Parmeshwar Devkota

Amidst brutal attacks and killings at the Kabul airport, Afghanistan is now heading to uncharted political waters although the Taliban have unilaterally gained power and are in the process of forming a government. The country is going to be free from the occupation of US and NATO troops by August 31. So, a peaceful Afghanistan can be assumed on the ground that China, a global power, is working with the Taliban in one way or the other.

India is another prominent power in South Asia. It prefers to work shrewdly within, but seldom instigates or invades into any country. Pakistan, another regional player, is already bearing the brunt of the conflict. So, Pakistan wants a peaceful Afghanistan. Pakistani prime minister Imran Khan has recently spoken about it.

There is no doubt that Pakistan is China’s close ally. Pakistan has been exhausted by the influx of Afghan refugees. The nation alone has so far been catering to more than three million Afghan refugees. A small fraction of Afghans, popularly known as Northern Front and extremist group ISIS-K have been challenging the Taliban, but the common logic is that even the US as a super power, and its allies are shaking hands with the Taliban. The Northern Front and ISIS-K are also likely to negotiate with the Taliban for power sharing in the near future as Afghanistan is now under the latter’s control.

So, the fear is with the Taliban. They are ready to enforce the Sharia Law in the country opposing the secular or multiparty political system. So, the Taliban, till now, are the extremist Islamic force which want to dismantle the written constitution and multiparty system widely practised even in the states with larger Muslim population.
It may be recalled here that the Taliban had destroyed the world-famous Bamiyan Buddha statue in their infamous reign at the end of the 20th century. This shows that they want to attack cultural and religious relics. As the question of relics comes, it makes everyone interested in studying the history of Afghanistan emotional.

Afghanistan is not only the county of warlords and opium dealers but it is also the land where mankind has learned how to live in groups. It was the gateway for the Aryans who had come across Afghanistan to establish Mohenjo-Daro civilisation in Pakistan. That is the land where people sowed the seeds of barley for organised farming for the first time. So, Afghanistan is the country of pre-historic remains. The pre-historic sites near Kabul may give the world new insights into early civilisations. The remains of villainous king of Sakuni in Kandahara may throw light on the Dwapara era civilisation. Afghanistan is also home to Minaret of Jam, sites in Balkh, Band-E-Amir and Band-e-Babur and other rich ancient monasteries, cultural arts and artefacts and history of Silk Road between Iran and China.

So, China and Pakistan should press the Taliban to protect these heritage sites. The extremist schooling of the Taliban should be neutralised and the relics of the country should be preserved and promoted for local and foreign tourists. Archaeological exploration of Islamic and pre-Islamic periods would promote the image of the Taliban and Afghanistan. But, this scribe is not so hopeful that the Taliban would mend their ways. This is because they have demolished the statue of their opponent leader Abdul Ali Mazari while taking over the state power recently. Old habits die hard.