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PAS : KE ARAH PEMERINTAHAN ISLAM YANG ADIL
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'Today's Afghanistan is
not that of Zahir Shah's Afghanistan'
By Aslam Khan
The News: Jang (Pakistan)
October 23, 2001
ISLAMABAD: Former Afghan Prime Minister Gulbadin
Hikmetyar's party, the Hizb-e-Islami Afghanistan, has
outrightly rejected the Zahir Shah option � backed by
Pakistan, the United States, Russia and the Northern
Alliance � as unworkable. "This so-called option is
neither workable nor suitable for Afghanistan and the
mess it finds itself in at the moment," Ghairat
Baheer, the director general foreign relations of the
party told The News in an exclusive interview at his
office in Islamabad on Monday.
He disputed the general media impression that the
former monarch enjoyed popularity among all Afghans,
saying that the ex king's time had passed. "When he
was deposed all those decades ago, there were no
protests and not a single bullet was fired in his
support, proving he wasn't liked even back then. And
he certainly isn't liked now," Baheer said.
"All the decades that Afghans have been sacrificing
their lives against foreign invaders and local
usurpers, the former king has been living his life in
luxury, oblivious to the sufferings of Afghans," he
added. Hikmetyar's close aide stressed that Zahir Shah
is the "wrong choice" for the job he is being
forcefully advertised and that "today's Afghanistan is
not that of Zahir Shah's Afghanistan for it's not a
monarchy anymore, if he hasn't forgotten."
Besides, he added, after aligning himself "with the
same forces that are pummelling Afghanistan with death
and destruction, he has lost even the little
credibility that artificially existed in the media for
him." Asked why had Hizb-e-Islami decided to support
the Taliban in their military conflict against the
United States, Baheer said this was because as true
Afghans, his party men and Hikmetyar have a duty to
defend their country against foreign invaders.
"Afghanistan is our country. As a major party of the
country, the Hizb has a right to defend it against
invaders. We do not seek or need any share in power
with the Taliban. We are discussing military
coordination with them to solve the current problem
facing the country," he said. Asked if the Taliban or
his party had enough military power to defeat the US
forces, the close Hikmetyar aide stressed that it was
with the power of faith that they were confident of
victory.
"As Muslim we are not afraid to die whereas the
Americans are keen not to lose lives. That is the
fundamental difference and the key to our victory,"
Baheer argued. "The same was the case with our
victorious fight against the Soviets. We have a holy
cause: to push out invaders. Two things are important
to achieve this � morale and motive. Our morale is
high and our motive is clear. We will win."
Baheer was confident that the US forces would be
defeated not long after they land their ground forces
in Afghanistan and well before Ramadan. "Why don't the
Americans heed the wise advice from the Soviets? The
Americans are not familiar with the local terrain and
climate and then man-to-man combat is certainly a
different ball game than one-sided air strikes,"
Baheer said. "As soon as 20 body-bags of the American
troops reach the United States, the war will be over,"
he added. Baheer also pooh-poohed Northern Alliance
claims that they would capture Mazar-e-Sharif with air
support from the US shortly.
"It's hard to believe these Northern Alliance people
are even Afghans, far less Muslims, for they are
relying on Russia and India to capture power in their
own country," he remarked. "And they certainly have
lost what little public support they had in
Afghanistan after welcoming the American forces and
military strikes against their own countrymen.
When they couldn't capture Mazar-e-Sharif with active
Russian support, how will they do so with US help?"
Answering a question, Baheer said that even if the
Taliban somehow were not able to hold on to one or two
cities, they would not go away. "The fall of the
Taliban government will not mean the fall of the
Taliban people. They will be all around, in their
hundreds of thousands, armed to the teeth. Little will
change," he predicted.
Asked what kind of face saving does the US need to get
out of the bind it finds itself in, the Hizb-e-Islami
leader replied that this was their own problem. "It's
a problem they created. They have landed themselves in
a mess. They should get out of it themselves, if they
can." About Pakistan's policy on the current Afghan
situation, Hikmetyar's close aide reminded that both
Afghans and Pakistanis fought shoulder-to-shoulder
during the Jihad against the Soviets.
"It was a golden opportunity for both to build on the
unique trust and friendship that developed between
them as a result of it," he said. "There have been
inter-marriages between the two peoples. Both do
business together. This factor should be taken into
consideration in whatever policy that Pakistan
formulates," he stressed.
"And we must remember that governments may come and go
but we must at all costs make sure that the two
peoples don't lose the trust and support they have
built for each other over the years," Baheer said.
"Having said all this, let me say that all Afghans are
deeply appreciative of the unflinching support that
the Pakistanis have extended to the Afghans over the
decades. We will never forget it."
____________________________________________________________
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