HVK Archives: The Taliban have pushed Afghanistan back by 2,000 years - Invertiew of Masood Khalid
The Taliban have pushed Afghanistan back by 2,000 years - Invertiew of Masood Khalid - The Times of India
Mahendra Ved
()
12 April 1997
Title : 'The Taliban have pushed Afghanistan back by 2,000 years' -
Interview of Masood Khalid
Author : Mahendra Ved
Publication : The Times of India
Date : April 12, 1997
Seventy-five billion dollars worth of opium has gone out of Afghanistan
and Pakistan in the last two years. in the last six months since Taliban
captured Kabul, opium cultivation has gone up at least fifty times, said
Masood Khalili, ambassador to Afghanistan's exiled government of
Burnahuddin Rabbani. "Mafias are active in a big way," he added. "Opium
processing factories have come up for the first time in Herat, Helmand,
Kandahar and Farah."
With the snow about to melt, the Afghan war theatre is bound to get
active. In a two-hour interview given to Mahendra Ved, Mr Khalili said
that even though the Taliban control Kabul and have better logistics,
the Rabbani forces will fight on. Account to him, a bitter military
campaign lies ahead.
An ex-student of New Delhi's Zakir Hussain College, Mr Khalili was
guarded in his comments about the role of the US and India. But he
minced no words about Pakistan and its help to the Taliban. He ridiculed
reports that India has given any military help. "We get nothing at all
from India," he said. He emphasised that his country needed humanitarian
help. "India's intentions are good, but, you know, the political turmoil
in India..." Excerpts from the interview :
Do you expect the fighting to escalate, now that the winter is over and
snow will soon melt?
Escalation (of fighting between the Taliban and the
Rabbani-Dostum-Masoud alliance) is unfortunately on the way... A
military solution is the worst solution. But sometimes it cannot be
helped. We have done our best to have a political dialogue. We have also
encouraged efforts by the UN. But the Taliban do not want a broad-based
government.
Six months after your government withdrew from Kabul and the Taliban
moved in, what is the ground reality?
I can quite frankly say our tactical withdrawal from Kabul was to
regroup and to put up a defensive front. The Taliban tried to dislodge
us in the north and central regions, but failed. We have consolidated
not only militarily, but also politically. General Dostum and others,
who were not with us earlier, are now with us. Pakhtun leaders from
Kunar, Jalalabad and Lehman have joined us. The entire Safi tribe is
with us. Bitter fighting is going on, despite the snow, at Qala-e-Nau in
Badgis, Gorbhand in Parwan and in Salang and Panjshir Valley. Even
though Kabul is not with us, the Rabbani government is more strong,
united and determined than before.
By comparison, the Taliban cannot make any more political gains, either
within the country or among the Islamic nations. What you witnessed at
the recent OIC conference in Islamabad was the re suit of hard lobbying
by Pakistan, which was playing host at its 50th anniversary
celebrations. In Afghanistan, if you are backed by someone from outside,
you are dead. We have a tradition of fighting the invaders, be it the
British or the Russians.
What is Pakistan's role in Taliban's success?
There is little doubt that Pakistan is providing logistical help to the
Taliban. Knowing the very nature of Pakistan and its ISI, one can hardly
believe that Pakistan is doing it entirely on its own. This is going to
continue despite the economic problems Pakistan is facing as a result.
Its Afghanistan policy is decided by the ISI, not by the political
leadership. Even though Nawaz Sharif is a businessman and knows the
economic ruination that the policy is causing, he has not reined in the
ISI so far. I ask Pakistan: you have helped everyone against us.
But what have you achieved? Can you guarantee the safe movement of even
one truck through my country? Stability in my country will benefit you
more than us.
Why did Pakistan back the Taliban against your government after
supporting its installation?
The ISI miscalculated with us. They did not want a friendly government
but a puppet government. We could only be friends as equals. We did not
fight the Soviets to be subjugated by Pakistan or by its protege, the
Taliban. We want friendship with Pakistan, its government, its people.
But for me, a truck driver from anywhere is equal. Pakistan cannot tell
me don't allow this or that. Afghanistan must remain a friendly
cross-roads. All Asians have a right to it, but also a duty to respect
our territorial integrity.
There are reports of Saudi money and US help.
There is no direct evidence. The point is that the whole thing is
interconnected. The US was silent about the Taliban and has turned
critical only now, mainly because of the human rights violations by the
Taliban regime. Since they captured Kabul, the Taliban have violated
every tenet of US foreign policy. Yet the US does not reject the
Taliban. Judge the Taliban on the basis of human rights, drugs,
democracy and the need to fight against terrorism that the US advocates.
Each and every action of the Taliban has been not just inhuman but
barbaric. It has put Afghanistan back by 2,000 years.
Does the US think Taliban will usher in a broad-based democracy? Let
the world realise who is doing what. If it rejects the Taliban, it is
also not ready to acknowledge our role as a bulwark against all that
they disapprove.
The reason, perhaps, is because the world is no longer bipolar.
Do you see an early solution?
There has to be a cease-fire followed by talks for a broad-based
government. The Taliban have rejected both. The UN must play a positive
role and we want to be part of it. Tajiks, Pushtoon, Uzbeks, Hazaras
have lived together for hundreds of years. This diversity is our
strength. We are working very hard to keep it. But the Taliban are 99
per cent Pushtoon and do not want to share anything. People want peace,
but not food mixed with poison. The Taliban's peace is contaminated.
Back
Top
|
