Understanding the Pak-Afghan Relationship

 

Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto was Pakistan’s first declared civilian Chief Martial Law Administrator. A ruthless terminator of his political rivals, he was, nevertheless, a pleasant conversationist who accorded due respect to those with whom he felt comfortable. And he plugged hard all those against whom he felt threatened. Remember how he sent his henchmen to break J.A. Rahim’s legs?

Qudrat Ullah Shahab was an ex-bureaucrat with whom Bhutto had worked in Ayub Khan’s government. As the PM in post-71 Pakistan, he always addressed Shahab as “Aap Sahib- Your Excellency”. Bhutto sent Shahab on a comfortable research appointment to the UK to compensate him for the harsh treatment meted out to him by an uncouth (Bud Tameez is the Urdu synonym) and unforgiving Yahya Khan.

Bhutto had a soft corner for the young generation, whom he politically exploited to the hilt. During one of his tours to the army’s forward-defended localities, Bhutto asked a subaltern if he was enjoying his life. 

“How can you enjoy life within a salary of Rs 500 per month, snapped the young officer?” (yes, it was a second lieutenant‘s salary during the 1970s).

Not accustomed to taking such remarks lying down, Bhutto retorted,

“Well! I see you and I are wearing the same type of shoes!”  Replied the officer, “Sir, I wish you were in my shoes”. Bhutto shrugging off salty-tongue remarks by a junior army officer reminded me of the Readers’ Digest condensation of Life after Life, a book on near-death experiences.

Life After Life was a 1975 bestseller by Raymond A. Moody. Jr. M.D.  that has sold more than thirteen million copies around the globe, Life After Life introduced us to concepts—including the bright light, the tunnel, the presence of loved ones waiting on the other side—that have become cultural memes today, and paved the way for modern bestsellers on near-death experiences.

Life review is a phenomenon, widely reported in near-death experiences, in which people see their life history in an instantaneous and rapid manifestation of autobiographical memory. Life review is often described by those who have experienced it as "having their life flash before their eyes".

Afghan irredentism is the popular expression of the Pashtun consciousness centered around the claim to retrieve the so-called Eastern Pashtun Lands – the Pashtun ethnic belt stretching between the River Indus and River Jhelum. Traditionally, this region formed part of Hindustan’s northwest. To the northwest lies the hinterland between modern Pakistan and Chechnya, on the periphery of Russia. We include Chechnya in this hinterland because it was from the region between the Khyber Pass and Chechnya wherefrom the invaders launched forays into Hindustan. Afghans consider themselves heirs to the invading hordes that streamed into Hindustan till the coming of the British. But why do Pakistanis take offence to Afghan irredentism? Why don’t we behave like a mature and self-confident society?       

The collective life review of societies reveals how human beings mature in their behavior and learn to live with life’s absurdities and paradoxes. As case studies, we will probe into this phenomenon by scrutinizing the Scottish and Canadian societies.  

During the Middle Ages (500-1500 CE), Scotland engaged in intermittent conflict with England, most prominently the Wars of Scottish Independence, which saw the Scotts assert their independence from the English. A lot of bad blood was created between England and Scotland due to the beheading of Mary- Queen of Scots. When she was beheaded, her execution was horrendous even by 16th-century standards. Mary was beheaded at Fotheringham Castle on February 8, 1587, following 19 years of imprisonment for her role in a plot to murder her cousin, Queen Elizabeth I. Mary, who was 44 at the time, was executed on the orders of Elizabeth, for her part in what was known as the Babington Plot- a plot allegedly led by Roman Catholic nobleman Anthony Babington.

In the 21^st century, Scottish independence is the idea of Scotland regaining its independence and once again becoming a sovereign state, independent from the United Kingdom. The term Scottish independence refers to the political movement that is campaigning to bring it about. Sean Connery (1930-2020), the 1960s heartthrob in the James Bond movies, was one of the leading lights in the Scottish independence movement. The British never accused Sean Connery, and other Scott separatist leaders, of treason.

A referendum on Scottish independence from the United Kingdom was held in Scotland on 18 September 2014. The referendum question was, "Should Scotland be an independent country?", which voters answered with "Yes" or "No". The "No" side won with 2,001,926 (55.3%) voting against independence and 1,617,989 (44.7%) voting in favour. The turnout of 84.6% was the highest recorded for an election or referendum in the United Kingdom since the January 1910 general election, which was held before the introduction of universal suffrage. What does it say? It says the British democracy is strong enough to weather the storms of separatist tendencies, not only in Scotland but also in Wales.                                                                                                                                                                                                          

Canada is a confederation. A confederation is a political union of sovereign states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with issues, such as defence, foreign relations, internal trade, or currency, with the central government being required to provide support for all its members. Quebec, a province in Canada since its foundation in 1867, has always been the sole majority French-speaking province.

Long ruled by forces (such as the Union Nationale) that focused on the affirmation of the province's Francophone and Catholic identity within Canada, the Quiet Revolution of the early 1960s prompted a surge in civic and economic nationalism, as well as voices calling for the independence of the province and the establishment of a nation-state. Among these was Rene Levesque, who founded the Parti Quebecois (PQ) with like-minded groups seeking independence from Canada. After winning power in 1976, the PQ government held a referendum in 1980 seeking a mandate to negotiate a "sovereign association " with Canada, which was decisively defeated.

In response to the referendum result, Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, father of Justin Trudeau, said that he would seek to patriate the Canadian Constitution and institute what would eventually become the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. During tense negotiations in November 1981, an agreement was reached between Trudeau and nine of the ten provincial premiers by Trudeau, but not Lévesque. Canadian national pride is not hurt and feel threatened by calling their provincial chief executives Prime Ministers. The Constitution Act of 1852 was enacted without the Quebec National Assembly's approval after the Supreme Court of Canada ruled against the Quebec government that its consent was not necessary for constitutional change.

Unlike the Quebec separatists demanding for an independent country, Pashtun nationalists, goaded by Afghan irredentists, are merely clamouring for provincial rights. Why do we treat them like traitors? Even Mujib’s Six Points were a demand for regional autonomy. We charged him with conspiring to turn Pakistan into a confederation (This is what the Yahya government’s White Paper on the March 1971 Army crackdown said). We threw the Bengalis out by presenting East Pakistan to Indira Gandhi on a platter.

The relationship between Afghans and Pakistanis is like a quarreling couple who quarrel from sunrise to sunset but also fear losing each other. We fail to understand that a quarrelsome couple is a normal couple and that the absence of occasional fights in a relationship is the symptom of a disease, something that should be considered as a danger signal, and not be ignored. Simultaneously, we should stop being indifferent to the Pashtun and Baloch nationalists and understand their grievances. A self-confident Pakistan is like a self-confident Bhutto who doesn’t feel threatened by a cocky subaltern of the Pakistan Army. A Pakistan feeling threatened is like Bhutto feeling threatened by Wali Khan and his demand for Pashtun identity.  

Saleem Akhtar Malik

8 March 2024