Misinformation only makes
Afghanistan's task more difficult
M. Ashraf Haidari
September 18, 2011
The Afghan people are going to overcome a set of complex challenges facing
their country. But as in any country, citizens may often be overly worried about
these challenges, or even panic. In Afghanistan's complex environment - where
more than 40 nations work to build peace - public perception can easily be
misled by frequent sensational media reports, which often fail to explain the
cause and sequence of events.
This lack of objective information bolsters enemies' terrorising propaganda,
turning the public against the government and its allies.
Indeed, for an average Afghan, it is difficult to accept without concern the
recent killing of Osama bin Laden in Pakistan, followed by the US announcement
of troop withdrawals from Afghanistan. Both events coincided with the escalation
of insurgent activity including complex suicide attacks and targeted killings of
prominent Afghans. The concern created by these separately evolving events was
further compounded by the financial problems of the Kabul Bank, as well as
judicial efforts to reinstate some candidates into the Afghan parliament.
At the same time, Afghans worry about a lack of sincere regional cooperation
to help stabilise the country, as Afghan villages in a number of eastern
provinces along the Durand Line have come under heavy shelling from within
Pakistan. Attacks have killed and maimed dozens of innocent people and destroyed
property.
Moreover, despite Nato and Afghan efforts to stem the flow of insurgents into
Afghanistan, militants continue to enjoy operational, intelligence and financial
support from within Pakistan. Afghans could conclude that unless enemies are
defeated where they are incubated, nurtured and deployed from, international
military operations in Afghan villages will not help secure the country in the
long run.
And Afghans may worry about the lagging process of finalising the US-Afghan
strategic partnership agreement, since the Afghan people pin their hopes for a
secure future on a solid partnership with the United States.
These converging challenges are normal - any nation in Afghanistan's position
would face the same. Even developed countries are experiencing multiple
domestic, regional and global challenges. In an increasingly interdependent
world, however, nations work bilaterally or multilaterally to overcome problems
that are often shared.
Afghanistan is hardly an exception. The Afghan government is keenly aware of
the security and economic problems that it shares with other states in the
region and beyond, and is doing its part to address these problems on its own
and in partnership with the international community.
At the same time, however, there is positive momentum for the Afghan people
to be hopeful about their future. The fact that enemies increasingly resort to
suicide attacks and assassinations demonstrates the increased capability of the
Afghan national security forces to win in conventional combat. This forces
enemies to engage in cowardly attacks that cost their own lives and
indiscriminately kill and maim civilians.
The Afghan government supports the phased withdrawal of Nato forces from
Afghanistan, as Afghans gradually gain the capacity and resources to rebuild and
defend their country. For that to happen, the government has initiated a
conditions-based transition to Afghan responsibility, where the international
community should increasingly focus reconstruction and stabilisation efforts on
enabling Afghanistan to execute its sovereign responsibilities on a sustainable
basis.
The government has taken serious steps towards resolving Afghanistan's
financial and legislative problems, while pursuing a vigorous diplomatic and
military dialogue with the government of Pakistan to end the indiscriminate
shelling of villages in eastern Afghanistan. Meanwhile, Afghanistan's national
defence forces reserve the right to respond to any unwarranted foreign
aggression that violates Afghanistan's sovereignty and territorial integrity
under the United Nations Charter.
And in an effort to consolidate the achievements of the past decade,
Afghanistan and the United States are seeking a long-term strategic partnership
agreement. The first round of bilateral meetings between Afghan and US officials
took place last July, and both sides made significant progress in discussing
their concerns and interests to help to institutionalise and sustain the
progress the people of Afghanistan have made.
The Afghan people and the constituents of Nato countries, who continue to
support Afghanistan generously, must recognise that these converging challenges
that are confronting Afghanistan are not extraordinary. They are simply complex
problems that occur in a difficult environment such as Afghanistan. But they can
and should be resolved with time, patience and cooperation from the
international community.
The Afghan government is doing its part to find durable solutions to current
or emerging problems, while making sure that none of Afghanistan's hard-earned
democratic achievements are overlooked.
M Ashraf Haidari is a senior policy and oversight adviser of Afghanistan's
National Security Council.
The above article originally appeared in
The National. Reprinted here with permission from the author.
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