September 11,2001, the world changed forever when hijacked planes hit the twin towers of New York, the Pentagon and the open fields of Pennsylvania in what is still the worst terrorist attack on American soil. America’s attitude towards the Muslim world took a new turn as Islamic governments were clearly told to take sides.
Afghanistan, led by the brutal Islamic hardliner, Taliban, was the hot-bed of Osama Bin Laden’s Al Qaeda, responsible for the horrific events in New York and Washington, was US’s prime target. The events following the attacks on America are not new to us as the Taliban was crushed and the poor Afghan people were liberated from the tough Islamic fundamentalists. Both America and most of the democratic world celebrated the liberation of Afghanistan and heralded a new era for the troubled South Asian nation.
As Hamid Karzai elected as the head of the country, many looked forward to a new Afghanistan, which has a history of bitter wars between various warlords within the country. It was certainly a difficult task bringing the powerful warlords and their tribes together under one flag, but the new Afghan President with help of US, United Nations, and NATO adopted a new constitution in early January, 2004 establishing Afghanistan as an Islamic Republic.
Contrary to many expectations, the transition of Afghanistan, from a rogue state to a stable nation, has not been smooth at all. Despite NATO and UN forces being present in the lengths and breadths of Afghanistan, violence is on the rise in every major Afghan city including the capital.
Kabul, in spite of all efforts of NATO forces and the newly formed Afghan national army, pockets of Taliban and Al Qaeda militants still carry out daring suicide bombings on the country’s politicians including the President Hamid Karzai, who narrowly escaped an assassination bid. Adding to this, neighboring Pakistan, a close ally of the Taliban, did not extend a helping hand to her troubled neighbor but continuously supplies arms and money to extremists through its dreaded intelligence agency, ISI. Recently, pressurized by the US, President Musharraf had acted in somewhat positive manner by hunting down the militants in the North-west Frontier, but problem stands as high as it used to be.
With growing casualties among NATO forces, the participating countries are feeling pressure from their citizens for the troops’ withdrawal from Afghanistan. But both Afghanistan and the international community, especially the Americans, know that leaving the country would spell disaster as the Afghans are not yet trained enough to handle the country on their own. Furthermore, with such a powerful enemy in the form of the Taliban getting more powerful in the country day by day, world peace could again be horribly compromised.
Another controversy has suddenly erupted. According to the Afghan government news agency, mass execution of Afghan prisoners had taken place on Sunday evening in a Kabul prison, which many say that President Hamid Karzai had violated an international agreement. According to the agreement, international forces would handover the captured militants to Afghans only if they do not carry out capital punishment. As the report is still sketchy, it is to be seen whether the Afghans had violated the agreement. If it turns out to be true, some NATO countries, where capital punishment is strictly prohibited, may start to consider their troop withdrawal. Then that will be a major cause for concern in Afghanistan’s bid to become a stable and prosperous nation.
