Democracy conquers Afghanistan

By. JAVED ALI KALHORO

The riter is Journa!ist an" #h. D stu"ent at $D%& Is!ama'a"
He can 'e reache" at (a)e"*han+us,hotmai!.com
The essence of democracy around the globe is the popular sovereignty that the people
enjoy it independently. The people of Afghanistan are well aware about the sweet test of
democracy but unfortunately-have never tested it. The recent Afghan election results
were in the situation of doldrums, but the main political leaders; Ashraf Ghani and
Abdullah Abdullah have paced in front to give full cover to the fragile democratic system
of Afghanistan.
One must appreciate that the Afghans showed great courage by participating in elections
and casting votes in April and then again in une despite the threats by Taliban. !utting
the life ris" aside, Afghans entered the polling centers and chose the democracy as the
future of their land which has always been used as playground for the international
political game players. The election shows that the democratic setup in Afghanistan is
#somehow$ ta"ing its roots. There have been corruption in the country and the factor will
remain the same for ne%t almost two decades but the people of Afghanistan are endorsing
the elections and feel proud on casting their vote, even "nowing the fact of corruption and
embe&&lement. There must be a sense of reali&ation that Afghanistan is not a failed state.
The country is devastated and may remain the core of conflicts till the ne%t decade, but
the Afghans have decided their future to ma"e the country stable and prosper.
'ardasht (hams, an Afghan correspondent for the daily beast )international* says, #To be
sure, the fledgling Afghan democracy is at a critical juncture, and international
mediation might prove helpful in resolving the crisis, but if that means sidelining the
legal electoral institutions like the Independent Election Commission (IEC) and the
Election Complaint Commission (ECC) entirely, it ill be a major blo to the democratic
process! Afghans ill lose faith in it and the credibility of modern political institutions
ill crumble"!
+uring my last visit to the ,.(., - met with a ..-year-old Afghan non-immigrant, /han
ahan&ebdaud in 0irginia. /han said, ##ost of the Afghans, ho left the country during
last decade or in the $%&s, are no planning to go back to Afghanistan because they can
see the better and visible future of the country, post '!( ithdraal"!
/han ahan&ebdaud belongs to (hei"habad; almost 1. /2 away from /abul; the capital
of Afghanistan. /han left the country in 3445 when he lost his wife and his only daughter
in worst clashes in the country. 6urrently he is living in ,nited (tates and rides a ta%i as a
source of income.
7i"e "han, there are thousands of Afghans who have left the country and shifted abroad
to live a secure and comfortable life. /han says that At least our lives ere secured than
in Afghanistan! After the loss of my ife and daughter, I had to options, either to
commit a suicide or leave Afghanistan) I opted to leave for *akistan first, and then
reali+ed that the time is even orse than to be in *akistan! ,inally, I had to come to the
'!( to live the life the ay it should be lived!
The social, economic and political future of the (outh Asian region depends upon a stable
Afghanistan. 8ot only e%ternal but also internal security of !a"istan, -ndia and is entirely
dependent on the security of Afghanistan. Tahir 8a&ir, a research fellow at (A((-,
-slamabad says, #The Afghan end-game is offering a golden opportunity to *akistani
decision makers to rethink and kick start a fresh beginning ith Afghanistan by forgetting
the hard memories of the past! The fresh start should be based upon the notion of mutual
respect, non-interference and mutual prosperity"!
There is no doubt that a stable Afghanistan is the need of the hour for the (outh Asian
region especially !a"istan and this can only be possible if our neighbors enjoy the same
rule of law and politically democratic system. !a"istan is the ne%t-door neighbor of
Afghanistan; a place where the militants feel more secure than any other part of the
region. They easily cross the border to settle down in 8ortheast !a"istan. Therefore
!a"istan will have to play its pivotal role in ma"ing Afghanistan more stable by
developing its diplomatic and defense relations with the country. !a"istan will have to
reali&e that just issuing some positive statements about Afghanistan are nothing but
fooling it. The country will have to ma"e sure its defense co-operation with Afghanistan
in order to maintain its border more secure and must stop the militants using its land
against the rest sta"e holders of the region. The democratic setup in Afghanistan will
ultimately benefit !a"istan in terms of diplomatic co-operations. 9oth the countries do
understand each other:s problems and psyche therefore they will have to live under well-
reputed political setup which is called the democracy.
;8+(