Political rumbling...Taliban crumbling?

Editorial

Last week witnessed a number of political plays that may prove useful in untying the knot in Afghanistan's burgeoning crisis. While few are concerned with ending the barbarities wrought on the people of Afghanistan -- hunger, poverty, disease, forced deportation, ethnic cleansing, cultural devastation, and so on, courtesy of Pakistan's Pervez Musharraf and the prophesized one-eyed Dajjal (Anti-Christ), or Mulla Omar -- many of this week's news items, interviews and statements from Afghans and international actors may possibly coalesce into significant results.

Russian president Vladimir Putin's visit to India dealt with several issues pertinent to relations between Moscow and New Delhi, including Afghanistan. The two powerhouses agreed on the formation of a joint working group to focus on increasing terrorist threats emanating from Taliban-occupied parts of Afghanistan.

Meanwhile, in the United States, where popular media has for many years now been silent -- voluntarily or involuntarily -- over the Afghan tragedy, two important events -- some would say miracles -- took place.

First was Congressman Tom Campbell's bill (faxed to Omaid Weekly and available at www.omaid.com), passed by the House International Relations Committee and to be voted on by the House and Senate this week, which calls for US support for the establishment of a representative government in Afghanistan, and an end to terrorist activities and human rights abuses.

The second "miracle" was an appearance by Karl F. Inderfurth, the US Assistant Secretary of State for South Asian Affairs, on Voice of America's Dari, Pashto and Urdu services, in which he indicated US support for the Indo-Russian working group and the Rome Loya Jirga peace process.

Inderfurth said the US position has not changed on the subject of United Nations recognition for the Taliban. He said Taliban military victories are not the key for legitimacy. Inderfurth said he does not foresee any such developments in the UN, which recognizes the administration of President Burhanuddin Rabbani. Addressing the Indo-Russian working group, Inderfurth said the US sees this as a positive development, citing recent Indo-US talks on the subject and an upcoming visit by US Under Secretary of State Thomas Pickering to Russia to discuss Afghanistan.

Replying to a question on his visit to Italy and the proposed Loya Jirga, Inderfurth said both the US and Italy firmly support the peace initiative of former Afghan king Mohammad Zahir Shah.

When asked about US views on the Taliban militia, Inderfurth asserted that Washington is not against the Afghan people nor Islam, but that it vehemently opposes the brutal treatment of women and girls, and drug trafficking. He said UN sanctions -- approved by all fifteen members of the Security Council, including China and a number of Muslim countries -- target the Taliban militia, not the Afghan people. He accused the Taliban of training terrorists and harboring Osama bin Laden and ilk.

And rounding out last week's propitious political events, was the timely and critical meeting of United Front leaders and allies in Mashad. Ahmad Shah Masood, supreme commander of the Afghan government's United Front national resistance force, convened a gathering to deliberate the next step in defeating the Pakistani invasion. The meeting set out plans to resume resistance activities in strategic regions: the southwest, west, northwest and central areas. And may the Almighty grant them success.

So what are we to conclude from these political rumblings? A ray of hope. Both international developments and domestic activities point to the coming of more favorable conditions for the success of the Afghan people's struggle for freedom, sovereignty and peace.

Productive cooperation between Russia and India, together with US Congressional movement should help to reign-in Pakistan's rampant military men. This would practically pull the rug from under the Taliban monstrosity. And if Inderfurth's words hold true -- that is, those words are put into action -- then perhaps it can cultivate a political environment conducive to a sound solution to the crisis.

On the domestic front, the Rome initiative and last week's Bonn assembly are potentially two major pieces in solving Afghanistan's political puzzle, provided that they express full support of our nation's national resistance force and their decisions are beneficial to the efforts of the United Front. Because in the end, it will be the brave and courageous freedom fighters of Afghanistan's United Front national resistance force that will expel from our nation rabid Arab terrorists, murderous Punjabis, Sindhis and Pathans, the Taliban war machine and the Pakistani invaders.

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Italy declares "full support" for Loya Jirga process

Rome, Oct 3 (Omaid): In a press statement received by Omaid Weekly, Italy's Ministry for Foreign Affairs affirmed Rome's support for the Loya Jirga (Grand National Assembly) proposal of former Afghan king Mohammad Zahir Shah.

In a late-September visit to Kabul, Italian deputy foreign minister Ugo Intini hinted at his country's possible recognition of the Taliban militia as Afghanistan's legitimate rulers. He further claimed that Zahir Shah's peace plan was no longer feasible.

However, a carefully drafted press statement from the Italian Foreign Ministry explained that the "objective of the visit was to study the means of developing programs with Italian cooperation to alleviate the hardship of the Afghan people."

Strongly disclaiming Intini's remarks, the statement said that in the context of Italy's efforts to foster a settlement to the Afghan crisis, "the Loya Jirga, as a traditional mechanism for expressing the will of the Afghan people, is the most valid option for bringing peace."

The statement went on to reiterate that Rome "fully supports the implementation" of the Grand National Assembly. "The 'humanitarian corridor' or 'workshop'," the statement said in reference to a project proposed by Intini to the Taliban militia and United Front, "may represent a step in the direction of the actualization of the Loya Jirga."

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APDA lauds proposed US House bill

Washington, DC, Oct 7 (Omaid): In a letter to Congressman Benjamin Gilman, chairman of the House International Relations Committee of the United States Congress, the Association for Peace and Democracy for Afghanistan expressed its appreciation of the Committee's "goodwill efforts" in passing a bill that states US support for the Loya Jirga peace process.

The bill, titled "Relating to the reestablishment of representative government in Afghanistan (H.CON.RES.414)," was drafted by California congressman Tom Campbell and co-sponsored by representatives Dana Rohrabacher, Tom Lantos, Edward Royce, John Porter, Joseph Pitts and Doug Bereuter.

The bill was approved by the Committee on October 3 and it now faces a vote in the House of Representatives and the US Senate. Representative Campbell said he is "confident the resolution will pass both chambers [of Congress]."

The APDA is the premier Afghan political organization in the West.

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The Nadir Shah gov't and the people of Kapisa & Parwan, Part 2 

A selection from the late-Mir Gholam M. Ghobar's "Afghanistan in the Course of History II." Translated and submitted to Omaid Weekly by Dr. Sherief Fayez. Continued from a previous issue.

Whether Mr. Mengal Sing was inspired by the central government or by a colonial government, we cannot say much unless this religious father himself resolves the issue. Up to this writing, Mr. Mengal Sing is living a prosperous, safe, and secure life in Kabul and Shamali.

Under the name of re-organizing Kapisa and Perwan, the government, besides military deployments, also sent to the area a team, led by Mirza M.Yaqub, governor of Kabul. The team was under the command of Abdol Wakil Nuristani, a deputy marshal, who put a great deal of pressure on the people by collecting arms and money from them. The team, which proved by its action that the government's amnesty for the people of Kapisa and Kohdaman was nothing more than rhetoric, returned to Kabul in the winter of 1929.

At the same time, the government had obtained from 125 former officials of the Saqqao government a statement, which was signed by Atta M. Kohestani, former governor of Balkh, Mirbaba Saheb Charikari, former governor of Qataghan and Badakhshan province, Khaja Miralam, brother of former minister of the interior, and several others. In the statement, they had claimed that Wali Khan, Amanollah's envoy, had been involved in the Saqqao rebellion against the former king. Then the government arrested, tried, and finally executed him.

In the summer of 1930, the Kalakan people revolted against the regime's military pressure. About 700 of them attacked the local government center and the Sakhlu Camp in the area. The government dispatched to the area an army unit, led by Seyyid Abdollah Shahji, deputy marshal, and Abdol Wakil. In the fighting between the local people and army forces, the deputy marshal was killed and Shahji managed to escape. The king built on Dehmazang Square a monument in honor of Abdol Wakil, as if he was a martyr in action against foreigners. Subsequently, Mohammad Ghous, burning local forts and throwing prisoners off the towers along the way, arrived with a new force in Shamali.

In August 1830, Mohammad Golkhan Mohmand, the interior minister, became governor of the province, with full military power. Mercenary forces, particularly from Paktia, were pouring into the area. Shahji was engaged in recruiting, organizing, and dispatching forces to Shamali. Islah newspaper (Asad Issues of 1309) wrote that the number of these forces from the tribes of Ahmadzai, Karokhel, Jaji, Mengal, Tutikhel, Waziri, and from the Wardak, Maidan, and Tagau areas was estimated at 25,000-armed men, not counting government troops.

What was the mission of M.Golkhan with this massive mercenary and military force in the Kapisa-Perwan province? What kinds of secret instructions were Allah Nawaz Hindustani, the king's advisor, and Faiz M. Zakriya, the foreign minister, passing to M. Golkhan when constantly moving back and forth between Kabul and Qala-e Morad Beg, his military headquarters? The answer to this question is quite evident in the actions and behaviors of M. Golkhan in this province.

Continued in future issues...

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