Partition

A sensible solution to Afghanistan's problem

Partition

By: Soraab Ferozgar

No matter how people feel about the condition of Afghanistan, hardly any effort has gone into fixing the problems. Taken by face value, it might seem like a lot has been done in favor of the country and that the country has improved drastically, but it is only a façade. Once you delve deeper in, you can see just how weak the entire infrastructure truly is. And this is where the problem lies. Only certain, small parts of the country are doing relatively fine but overall the country is virtually falling apart because there is no strong foundation. This “show” is put on for the sake of the rest of the world, to please those that control it. So therefore, when solutions are brought forth and if the “government” doesn’t approve of them, they can use that façade of the country on its way to betterment to reject the suggestions. One solution that has been mentioned time and again is partition of the country. It has been the one of the most discussed topics and also one of the most rejected ones. Recent events as well as past historical tribulations have illustrated that the only solution for Afghanistan is separation.

Dividing Afghanistan has always been a much-heated and much-debated topic. Whether it be to divide it by North and South, or separate independent states for several provinces, the underlining solution is to separate the lands and, most importantly, the people. However, no step has been taken to go forward with such a solution. One of the main supported resolutions is separation by North and South—to divide the Non-Pashtuns and the Pashtuns. Such ethnic aversion is expected considering the shaky history and relationship between the ethnicities of Afghanistan—mainly of Pashtuns with everyone else. For 250 years, the Pashtuns had power over most of the regions of Afghanistan whether it was in the form of a monarchy, communism, or terrorism via religious fanaticism. Most recently, they have tried gaining power through fraudulent elections and official appointments in the legislatures. With 250 years in power, there is hardly any achievement to show for it. The greatest achievement of the Pashtuns is that the nation is literally at the bottom. Afghanistan’s status is the 177th country among 180 countries of the world, signaling just how poor and devastated the country is. It receives its budget from international donations and half of that money is spent on security of the south because 90% of the country’s violence comes from the south. The Pashtun’s ignorance and arrogance have arisen time and again during the Loya Jirga and the creation of such a bogus constitution. When the non-Pashtuns asked for a parliamentary system, the Pashtuns rejected it. Pashtuns are not and never will think of creating a government that is necessary or even fair for our diverse nation by acknowledging past historical events and are instead trying to restore Pashtun hegemony.

There are those non-Pashtuns who don’t wish to go over or remember past events/bad memories—they want to take the easy way out and just start fresh. However, there are those that do NOT want to forget and believe that a fresh start can only occur when there has been some sort of change. And by keeping the Pashtuns in power—the same ethnicity that has literally and truthfully brought ruin to the country—there will be no improvement or change for the country, certainly not for the non-Pashtuns and perhaps even some poor Pashtuns. Pashtuns are originally from the South so perhaps and they can rightly go back there and govern rightly over their own people. And leave the North to themselves. Now, some people have stated that once the Pashtuns are gone, the non-Pashtuns might just start fighting with each other and that’s why they prefer to have separate independent states—the Tajiks with Tajikistan, Uzbeks in Uzbekistan, the Hazaras as their own nation. This may very well work out, too, but they must first try to understand just where their problems began and if they work them out. After all, they share a lot in history, culture, literature, etc.

Most of the problems that are present among non-Pashtuns are due to Pashtuns. In the past, pre-Afghanistan, the Tajiks, Uzbeks, Hazaras, Turkmans, etc. lived side by side in Khorasan. There was no threat of communism or terrorism. Terror started with the first footsteps of Abdali. By separating the North and the South that is the first step towards change. Right now, there is no stability in the country and its people. Pashtuns and non-Pashtuns do not have anything in common—historically, culturally, etc. Only recently do the ethnicities have some things in common like the literature and language and that is only because Pashtuns became persianized as they came to the north. Most Pashtuns adopted Dari as their language, Persian poets as their choice of literature, etc. Which is why it seems so hypocritical when those same Pashtuns want to push Pashto and Pashto “literature” and “culture” unto the rest of the country—they didn’t and/or can’t speak the language themselves and they want to force others to accept it. Now, if they badly want Pashto and Pashto culture to be a big part of Afghanistan, then they should all travel back to the South and contently enforce Pashto unto their own people. The people of the North have their own history and culture and they appreciate it and have appreciated it for hundreds of years.

Pashtuns did not bring any progress in the past—which is fairly obvious considering the condition of the country today—so logically, they won’t bring any progress in the future. And if the country is partitioned finally, there is no way it could get any worse. But even so, just how worse could it possibly get? Separation of the country shouldn’t be seen as a failure of the country but rather as an improvement and a solid and proper change. When we factor in all the information—dangerous and ineffective Pashtun rule, misrepresentative country name, forced Pashto assimilation—the only solution can be to separate. Living with Pashtuns did not work in the past and so it won’t work for the future. After all, one can not and should not try living a normal life with cancer—you have to get rid of the cancer or it will destroy you from the inside out. Whether it’s slowly and secretly or fast and outwardly there are only two ways out and they are by cutting it off or letting it kill you.