N. P. Upadhyaya

Kathmandu: A South Asian country which is also a distinguished member of the Organization of the Islamic Countries (OIC), has been generously sheltering approximately 4 million Afghan refugees since early 1980s is Pakistan-Nepal’s neighbor in South Asia.

Let’s presume that the sudden collapse of the Ashraf Ghani government on August 15, 2021, and the immediate takeover of the entire Afghani Administration by the Talibanis must have, in some way or the other, exerted some extra pressure on the already “refugee saturated” Pakistan.

Pakistan is the next door neighbor of the troubled Afghanistan which is also a SAARC regional body member thus any upheaval in Kabul is sure to have its negative impact on the security situation in Islamabad.

Notably, Afghanistan was forcefully admitted to the regional SAARC body by Dr. Man Mohan Singh-the Indian Prime Minister much to the discomfiture of the now deposed Nepal King Gyanendra.

The Nepali King was against the inclusion of the troubled country’s inclusion in the regional body concluding that “Afghanistan housed foreign Military men” in its soil.

P.M Dr. Singh remained undeterred which allowed the Nepali King to bargain for the Observer Status of China in the SAARC.

The deal was done but King Gyanendra’s extra love and honor for China cost his throne. China ditched the King.

India deposed the King in a very easy manner by “ordering” the entire RAW “tamed” Nepali political forces to congregate in order to ensure the King’s exit and the Parties in Nepal under Girija Prasad Koirala together with the India trained and indoctrinated Nepal Maoists then residing in Delhi in no minutes did away with one of the oldest institutions from Nepal that was the Nepali Royalty with a history of some 250 years.

The rest is history.

Back to Afghanistan again:

The country which housed the Afghani refugees since decades and decades naturally had the right and political reason to convene a grand meet of the Islamic Countries in Islamabad to discuss the Afghani problems that the people of the country have had been facing since the change in government since mid-August this year.

Thus Pakistan hosted December 19, 2021, the special session of the foreign ministers of the Organization of Islamic Countries’ (OIC) meet in Islamabad and it went well.

Congratulating Pakistan for hosting the OIC meet on Afghanistan, the US secretary of State Antony Blinken in a Tweet dated December 22, 2021 says, “The OIC extraordinary session on Afghanistan is a prime example of our collective determination and action to help those most in need. We thank Pakistan for hosting….this vital meeting and inviting global community to continue cooperating to support the Afghani people”.

Even if the US which attended the OIC Islamabad meet together with Chinese and Russian delegates, the people of Pakistan would wish the US to do much as regards the Afghani plight which is a bit of its own making.

Afghanistan watchers claim that at the moment, the Afghani people are not only starving but also have become the victim of the winter that is already there.

So it becomes necessary to bring in the block of the Islamic Countries together and discuss on how to alleviate the untold sufferings of the Afghani people who have a record history of being sunk in trouble and difficulties since the ouster of King Zahir Shah Decades and decades ago.

No wonder, Pakistan as the next door neighbor and an Islamic Country took the right initiative to talk on Afghanistan and appeal the 57 member country conglomerate to “do something substantial” so that the underfed and the quivering people could be saved with the supply of foods and stuffs to fight the cold winter.

A columnist for the Daily Times, Sikandar Noorani, claims that it was a matter of great prestige and honor for Pakistan to have hosted the special session of the OIC (Organization of Islamic Countries) “once again” on Afghanistan.

As per this columnist, the first OIC meet too had been hosted by Islamabad to discuss the plight of the Afghanis soon after the Soviet invasion of Kabul in the 1980s.

Sikandar then questions “why could the world not find a sustainable solutions for the problems of Afghanistan in over four decades”?

The question is thus valid and demands answers from the world powers vas to why Afghanistan was left in the cold for decades and decades?

While Pakistan organized the OIC meet in Islamabad, December 20, 2021, almost the same day and on the same subject (Afghanistan), competing and jealous New Delhi too held a meet of foreign Ministers of some Central Asian nations and discussed ways and means on how to assist the problem ridden Afghani people.

The present mess in Kabul, in some way, is also the making of Delhi.

The meet of the OIC in Islamabad and the meet of the Central Asian foreign ministers in Delhi had just one thing in common: they both talked on Afghanistan.

New Delhi’s meet on Afghanistan was, one can say, just a ploy to blunt the Islamabad meet on Afghanistan.

Pakistan being the immediate neighbor, has abundant reasons to discuss the plight of the Afghani people as a “security wise unstable” Afghanistan has the potential to destabilize Pakistan with the spillover effect.

New Delhi has comparatively not been housing Afghani refugees to the tune of Millions to what the Pakistani nation has been sheltering since the 1980s.

Exploiting New Delhi’s convening of the meet of Afghanistan, former President Hamid Karzai-an out and out India hand presumably, spoke something “rough and tough” against Pakistan.

Hamid Karzai said that the IS has threatened Afghanistan from Pakistan.

The Pakistani security officials are on record to have said that the “reverse is true” but not the one that has just been aired by the former Afghani President Karzai.

Karzai in all his honesty preferred to please his mentors in New Delhi’s establishment by accusing Pakistan-India’s declared rival.

The timing of Karzai’s accusations against Pakistan too is somewhat enigmatic in that his indictments against Pakistan came close on the heels of the Delhi’s meet on Afghanistan which was attended by five foreign ministers from the Central Asian Countries.

Karzai just wanted to accuse Pakistan to please the CA countries who by now must have understood as to what makes or forces Karzai to speak against Pakistan?
Obviously, the CA countries are not that fools not to understand Karzai trickery.

The Durand line skirmishes is also a ploy “timed” to please the CA countries attending the CA Dialogue in Delhi.

It was a calculated brawl at the Pak-Afghan border designed by the “regional spoiler”.

Says a commentator in Kathmandu that, “in fact there is no border clash as border between Af-Pak is an internationally recognized border, widely known as “Durand line”.

The commentator adds, “a few regional spoilers and their paid and posted men talk about greater Afghanistan which includes parts of Iran and Pakistan”.

This then means that Hamid Karzai’s involvement in this border clash must have been a certainty who acted as per the instructions of the known “regional destabilizer”.

The Foreign Ministers who were in Delhi recently must understand the “tacit link that connects Karzai with New Delhi maneuverings.

Clearly, Karzai’s accusations were just aired to discredit Pakistan. In doing so Karzai instead proved himself that he was “India influenced man”.

To stamp Karzai’s unfounded allegations on Pakistan, one should recall that it was during his President ship that Afghanistan got included in the SAARC regional body by Sonia Gandhi’s personal assistant Dr. Man Mohan Singh.

So this demands Karzai’s continued “allegiance” for the regional scoundrel.

In one way, it came as a political benefit for Pakistan to understand that Hamid Karzai was an Indian hand much the same way Ashraf Ghani have had proved himself by fleeing Afghanistan just ahead of Talibani takeover of Kabul last August.

This also hints that why Dr. Man Mohan Singh have had included Afghanistan in the SAARC regional body.

In the meanwhile, a US report, claims the DAWN dated December 23, 2021 that “the group known as IS-K (Islamic State of Khorsan) is based in Afghanistan and conducts operations in Afghanistan and Pakistan and is composed primarily of former members of the Afghani Taliban and the Islamic movement of Uzbekistan.

This is the latest report released by the US on terrorism.

The Dawn further writes that “the US State Department annual report estimates about 1000 fighters who operate from “Afghanistan” and their primary area of operation is apparently Afghanistan, Pakistan and Central Asian countries.

In fact, Prime Minister Imran Khan was talking of this IS-K at the OIC (Organization of Islamic Countries) meet just held in Islamabad which has been operating from the Afghani soil against Pakistan.

It was this fact when spoken by PM Khan pinched the former Afghani President Hamid Karzai who retorted PM Khan’s allegations and spoke the Indian voice which again proves that his RAW connections matter.

In addition, it now becomes clear that in South Asia, all the top hats of the political ruling class of the smaller countries were India bend leaders beginning Bhutan King, Prime Minister S. B. Deuba, Ashraf Ghani, Hamid Karzai and President Ibrahim Solih of Maldives.

PM Hasina is no exception to the phenomenon.

This speaks of the RAW or say the Indian intrusion in the very body politics of the smaller countries which has already been diseased by the Indian deadly virus-closer to Omicron, a new variant of Covid-19.

This RAW display at times is visible even in Pakistan which must not have been so theoretically.

This does mean that Pakistani media too have allowed, knowingly or unknowingly, the smooth penetration of the Indian “plants” working “voluntarily but as against financial gains” for the larger interests of the Indian regime much the same way the Indian High Commission, as former Maldivian President Abdullah Yameen believes, tames the Maldivian media.

Now back to OIC Islamabad meet:

Sending a clear warning to the members of the 17th extraordinary session of the Council of Foreign Ministers, OIC and the global community, PM Khan stated that “Afghanistan could potentially become the biggest “man-made crisis in the world” if it did not act now.

Khan said this in his key note address to the OIC-Islamabad held December 19, 2021.

The OIC Meet saw the very active presence of the Taliban foreign minister Amir Khan Muttaqi alongside the seated delegates from the United States, China, Russia, the European Union and UN.
This means that the OIC-Islamabad meet was duly recognized by the International community and the Taliban government too got recognized in an implied manner.

This has some meaning underneath.

PM Khan made it clear to the OIC conglomerate and the global community that “no other country in the globe had suffered as much as Afghanistan and Pakistan being the immediate neighbor, it too have had to feel the brunt of the exodus of the Afghani refugees.

He then appealed the US to delink the Talibani government from the 40 million Afghani people.

“If the world doesn’t act now to alleviate the Afghani miseries, this may turn soon to be the biggest man-made calamity which is unfolding in front of us all”, PM Khan added.
Ayaz Gul for the VOA dated December 19, 2021, writes that PM Imran Khan also said that “Unless action is taken immediately, Afghanistan is heading for chaos…But chaos suits no one. It certainly doesn’t suit the US also.”

PM Khan then switched to the issue of Indian Occupied Kashmir and appealed the OIC and the attending global community (that included the attendance of the P-5 countries) to “make a unified plan for the South Asian region, reports Hindustan Times December 20, 2021.

“The people of Kashmir want to see a unified response from the Muslim world about their democratic and human rights”, said PM Khan.

Similarly, on yet another occasion, COAS Qamar Javed Bajwa also demanded that the Kashmir issue demands early resolution because it is important for the up keeping of peace and stability of the entire SA region.

Bajwa made these notes while talking with the visiting Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud.

Bajwa’s talks with Saudi FM is meaningful in that the Saudis are close to India and vice versa.

Addressing the OIC gathering, FM S. M. Qureshi urged the Islamic world to stand with the suffering Afghani people.

FM Qureshi said that without immediate aid to Afghanistan, it would have horrendous consequences.

He feared that in absence of immediate support to Afghanistan from the global community, the mass exodus of the Afghan nationals is very much round the corner.

FM Qureshi, as per Ayaz Gul, urged the US to “unlock the financial and the banking channels because the economy can’t function and the people can’t be helped without banking services”.
Interesting of it all was the Tweet posted by the US representative Thomas West who lauded the OIC Islamabad meet stating that “A productive OIC session with important outcomes …not least the creation of a humanitarian trust fund”.

He further added that “the US warmly welcomes the OIC’s role and the contributions”.

He hastened to add that “he has a clear mandate from his boss Antony Blinken to engage with the Taliban and he has met the Taliban delegation on the sidelines over here”.

Nepali observers take Thomas West’s expressions that apparently speaks that the US has already recognized the Taliban government.

What else extra one needs to recognize?

What remains is just the formal declaration of the US and other world powers in extending their recognitions to the Government in Kabul led by the Taliban.

In fact, recognition to Taliban has already been made that gets proved by the galaxy of the leaders and representatives gathered in Islamabad at the OIC meet.  

The Saudi Minister of foreign affairs Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud said that the OIC leaders have expressed their solidarity with the people of Afghanistan.

To recall, the Saudia has in the recent days and weeks airlifted food supplies on the directives of King Salman bin Abdulaziz.

The Saudi Arabia, it is learnt, to have pledged one billion Saudi Riyals for the fund that had just taken a shape in Islamabad.

Pakistan is already in the forefront in sending the needed materials to Kabul.

China too has sent food and winter clothing for the Afghani people, it is learnt.

Hopeful, the rest of the OIC rich countries too will follow Saudi suit.

The OIC Secretary General Hissein Brahim Taha appreciated Islamabad’s role and said that in hosting this mega event, Pakistan has exhibited its total commitment to the issues facing the Muslim community”.

For the Road, the Haridwar hate speech in India:

The three day ‘Dharam Sansad’ held in Haridwar, India, saw a series of hate speeches targeting Muslims and calling for violence and assassination.

The controversial Yati Narsinghanand, facing several FIRs in UP, called for a “war against Muslims” and urged “Hindus to take up weapons” to ensure a “Muslim didn’t become the Prime Minister in 2029”, informs the Indian Express dated 26, 2021.

What the New York Times (December 25, 2021) says on India?

Hundreds of Right Wing Hindu activists and monks rose in unison at a conference this week to take an oath: They would turn India, constitutionally a secular republic into a Hindu nation, even if doing so required dying of killing.

“If 100 of us are ready to kill two million of them, then we will win and make India a Hindu nation, said Pooja Shakun Pandey, a leader of Hindu Mahasabha, a group that espouses militant Hindu nationalism, referring to the country’s Muslims. “Be ready to kill and go to jail”.

And this India is the best friend of the US now led by President Joe Biden. Why the US favors PM Modi so much? Keep on guessing.

Happy New Year 2022 to our readers.

That’s all.