Language Diplomacy: An Attempt of Kabul-Islamabad to improve relations!
For last six decades Kabul and Islamabad had conflict based on language and tribe. One of the most important issues of conflict between both the countries was language and tribe. In contrast to other world, mutual language and tribe became the reason of conflict between these two countries. Sometime Kabul would arise because of imprisonment of Pashtun political leaders, and sometimes because of unity of western Pakistan. And because of this Afghanistan would give place in its heart to Pakistani Pashtuns. But Pakistan would say that the mentioned activity of Afghanistan is its intervention in the internal affairs. As Afghanistan is the original place of Pashtuns, so Afghanistan felt responsibility for the rights of Pashtuns; on the other hand, Pakistan blamed Pashtun Nationalist Political Parties that why they had closed and warm relationship with their Pashtun brothers living in Kabul? Therefore, the mutual language and mutual tribe in both the countries was the cause of danger for Pashtuns living in both sides of the border.
Though there was close relationships between Afghan and Pakistani Pashtuns up to 1979, but the relationship of Kabul and Pashtun tribe was lost immediately with the Soviet Union invasion of Afghanistan, and instead of Kabul, the tribal areas built its relationship with Islamabad; because, after the withdraw of the Soviet Union forces from Afghanistan, Afghanistan moved to such a direction that even now it cannot think of anyone else except itself.
After the incident of 9/11 of 2001, Hamid Karzai became the leader of Afghanistan; he then followed the old politics of the country and consequently invited the Pashtun leaders to Kabul.
As earlier Pakistan was concerned about the mentioned policy of Kabul, finally General Musharraf ended that policy, and started Loya Jirgas – Big Councils- between Afghanistan and Pakistan. Though those councils did not play an important role in the construction of the relationships, but it created a formal plate form for Pashtuns living at both sides of the border.
Shared Language-Shared Nation: Mixture of Influential Diplomacy
In the world there are two types of diplomacies; first one is formal diplomacy among governments and their relations, and the second one, which is more influential, is relationship and interaction between nations and people.
As Pakistan got its independency, Afghanistan started its relationship with Pakistan. That time, the Afghan King Mohammad Zahir Shah sent his ambassador to the national father of Pakistan, Mohammad Ali Jinah, and he accepted the ambassador. But the relationships between the nation of both countries started from 1979, while more than five million Afghans migrated to Pakistan, and from that time up to date the nations of both the countries have strong relationships with each other.
Though during the Cold War both the countries faced many challenges because of the shared language and shared nation, as it is earlier mentioned, Kabul would rise its voice against Islamabad for the actions of Islamabad against Pashtuns and Pashtun leaders, and Islamabad was also concerned that why Kabul is concerned about the rights of Pakistani Pashtuns? And Pakistan would say that the mentioned policy of Kabul is intervention in the internal affairs of Pakistan. But currently both the countries find out that by using the same weakness, they have to rebuild relationship with each other, and trust each other.
Pakistani diplomats of the foreign ministry of Pakistan and other Pakistanis also believe that by using the shared language they cannot only remove misunderstanding between Afghanistan and Pakistan, but also can build relationships, they are hopeful for the attempts and they call it language diplomacy[1].
Pashtun Politicians’ visit to Kabul:
Last week President Ashraf Ghani invited the leaders of Pakistani Pashtun nationalist, religious, and secular political parties to Kabul, as the result of which Mahmood Khan Achakzai, Afrasiab Khatak, and Aftab Sherpaw came to Kabul for a two-day trip, but Maulana Fazulrahman did not come. Those leaders met with President, CEO, ex-President, Chief of Peace High Council, National Security Advisory Chief, MPs, and some other politicians at Kabul.
The mentioned Pashtun leaders spoke about the issues related to the eastern parts of Afghanistan, Khyber Pakhtonkhwa(KPK), Baluchistan, and other tribal Pashtuns; for example, improvement of security in both countries, “mutual struggle against terrorism”, solving the issues of Afghan migrants in Pakistan, and so on.
The mentioned trip was an attempt to remove distrust between the two countries, especially between Afghanistan and Khyber Pashtonkhwa, nothing else. Because the mentioned Pakistani delegations is not able to impact even the state government of Khyber Pashtonkhwa, while the central Pakistani government is totally out of their control. It was important that the Afghan government should have invited at least the members of Pakistani Tahrik-e-Insaf from Peshawar, or the state ministers of Khyber Pashtonkhwa state government.
Approachable Relations:
With the inauguration of the new unity government, for the first time Pakistan felt that after the overthrow of the Taliban regime, it can build relationship with Afghanistan. Earlier the Pakistani diplomats and media would call President Karzai unpredictable; therefore Pakistani leaders have done trips to Kabul. Kabul also attempts to build its economic, transit, and business, and security relations with the Pakistani Government, especially Kabul wants Islamabad’s cooperation in the peace process. The desire of both sides would be clarified with the examples of the trips done during the presidency of Ashraf Ghani:
- Trip of Pakistani President Mamnoon Hussain during the inauguration ceremony of President Ashraf Ghani to Kabul.
- A visit of Pakistani Prime minister Nawaz Sharif’s foreign policy advisor Sartaj Aziz to Kabul.
- Trip of the General Chief of Pakistani Army Raheel Sharif to Kabul.
- The three trips of the ISI chief Rezwan Akhtar to Kabul (first trip was on his first day of duty, second one was with Raheel Sharif –which was because of the bloody attack of Peshawar on December 16th 2014-, and the third trip was on January 12th 2015).
- Trip of President Ashraf Ghani to Islamabad.
- Trip of General Chief of Afghan Army Sher Mohammad Karimi to Rawalpindi.
- Trip of Afghan MPs to Pakistan.
- Trip of the Afghan Acting Industry and Commerce Minister Muzammil Shinwarai to Pakistan.
- Trip of the political parties’ delegation of Pakistan to Kabul.
There is the possibility of trips of the Chief of Afghan High Peace Council Salahuddin Rabbani and Afghan CEO Dr. Abdullah Abdullah.
After the inauguration of the new unity government in Afghanistan the trips between Afghanistan and Pakistan are more than ever, but still it is not clear either these trips and close relations will have positive results on the peace process or not? Kabul is interested in close relations with Pakistan, because Kabul believes that the key of peace is in Pakistan.
[1]InamullahKhattack, Pakistan launches Pashto Diplomacy to woo Kabul, The Nation, 11 Jan 2015, see it online: <http://nation.com.pk/national/11-Jan-2015/pakistan-launches-pashto-diplomacy-to-woo-kabul>