It was only yesterday that the world powers under the US leadership were intensively fighting the Taliban in Afghanistan with all its might, using its latest war technology from fighter jets to messiles and then the mother of all bombs MOAB, vehemently trying to trample down the resistance in the fight against terror, till then nobody was thinking of a truce or sort of a peace agreement with resisting Taliban, a big No-way Taliban were terrorists and enemies, several elections were conducted and several govts were formed in occupied Afghanistan, trillions of dollars spent and thousands of civilian & amp; military casualties suffered. All the countries of world came to Afghanistan to persue their agenda in forms of proxies, from Iran to Russia to China and India, and so on. During the last 18 years of this fighting nothing was achieved than bloodshed, infrastructure devastation, weak economy, joblessness, inflation & price hike, lack of health & education the situation which was turning into the favour of anti-government forces, the Taliban. There was only one country Pakistan, that from the first day was pleading for a political solution to the Afghan issue by inclusion of all ethnic and social groups instead of a military, the stance which attracted severe opposition and criticism from the US led Western coalition, calling Pakistan as a backer of the Taliban and Haqqani network, some said Haqqani network was operating from Waziristan, other blamed Taliban Leaders “Quetta Shura” is operating from Balochistan. Soon after US president Donald Trump took office of the president threatened Pakistan of dire consequences if it didn’t stop supporting Haqqani network, suspended Pakistan military aid at once. Pakistan was under immense World pressure to break all contacts and relations with Afghan Taliban and help the US led coalition militarily, but as a neighbor sharing several hundred miles boundary with Afghanistan, reading the situation for more than four decades and at a receiving end of the long lasted conflict, it tried to convince the World for it’s all inclusive political settlement. With the change in President Trump’s Afghan policy, there born a ray of hope and an encouragmenet to Pakistan for continuing its efforts. Pakistani delegates visited Qatar, Urumqi, KSA, Russia and everywhere they could think of getting help in this matter. Last year when Taliban Qatar political office leaders visited Islamabad, the initial structure for the upcoming Peace Deal was discussed and signs of success also born. US special representative and chief of the Afghan Talks Ambassador Zalmy Khalilzad tried his best to succeed this initiative started by Pakistan, he abolished red tap diplomatic hurdles and made the Communications easy, he was the force behind discouraging all the vested interests and sabotaging by the proxies in the region. It was also reported that Iran tried to mend its differences with Taliban and extended material support to their war, many took this as efforts to oppose peace agreement. Similarly India which has nothing to do with Afghanistan internal affairs as it is doesn’t share any of its borders, was observed having increased its activities in govt offices especially with anti Taliban groups. Both the countries supported and financed anti peace propaganda to hurt their opponents like US and Pakistan respectively.
Pakistan had warned both the parties against the third party sabotage moves so it helped them in keeping things secret before the day of deal. Both the parties agreed on two weeks Reduction in violence VOI deal but only announced one week of it after passing of its first week and the strategy succeeded.
The peace deal is a historic achievement after 18 years of war for which Pakistan delivered on its commitment, providing a chance to peace; but post peace deal things may not go that simple way as anticipated by the two parties, because there are more parties some known other hidden to this war as well, it may not be in their interest or set of things to let a stable and independent regime at Kabul. For example India cannot find another country for its conspiracies and interference into its arch rival Pakistan, similarly Iran has been using Afghan soil against US and even in some reported cases against Pakistan. Besides the two political groups that of President Ashraf Ghani and CE Dr Abdullah Abdullah would also observe things closely and to resist any move damaging their interests, some disenting voices from those quarters already heard coming. So after signing peace deal it is the responsibility of US and other powers to ensure implementation of all points of the deal, to avoid any mistrust and another possible war between the Taliban and Afghan govt, otherwise Afghanistan would become a hot bed of proxies once again and a serious concern for world peace.
Corona Virus and Undue criticism
Corona viruses are a large family of viruses that cause illness ranging from the common cold to more severe diseases such as Middle east respiratory syndrome, it is a new strain that has not been previously identified in human (WHO). The virus is believed to originate from Wuhan China, where it has affected maximum population. China was quick in responding to the situation and tried to contain the spread, however, it still trickled over to the region affecting all neighboring countries. Pakistan took a decision based on experts input not to extricate students in china till the time virus is not controlled, however, the virus still entered Pakistan through Iran; as zaireen from all over Pakistan frequently visits religious places in Iran. Balochistan provincial govt tried to control the spread by sealing Pakistan-Iran border and making a screening facility alongwith a temporary hospital in Taftan. However, corona virus patients have started emerging from all over Pakistan, which indicates that it had already crept into Pakistan.
Govt is currently working to control the situation and have taken various steps to limit the spread of virus. It is also running an awareness campaign through media to address panic among population. Despite efforts by govt, it is being criticized on different pretexts by a specific group since corona virus epidemic came to light. This undue criticism has brought forward a serious issue to the limelight that if the criticism is irresponsible and is based on personal vendetta, it can have serious implications for public safety. As initially, this group was targeting govt for not allowing its citizen in china to return and was propagating it as inhumane. Now, the same individuals are propagating fear and panic among population by questioning govt various steps against the virus spread. The govt needs to run an effective media campaign as lack of awareness about the facts and figures related to COVID-19 on the mainstream media is adding to the chaos. The virus is affecting 46 countries and territories around the world with overall 81000 infected, more than 30,000 recovered with a minor death toll of a little shy of 3000. The fatality rate is 2 percent, which is less than that of Typhoid and malaria.
It is high time now that govt should formulate a code of conduct for media and social media users and implement it effectively to get rid of such negative propaganda and ensure healthy criticism. Public should also stop spreading false propaganda and cooperate with the government to fight the disease through harmony.