Prior to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in December 1979, this landlocked country largely remained away from media spotlight. It all started in 1973 when Daoud Khan overthrew King Zahir Shah in a bloodless coup to become the first president of Afghanistan. That kicked off a series of coups and countercoups. In April 1978, the communist People’s Democratic Party of Afghanistan took over. In September the following year, President Nur Taraki was assassinated in a coup orchestrated by Hafizullah Amin, who assumed presidency. In the December of 1979, Soviet Special Forces assassinated him. In the aftermath Babrak Karmal became president and subsequently Soviet troops entered the rugged terrains of Afghanistan and the rest is history. Since then this country has always remained in the news.
Afghans have earned praise from across the globe for defying Taleban by going to vote in droves. Several deadly clashes were reported but the Afghans appeared determined to exercise their right to choose their leadership. I wonder what if Afghanistan had been left alone after the Soviet invasion.
In the aftermath of the Soviet invasion, Afghanistan became the final battleground for the Soviet Union and the United States. The world was divided into two blocs, the eastern and the western due to which many other players got involved in the conflict that proved to be the final round of the then lingering Cold War. Had the world not interfered then, the Soviets would have pulled out within a few years. The USSR was on the brink of a financial collapse. There would have been destruction and collateral damage but not of the magnitude that we witness today.
Above all there would have been no Taleban or Al-Qaeda and who knows maybe 9/11 would have never taken place. In other words, we turned a peaceful country into the most dangerous place on earth where apparently people just want to fight. It became a place where Muslims are fighting among each other, attack other Muslim countries and when possible attack non-Muslims. Ironically many of the dead westerners killed by Taleban in Afghanistan were there to help the Afghans and wanted to show the world the other side of the story and expose the Taleban. In other words, the world only saw the dark side of Afghanistan.
Until the 1970s, Afghanistan used to be a beautiful country with advanced social and political cultures. All you need is to look at the old photos of Afghanistan and its people and you will see beautiful clean streets, modern hospitals and university campuses. Now, Afghanistan is at a crossroads. It is only the Afghans who can bring back security and stability to their country. It is impossible to run the clock backward but it is never too late to rebuild a country, although this needs an iron will. Those Afghans who are fighting along the Taleban side must realize that they can never achieve anything through coercive measures.
Afghanistan is a country with people from diverse ethnic backgrounds. It is a country with fertile lands and enough water for irrigation and has large deposits of minerals such as iron and copper. Afghanistan can go back to the good old days, the days of stability and prosperity. At the end, I wish the world leaves Afghanistan alone to deal with its internal problems. As a matter of fact, the world’s superpowers should leave smaller and poorer countries alone. The US and the then USSR lost tens of thousands of their finest young men and women in the aftermath of their interventions in Vietnam and Afghanistan.
There still are chances for Afghanistan to become an effective member in the international arena. The internal disputes between various tribes and factions will only bring more bloodshed. The more stable Afghanistan, the faster the country can be rebuilt.
It is imperative that the next Afghan president focuses on rebuilding the country’s civic and economic infrastructure. The Afghan people can do it and the whole world is ready to extend a helping hand. But the Afghans are the ones who must take the first step.
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