BRAVING denials for centuries and decades of death and destruction, the Afghans finally appear to be holding the reins of power in their own land. The harrowing stories of butchery afflicted on them by the invaders beginning with the British, followed through by the Soviet Union and ending with the carnage committed by the US forces culminating in their being shamefully routed out have been broadcast and relayed exhaustively both through mainstream and social media. I have no doubt we all are waiting open-mouthed with unabated breath to see the events that would be unfolding in the coming days in the war-ravaged country. It is a mixed feeling of confusion, apprehension, anxiety, insecurity and expectation.

The forthcoming situation hovering over Afghanistan, either for the better or worse, would hardly remain confined to its own frontiers. Its ripple effects are bound to be felt not only by the neighbours but all by others around the world with far-reaching consequences. If it is not handled with care and humanism, the prevailing veil of placidity may soon turn into an uncontainable tempest squandering the imperturbability of the dominant powers. It does not, however, have to be that way.

The Afghans are a warrior nation, fanatically nationalistic. While they never accepted foreign dominion and at no time allowed external marauders to rest in peace, they never displayed any appetite for grabbing other’s land. Why then did a countless number of interlopers unceasingly encroach on their land?

The underlying reasons for the unending allurement and lust can be summarised thus:

— The vast swath of untapped mineral resources lying hidden in the desert and the mountainous country and the surrounding region.

— The geostrategic location of the country with Iran, the rising power in the west, China and Russia, the emerging superpowers in the north, Pakistan and India, the avowed arch-enemies in the east and the all important Indian Ocean in the south, not to mention the unwaning US interest in the region.

— The implantation of terrorism and the denigration of the Muslims with the hate-cry of Islamophobia.

The grounds for concern and the premises of interest listed above, justified or unwarranted, could be ironed out amicably through a humanist approach to the complete satisfaction of all parties. Since no country, irrespective of its wealth and military might, can ever be conclusively self-sufficient, interdependence has turned into both a convention and a necessity. The industrialised world may avail the rich mineral deposits of Afghanistan at fair prices while at the same time ensure the transfer of technology for speeding up reconstruction and the pace of development in the land they battered for centuries.

On the geostrategic side, a multilateral consensus preferably under the auspices of the United Nations to preserve the neutrality of Afghanistan would work as a bastion against all uncalled-for foreign interference. Such a step would forestall the apprehension of the dominant powers against each other in their eternal race for domination.

‘Islamic terrorism’, the oft-cited pretext for invasion against Muslim countries, has now been proven otherwise. Terrorism and terrorists more often than not are the creation of imperialists and neo-colonial powers. Correspondingly, under the banner of Islamophobia, Muslims around the world have been stigmatised and demonised as a global ‘other’, subjected to legal, social and political discrimination leading to pre-contrived military aggression against their countries. As in other parts of the world, the Afghan Muslims have never taken up arms against any aliens except in cases when their independence, sovereignty, culture and religion have been threatened with decimation.

An ambiance of non-belligerence is propitious to the prevalence of peace and mutual development. We, therefore, make a clarion call for all parties involved to strive for peace. Having gone through untold sufferings for centuries, the Afghans deserve peace and stability. The present leaders need time to settle down. They are attuned to the needs of their people more than the outsiders. Rather than raising alarms and pronouncing condemnation, benevolence and positive assistance free of all strings would encourage them to transform their land into a democratic and peaceful habitat. With the resources at disposal and the amazingly hard-working people, Afghanistan could be turned into a Switzerland of the east. The west owes a lot to the Afghans for all the destruction they have caused to them. It is time for them to recompense and certainly not repeat past misadventures and avidity.

As Alexander the Great remarked, the vanquished must remember that ‘It is easy to march into Afghanistan but hard to march out.’

Mudassir Hossain Khan is Bir Protik.