Karzai, BSA and Afghanistan

By. Javed Ali Kalhoro

Published in weekly Pulse magazine
Dated. March 03, 2014


The future of Afghanistan depends upon the signing of Bilateral Security Agreement (BSA). The
international community, especially the US, is eying on the agreement to be signed soon because
if the agreement is not signed by the Afghan President [either current president or the next one],
it would not only result into a new bunch of issues like further deterioration of law and order
situation in the country, but can also affect the overall economic development of the country as
well.

On the other hand, it is being said that Afghan President Hamid Karzai is trying to develop
contacts with the Taliban to re-establish his old contacts in order to pave way for his political
role in Afghanistan in future. Probably the entire world was expecting the same from Mr. Karzai
that he would definitely be contacting with the people; who somehow could not be killed by the
various operations against them by international troops in Afghanistan.

Hamid Karzai, a 56-year-old man, is trying to make lame excuses with the Taliban for not
helping them at the time when they needed him. He desires their sympathies to realize them that
he is not comfortable with Americans. His decision of not signing the Bilateral Security
Agreement (BSA) can be one of the indicators of showing Taliban how much he hates U.S
policies after enjoying his presidential seat since December 2001.

US former ambassador to EU and initiator of Bonn conference of Afghanistan, James F. Dobbins
in his book After the Taliban Nation-Building in Afghanistan tells that. Gen. Tommy Franks,
who headed the US Central Command, based at Tampa, Florida (in 2001), gets a message from
his staff that; Hamid Karzai, who is leading a small band of insurgents into southern Afghanistan
had come under attack from Taliban forces and radioed for help. Surrounded and about to be
overrun, Karzai had been rescued by a Helicopter-born American rescue squad. This shows that
Karzai had full support and backing of US forces, before his name was proposed to lead the new
Govt. in Kabul.

After enjoying his tenure as the Afghanistan President for more than a decade, various
international tours and billions of dollars even being responsible for the killings of thousands of
Afghans, and after being an active supporter of U.S policies in Afghanistan, Mr. Karzai has
finally realized that he is nobody without the support of Taliban if he wants to enjoy a fully-
fledged political career in Kabul any more.

On other hand, Mr. Karzai has sent his partners from the same think tank to negotiate with
Taliban in various parts of Afghanistan, Dubai and in Saudi Arabia. He desires that if Taliban
come to rule Kabul either in the form of an elected democratic government or by the using power
then he should be in a position to live a safe and secure life in Afghanistan. In short, he is trying
to save his kith and kin. But the question still remains there. Will Taliban really forget him?

Mr. Karzai is forgetting what he has been doing to his own people. Various videos on YouTube
and other sites have shown his security officials firing on innocent people who paid a heavy price
of being the inhabitants of Afghanistan and the masses of President Karzai. Mr Karzai has
double standard as he is now consecutively criticizing NATO and the US for not delivering
anything to his people for whom this gentleman had been fighting for long.

It is obvious that the ignorance to BSA may lead Afghanistan to face the worst economic crises,
as no country including U.S would be able to provide any financial assistance to Afghanistan
after withdrawal of NATO forces from the country. The survey reports show that the Afghans
are not optimistic about the future of their country. Most of them believe that no financial
assistance will be provided to Afghanistan after the NATO forces leave their country. The results
of this pessimistic approach are hilarious in a way that the farmers in various villages have
started sowing the seeds of poppy crop twice the quantity they were used to sow in past.
Obviously, they are feeling that post-withdrawal they could be able to earn their bread and butter
only by cultivating the poppy crop and then smuggling it to the other parts of the world.

To make money by smuggling or through other malpractices is the thing Afghans would like to
opt for as their source of income after the NATO forces leave Afghanistan. Various international
media organizations working in Afghanistan have been publishing the real stories of corruption
taking place by the Afghan government as well. This corruption has urged the masses to opt for
government jobs as they take this situation as a chance to earn money more and more. On the
other hand, the Afghan families who once were very much keen in getting jobs in Afghan Army
for their sons have now trying to be diverted towards getting government jobs in different
ministries, no matter at every available post. They think that they can earn more money [by
corruption] than taking their lives at risks.

Corruption and embezzlement has skyrocketed in Afghanistan. This can be judged from an
incident when recently some government officials illegally withdrew almost one million dollars
from different bank accounts of two international aid development organizations and UN agency,
which are already working there for the betterment of Afghans.

Survey indicates that majority of Afghan people have started buying modern weapons to save
them from the clutches of the Afghan police force. They say Afghan police are the most corrupt
department of the country as mostly police officers after kidnapping their relatives/kids pertain
as they have been kidnapped by some militant groups. They demand huge amount of money as
ransom and in this way adding a huge amount in their exchequers consecutively. The corruption
in police department can also be judged by the fact that dozens of weapons like AK47 and
Russian pistols are being sold openly in city markets but police is not interested in taking any
step in this regard. A simple gun in Afghanistan without license does cost no more than 100$.

In brief, it is not wrong to say that the future of Afghanistan has become a smoke screen and this
screen is showing just a dark picture. There is an uncertainty between the non-governmental
organizations what will happen if the BSA is not signed and international troops, who were
providing them safety, would no more be available for them. Frankly speaking, Afghanistan has
been left alone with its bunch of issues; the problems which have been created by its own people
followed by their loving President Karzai.
ENDS