One reason behind the collapse of Ghani’s govt was that he, his allies&majority of Afghans rarely acknowledged or even spoke about the internal dimension of the war. For them,Pak was behind everything, even when a son blew up himself inside his own house to kill his pro-govt dad.
Afghans rarely/never discussed about over 90% of insurgents who were Afghan villagers, picking up arm for various reasons. All debates, talks and focus was on the less than 10% of Pak-based Talib leaders, and foreign fighters including Pakistanis, mostly Pak Pashtuns,Uzbeks, etc.
90% vs 10% is the estimation based on my observations and interviews I have done for nearly a decade of my journalism career in #Afghanistan.
Contrary to what most Afghans believe, I think Talibs are not Pak’s proxy. They are more Afghan than most Afghans who ruled over AFG in the past 20 years. I am talking about Ghani,Ahadi, Fazly &dozens of others who had spent most of their lives n the west &returned to AF in 2001.
There is no doubt that Pak and Taliban have close ties, and both have mutually benefited from each other. But I think Taliban are the real winner in this relationship because they used Pak for decades to return to power in AF.
With the Taliban’s return to power, many say AFG is now providing strategic depth to Pak against India. But i think it is vice versa. Talibs may have actually gained strategic depth deep into mainland Pak.
Meaning, Pak, with a mighty army, equipped with nuclear bombs, can’t do anything against Talib govt even if it would want to, not now, not in the near future.
Taliban have 100000s of ideological allies in 1000s of Pak madrasas, who would take to the streets, from Quetta to Peshawar all the way to Laal Masjid in the hearth of Islamabad, if AF Talibs ask them to do so. Hardline elements n Pak would do anything for their Talib “brothers.”
Pak may already know the mistake it has committed by supporting the Talibs. But it is too late. So they have no option but to be friendly with the Talibs for now.
Afghans should stop blaming Pak, US, Iran & the entire plant for the disaster they are going through. That strategy hasn’t been and wont be helpful. It is probably a good time for Afghans to start owning their problems/mistakes, & chart a better future for their next generation.
The whole point of this thread is that Afghan govt couldn’t define the problem properly, that is why it failed to find a good solution for it, which ultimately led to its collapse.
Loading suggestions...