide terrorist activities. Also he inherited
problems with remnants of a previous regime, which was ruthless, reactionary
and outright cruel with no respect for civil liberties or social justice
and human rights. He became the head of a government that was originally
chosen for him by a gathering of Afghans mostly in exile and consisting
of conflicting objectives. Unlike Amir Abdul Rahman Khan, he has not
been able to build the army so far that is needed to maintain peace
and security in the country. He relied on the existence of foreign troops
mandated by the United Nations and US troops under an international
coalition arrangement. The latter did not accept the terms of reference
of peace keeping as it was set up to fight its own war with terrorism
and to eliminate terrorists in Afghanistan. This has made the job of
Karzai more difficult rather than easy.
And the Wild West is played in real terms by well-known elements inside
and outside Karzai's government. Most recent episodes involved the minister
of civil aviation in Karzai's government, the minister's father the
famous warlord, governor and military man of Western Afghanistan in
Heart and commander of the military garrison in the province who was
appointed by President Karzai himself. The military commander faced
militarily the governor's son who died in the conflict and governor
Ismail Khan, his father in revenge, used his personal militia to fight
the military garrison, defeat it and reestablish his rule as the sole
power in Herat. Karzai had to send 1500 troops to the province to face
up the situation, but even in the presence of the forces from the capital,
Ismail Khan seems to be in full control. It will be many months before
a loosely organized commission by Karzai would or would not come up
with a report on its fact finding mission and it is not known whether
its report would be accepted by Ismail Khan, who not only has the guns
to fight the central government, but that now he also has an incentive,
namely revenge for the killing of his son.
And hardly two weeks later, Karzai found himself in having to face
the other warlord from the north. Abdul Rashid Dostum, a Deputy Minister
of Defense, Special Advisor to the President, Head of the National Movement
Party and warlord. Only the week before, his party had proclaimed that
it was time for them to abandon the gun and bullets in favor of politics
and ballots and yet in a strange, lightening move his forces overran
Maimana the capital of Faryab province forcing the appointed governor
to flee. It was yet another scene from the "wild north" this
time that shook the central government of Karzai once again and perhaps
has made his international supporters weary of the country's future
in the wake of upcoming elections around September of 2004.
In all of this a keen student of history would be forced to ponder
over repetition of historical events. He would further ponder over the
delicacy of keeping balance between the high interests of the nation
and those of foreign powers in a country that has launched an effort
to reconstruct, revive and reestablish a working government system.
It makes the student of history see how difficult a fine-tuning of policy
is required by a politician to maintain his power, to meet the needs
of his nation and to comply with the interests of his foreign benefactors.
Of extracting a kind of an agreement from the British to recognize
his rule, King Abdul Rahman Khan writes of an official paper he was
given by Griffin representative of the British government in which it
was recorded as such:
"His Excellency the Ruler of India is delighted to hear that your
Highness has started your progress to Kabul on the invitation of the
benevolent British government. Therefore based on the friendly thoughts
that motivate Your Highness and considering the benefits that would
accrue to the nobility and the population of this country with the establishment
of an independent government under your rule, the British government
recognizes Your Highness as the Amir of Afghanistan. I have permission
on behalf of the ruler of India to inform Your Highness that the British
government does not want to interfere in the affairs of the provinces
which are under your rule and does not want any British Ambassador to
reside anywhere in your country. But in order to facilitate mutual and
friendly communication between two neighboring countries a Moslem representative
will reside in Kabul on the basis of an agreement." ( Free style
translation from the Crown of Histories, Afghanistan's History by Amir
Abdul Rahman Khan, page 202, Book I and II, published by Saba Library,
1984 Peshawar.)
In his state of the Union Address in 2002, President Bush of the United
States referred to Karzai as the element that would bring peace and
prosperity to Afghanistan and its people. He gave Karzai the highest
recognition accorded to foreign dignitaries in the United States by
having him as a guest at the US Congress where he gave his State of
the Union Address. US troops have repeatedly mentioned that they will
not interfere in his conflicts with the warlords and that he is to run
an independent country in the heart of Asia. And as by a strange coincidence,
President Bush has appointed a Moslem Ambassador of Afghan blood in
Kabul, to facilitate communication and implementation of mutually agreed
upon projects, programs and policies.
In keeping all of the above in mind one finds Kabul today to be relatively
secure and calm. Kabul has slowly taken up the appearance of busy capital
where an influx of taxi cabs and NGO 4-Wheel Drives over pollute the
thinner air of the 6000-feet high city. Nightlife, at least for the
aid workers and coalition related forces and personnel and the diplomatic
community, has reappeared in otherwise traditionally reserved Kabul
culture. Aid workers and United Nations personnel and a variety of journalists
from all over the globe rush to this Mecca for news of hottest subject
of our times, namely Al-Qaeda, Taleban and the fight against terror.
Outside Kabul everything is different. Security is not guaranteed. The
rule of law is not maintained, as there is no power to enforce law.
The Wild West culture of the rule of the gun is still prevalent. The
Texas Rangers! or the US troops barely engage in anything other than
what they call war against terror and Al-Qaeda.
Perhaps, Afghanistan needs a savior, an Afghan from its own soil. More
than a hundred years ago that Afghan was Amir Abdul Rahman Khan, who
through good or bad policies, played an effective role in bringing the
country under the rule of one administration. He had to fight against
many odds from inside and outside the country and also from within himself
by taking decisions that helped shape up the country. He did not have
the benefit of many advisors, some highly educated and experienced.
He did not live in a world that benefited from the fastest communication
technology and information gathering systems, yet he had devised methods
to know of all important events and trends in his kingdom. He did not
believe in the modern system of democratic rule, yet he wanted justice
for his subjects to be rendered through a system devised by the government.
He had to keep the fine balance between the international powers of
the time and deal with one of the most experienced colonial powers of
the time namely the British government. Karzai today has many more advantages.
But Karzai's government is no better and his country is even in worse
conditions than the era of the past Amir. Karzai rides a fine, one of
the finest lines in finding a balance for every phenomenon that concerns
his government and the future of his country. Should he read and reread
at least the Crown of Histories to get pointers from an old statesman
with human emotions finer than any, from a young prince who had cried
one whole night when he was no more than eleven years old and could
not read a letter from his fiancé from Kabul, because he was
illiterate, and who eventually turned out to be one of the Afghan Kings
who became a historian of his own time and a writer? He would have to
find out for himself if the United States of today is any different
than the British of yesterday. He would have to play a smarter role
if he has to succeed in delivering his country from many evils that
have festered it. 4/11/04