LANDMARK CONFERENCE ON AFGHANISTAN

Venue: Kabul, Afghanistan
Date: 20/7/10

A landmark international conference of nations and organizations numbering 70 under the auspices of the Secretary of State, USA, Hilary Clinton and UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon. The nations and organisations represented above are main donors to Afghanistan and the conference primarily intended for a meeting of them under one umbrella to chalk out future course of actions, deliberate upon them and also reflect upon past actions and developments.

Main actors included Anderson Fogh Ramussen, NATO Secretary General former Prime Minister of Denmark and obligant of US, worth recording here Barack Obama taking a flight to Turkey as the latter was staunchly against his appointment as NATO Secretary General, a sweet diplomatic approach of Barack Obama after much persuasions could prevail upon Turkish Premier, Receep Tayyip Erdogan and thus Anderson Fogh Rasmussen elected to the coveted powerful post.

Then follows India represented by S.M.Krishna, India’s Foreign Affairs Minister, one of the donors to Afghanistan, for its overall development by providing it with skilled and unskilled man-power ranging from doctors, engineers, IT Professionals and labourers also financial assistance.

Then Pakistan represented by its External Affairs Minister, Shah Mehmood Qureshi. Pakistan, incidentally is the con-joined brother of Afghanistan as claimed by President Hamid Karzai one year back and hence inseparable. A surgical separation is the only way out to separate the twins but due to the complications foreseen by the best surgeons and also due to the lack of consent by both Kabul and Islamabad, it is out of question at the moment. They prefer to be as such and they are happy and elated too. Good.

Anderson Fogh Rasmussen, NATO Secretary General for the maintenance of ‘stability and peace’ achieved so far rules out total withdrawal of NATO forces opting to be on the sidelines and occasional patrolling through the streets of Kabul and surrounding vulnerable areas. Leaving midway is not that advisable, fearing a back to square one situation. Further US and NATO forces believe in the overall stability, peace and welfare of Afghanistan and its citizens.

With the gradual progress towards stability- since the welfare of Afghanistan is their Prime motto- a scaling down of forces, that also will be a gradual process to be considered later.

S.M.Krishna, India’s Foreign Affairs Minister also dwelt mainly on the stability, peace and welfare of that nation and its people as a whole. Beforehand he pointed towards the need of handing over power to peace-loving Afghans that continues to remain their long standing demand since 2001 after all 9 years already elapsed but on one condition that is none other than keeping away the militant outfits, the most venomous of them being Al-Quaida elements. He also took time to point out one naked truth, now that all militant outfits plenty of them they are, have adopted the modus operandi of Al-Quaeida hence quite difficult to distinguish between the latter and other outfits. He forgot not to make dig at Pakistan without naming it the need to check the infiltration of terror elements from across the border.

His counterpart from Pakistan seemed not to comment on his remarks pretending to be Krishna’s comment not applicable to Pakistan after all he is well aware Afghanistan is the con-joined brother of Pakistan. Same blood runs through the veins of both of them.

Hamid Karzai offered Afghanistan’s enormous mineral wealth spread across a vast area valuing lakhs of US dollars to friendly countries like India, other nations which would in the future help it to rebuild it and thus making it to the top. Many countries however, reportedly expressed their fears of investing in the war-ravaged country due to the rampant corruption staring at the face of Afghanistan, its official community the main culprits. And that was the reason why Hamid Karzai in the course of his talks to those who were attending him to route all funds at the government level.

Hilary Rodham Clinton, one of the principal architects of this landmark conference made it to Kabul after first visiting Pakistan, listening to the nation’s problems, friends they are and offered further assistance under the Kerry-Lugman plan. She utilized the occasion in demanding Pak rulers to nab Osama Bin Laden and his accomplices who according to her are very much safe in Pakistan. She made it clear that nothing short of their capture would satisfy her and her nation and she was very particular on that matter as she was the Senator of NewYork on that fateful day 9/11. “Nab the guys and hand over to us”- she demanded. Hope her demands would be met by her friendly nation at the earliest as that nation and its ruling elite are ‘reliable to the core’.

Hamid Karzai, Afghan President is pretty sure about regaining the total control of the country by his police and soldiers by 2014. Let us also share his optimism