Afghanistan engaging in hostilities at the behest of India, USA: Analysts
Such actions by Afghans are nothing new, they do not even love their own soil: Brig (R) Mahmood Shah
(Web Desk) - The disputed Durand Line witnessed renewed hostilities in its conflict ridden history last week. On Friday, at least eleven people were killed while over 40 others were injured when Afghan forces resorted to firing on villagers and security forces while a census team guarded by Pakistan Army soldiers was working in the area.
The deadly clash took place at the Chaman border, one of the two major points of transit on the disputed Durand Line that divides Pakistan’s southern province of Balochistan and the province of Kandahar in southern Afghanistan. The casualties included women and children while personnel of Pakistan’s Frontier Corps were injured. The attack involved mortar shelling on houses, particularly in the village of Killi Luqman, and resulted in the evacuation of villages near the border crossing.
Following the bloody skirmish, defence analysts have placed the blame for the recent upsurge in tensions on India and have called for strict retaliatory action against such provocations.
Pakistan’s former ambassador to Afghanistan Rustam Sham Mohmand has said that Afghanistan’s attitude is deplorable and has called for the formation of a commission in order to find those responsible for the incident at Chaman which resulted in the loss of lives on both sides of the disputed border.
Conflicting statements have emerged on both sides of the border after the attack. Frontier Corps Inspector General said that Afghan forces took position in houses within Pakistani territory to launch an attack. On the other hand, Afghan officials have claimed that Pakistani forces and civilians who were attacked were inside Afghan territory.
Following the confrontation, Pakistan and Afghan security officials established hotline contact ahead of a planned flag meeting.
Statements from military and defence analysts indicate that this was a planned attack and such inciting acts are nothing new on Afghanistan’s part. The media wing of Pakistan Army said in a statement to media that Afghan border forces were already involved in creating hurdles for the holding of census in villages near Chaman that are divided by the Durand Line.
The Pakistani military also claimed that in response to the attack, they killed 50 Afghan soldiers, a statement denied by Afghan officials.
Moreover, prominent members of Pakistan’s military have said that such actions are not surprising. Security analyst Brigadier (R) Mahmood Shah said, “Such actions by Afghans are nothing new, they do not even love their own soil.”
Another former member of the Pakistani military, Brigadier (R) Syed Ghazanfar Ali directly placed the blame for the attack on India and USA, saying that Afghanistan’s government is weak and it was thus engaging in these hostile acts at the behest of India and the United States.
Hostilities between the two neighbours go back to the time of the partition of the sub continent. The Durand Line was demarcated in 1896 by the British, and upon the independence of Pakistan, became the internationally recognised border between Pakistan and Afghanistan. Pakistan not only inherited the border, but also the hostilities from Afghans that came along with it. Afghan nationalists claim that their territory extends as far as the Indus River, well inside Pakistani territory. Over the years, Afghan politicians have repeatedly used the issue of the Durand Line to foster support for themselves amongst the Afghan populace.
Repeated attempts by Afghanistan to raise this issue have also generated opposition in Pakistan, which accepts the Durand Line as the official boundary. Brigadier Mahmood Shah said that Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto understood Afghans which is why he closed down Pakistan’s high commission in Kabul and bent Afghans at their knees by sending their envoy in Islamabad home. Such statements make it clearly evident that distrust and hostility exists on both sides of the border.
However, efforts are underway to amicably resolve this long-standing issue. Many Pakistani diplomats and analysts have called for a peaceful resolution to this issue. Pakistani Advisor on Foreign Affairs to the Prime Minister, Sartaj Aziz has called for the resolution of all kinds of reservations between Kabul and Islamabad through bilateral dialogue. Furthermore, a former Pakistani diplomat, Fauzia Nasreen, recently said that the two countries should join hands in fighting terrorism and extremism and bring peace in the region.
Another positive development has been the decision to use Google Maps to demarcate the boundaries in the region. A senior security source in Islamabad informed media on the condition of anonymity that officials from the geological survey departments of both the countries will conduct a survey, and will make use of Google Maps with regards to the issue.
Statements by these officials spell hope for the people of both countries. Many hope for this issue to be settled once and for all. However, for the cynics, past events say otherwise. Last year in June, Afghan forces resorted to firing at Torkham border crossing in what was claimed by Pakistani officials as a move to disrupt the construction of a gate inside Pakistani territory to facilitate cross border movement of people and goods. If such events continue to happen, whether the governments of both the countries will come up with a cordial solution to this decades old strife over their boundaries will remain an ever-present question.