A Brief Colonial History Of Ceylon(SriLanka)
Sri Lanka: One Island Two Nations
A Brief Colonial History Of Ceylon(SriLanka)
Sri Lanka: One Island Two Nations
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Thiranjala Weerasinghe sj.- One Island Two Nations
?????????????????????????????????????????????????Monday, May 15, 2017
Future of Pak-Afghan Relations
( May 13, 2017, Islamabad, Sri Lanka Guardian) The
so-called Durand Line frontier between Pakistan and Afghanistan was
drawn by the British in 1896. This frontier line has been witnessing
unpleasant reaction of the Afghan government since Pakistan began
patrolling along it last year. This 2,600 km long border line has ever
been under severe tension. Recently Pakistan has closed its border with
Afghanistan after the increasing tension between the two countries. The
situation along this border became more tense when on 5th of this May
Afghan border forces opened fire on Pakistan’s security personnel
guarding a census team in Balochistan’s Chaman area. At least nine
people were killed and over 40 others injured as a result of this
firing. Pakistan’s military’s media wing said narrating the details that
Afghan Border Police had been creating hurdles in conduct of census in
divided villages of Killi Luqman and Killi Jahangir in Chaman area on
Pakistani side of the border since April 30. After this grave loss the
security forces of Pakistan had to pay back in the same coin. Media says
more than 50 Afghan security personnel were killed and another 100
injured. However, the Inspector General Frontier Corps Balochistan Maj.
Gen Nadeem Anjum said, “We are not happy over their losses since they
are our Muslim brothers”. A senior officer of the Pakistan Army General
Amir Riaz said talking to the media reporters on the same issue that the
situation will remain the same “until Afghanistan changes its
behaviour”. He further said that Afghanistan would not benefit from such
attacks in any way and that the Afghan government should be ashamed of
such acts.
Practically there had been two different incidents along the Durand
Line; one of unprovoked firing on innocent Pakistani civilians and
second of Pakistan’s response to this injustice; but it is something
very unfair that Indian patronized Afghan media is trying to tell the
world a one-sided story in which Afghanistan is being portrayed as a
helpless and voiceless country which is in serious trouble at the hands
of Pakistan. The Indian patronized Afghan media is trying to show the
world that picture of Afghanistan which actually never belonged to
Afghanistan. The land red poppies, the safe haven of suicide bombers and
a paradise of across the borders miscreants is being painted as a very
peaceful and safe country where all people are very happy with the
Ashraf Ghani government; where the people have no reservations regarding
Indian interference in the country; and where the Taliban have
comfortably adjusted them with the present political scenario of
Afghanistan with US sending more troops. But the realities are
altogether otherwise there in Afghanistan. If Afghanistan were really
such a beautiful land of peace and prosperity, millions of Afghans
living in Pakistan would not have flatly refused to go back to their own
country. For the last many decades Afghanistan has simply been a
battle-field, a land of war-lords. No institution, no production, no
system; Pakistan knows it very well that its own political, social and
economic stability is directly linked with the peace and prosperity of
Afghanistan; same thing is also to the knowledge of all hostile forces
active in Afghanistan. They know it very well that by destabilizing
Afghanistan, Pakistan shall be directly affected.
Earlier these hostile forces had been trying to play the same game in
Pakistan but Pakistan’s security forces and the government did not let
them play. So now they are trying to kill two birds with one stone.
Blaming Pakistan for Mazar-e-Sharif suicide attack and for other
terrorist activities in Afghanistan is also a part of the same game.
Sometimes it seems a hobby or a technical compulsion or an instinct of
some people that they don’t feel satisfied unless they drag Pakistan and
its Army into the affairs which in no way belong to both of them. Just
cast a look at the recent suicide attack in Mazar-e-Shareef Afghanistan
in which a group of disguised suicide attackers manning national army
vehicles targeted an army base. In this deadly attack more than 140
Afghan soldiers were killed and countless injured. US military sources
confirmed the presence of some important coalition personnel inside the
Mazar-i-Sharif base but they all remained safe and there were no reports
of casualties among their number. Just after the attacks a senior
American military official in Kabul said that it appears likely the
attack was either carried out by or planned by a Pakistan-based Taliban
faction known as the Haqqani network which is a U.S.
government-designated terrorist organization. The official added that
the assault likely took four to six months to plan and that it was also
likely the attackers had help in advance from Afghan troops on the base.
The same story was narrated by a spokesman of the Afghan Ministry of
External Affairs but in different words. He said, “The terrorist attack
is a stark reminder of the need to immediately dismantle the safe havens
and sanctuaries that support and sustain terrorism in Afghanistan from
outside its borders.” All these statements and analysis prove that the
actual motive behind this ready-made attack on Mazar-e-Shareef base was
to fix and frame Pakistan and to prepare ground for the recent bombing
on innocent Pakistani citizens.
Blaming Pakistan for all that goes wrong in Afghanistan is not the
solution; the Afghan government must try to search for the facilitators
of such terrorist activities from within Afghanistan. These facilitators
might be among the US troops or among those local Afghans who are
playing in the hands of Indian intelligence agencies and might be hidden
in the ranks and files of Afghan police and army. Reports say that
there are more than 30000 ghost soldiers in ANSF and many more aligned
to warlords with tribal loyalties. Even Taliban are also not happy with
the Ashraf Ghani government. Ashraf Ghani government must not waste it
time and resources in defaming Pakistan for the things Pakistan has
nothing to do with. This behaviour of the Afghan government would simply
add more miseries to the millions of Afghan refugees in Pakistan.