On the Taliban and terror, stop irresponsible rhetoric
When intellectuals and public figures espouse dangerous ideas, the effects can be catastrophic on society. I have always been a fan of renowned poet Munawwar Rana, but his statement that the Taliban cannot be considered terrorists but can, at best, be called aggressive, is shocking. Allama Iqbal, the famous poet and composer of the evocative “Sare jahan se achcha Hindostan hamara”, promoted the vision for Pakistan. We are still suffering its consequences.
That is why, when a Muslim Member of Parliament (MP) allegedly compares the Taliban to India’s freedom fighters, or when a member of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board praises the Taliban, we must stop to think about the repercussions that such statements have, now and in the future. These can open old fissures and give communal elements from all sections a chance to exploit the situation.
The Taliban has created problems for the world. When it came to power in Afghanistan in 1996, terrorists from many nations made their way into Kashmir. In December 1999, an Indian Airlines flight from Kathmandu to Delhi was hijacked and taken to Kandahar in Afghanistan. The plane was parked on an airstrip in Kandahar for over 100 hours. Suddenly, anonymous Taliban spokespersons appeared, giving “phone-ins” to emerging private television channels in India demanding that New Delhi release three terrorists — among them Masood Azhar.
Who were those spokespersons? Undoubtedly, this was part of a greater game played by Pakistan’s Inter-services Intelligence (ISI). It was then that former external affairs minister Jaswant Singh left for Kandahar on December 31, 1999, with the terrorists who were released there.
The United States (US) and the rest of the West did not seem to understand the dangerous implications of these developments. It was only after the 9/11 attack that they woke up to reality. The US invaded Afghanistan to get rid of the terrorists in power. Today, the US has withdrawn, leaving the field clear for the Taliban and other terror outfits. The explosion near Kabul airport last Thursday suggests that the Taliban is not the only player in Afghanistan today. The country could well become the epicentre of global terror again, a potentially alarming turn of events for India.
Now, India and other countries will have to wait and watch to decide who they must engage with in the conflict-torn nation. And there is a likelihood of more bloody terror incidents.
The time has come for the powerful countries of the West to abandon their hands-off approach and tackle the growing turmoil caused by terrorism across the world — particularly in Asia and Africa. The Taliban is not alone in its expansion; al-qaeda and other terror groups have also expanded their activities in many African and Asian nations. In collaboration with local jihadi groups, al-qaeda has been wreaking havoc in remote nations in Africa. On August 19, 15 soldiers were killed in Mali. France has been conducting Operation Barkhane in Mali, Chad, Burkina Faso, Mauritania and Niger since August 1, 2014, but to little effect. It is now drawing it down in its current form. These countries may well go the way of Afghanistan if the new proposed international coalition with significant French leadership in the Sahel does not work.
In the name of jihad, these terror groups have killed far more Muslims than so-called infidels. This is why when people like Munawwar Rana make remarks like “we” once ruled Afghanistan, one can only look on in disbelief.
Because of such remarks, egalitarian societies and systems of governance all over the world are being forced to adopt more narrow policies. Let us look at the world before 9/11 and the world we see today. The rules of air travel, for example, have changed so much after that attack. In the name of security checks, people can be detained at the drop of a hat when they travel. As terrorism grows, so does the violation of personal freedoms. All this goes against the concept of the global village.
Why has the world become so helpless? Why is an organisation like the United Nations (UN) not able to do anything meaningful? The UN must make a much greater effort to counter not only the Taliban, al-qaeda and Boko Haram, but illegal acts such as Russia’s bombing of Syria and Israel’s bombing of Lebanon. Whether it is a terrorist incident or a counter-terrorist act, the losers are always innocent citizens. This “chain reaction” must be stopped.
The world’s powerful countries must set aside their differences and unite to deal with terrorist forces. Struggling with a crippling pandemic, the world is no longer in a position to face another brutal attack like 9/11.