Source: ET
“There can be peace”, stated the notorious Afghan warlord sitting cross-legged across the carpet from me in the air-conditioned cool of his palatial Kabul home. “Yes, there can be but … not until we have killed all of the enemies first”.
He is serious — more serious than I have ever seen him before. His deep-set eyes flash fire, his mouth is set in grim determination, he is primed and ready to kill right now which, under the circumstances, is understandable. Pacha Khan Zadran is in mourning for three family members who were assassinated just days ago. The jeep they were travelling in was blown to smithereens by an improvised explosive device in Paktia province. He lusts for vengeance and he will, no doubt, have it. And, if he dies before achieving this aim, he still has eight sons, all replicas of himself, to ensure that an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, is taken from the enemy.
The problem for Pacha Khan Zadran and others of his ilk in identifying the ‘enemy’ is that, the enemy has changed sides too many times to count, during the last 40 years of continual warfare and civil strife. The enemy is legion and in his own words: “Someone who was once a friend is the most dangerous enemy of all because he knows you”.
Zadran talked peace at the Washington Conference called in the wake of the Twin Towers debacle and again during the Bonn Conference soon after. On each occasion, he insisted that there would only be peace once every single Haqqani and Talib was killed. A negotiated settlement is total anathema to him and those cast in the same mould.
Categories: Afghanistan, Asia
Good to know the views of Pacha Khan Zardan. He has own view point to achieve peace in Afghanistan. The other day I scanned another interesting writing which pertained to the peace in Afghanistan. In 1903 on July 14, one very respected and high stature person with the name of Sahibzada Abdul Latif of Khost was stoned to death in Kabul on the order of Amir of Kabul. His crime was that he embraced Ahamdiyya belief at the hand of founder of Ahamdiyya community. Case was heard in the court and he was admonished to renounce his conversion of Ahamdiyya group to which he refused. His death was announced by stoning. First stone was thrown by the chief Justice of the court and then all people followed it till he was buried alive under stones. On hearing the sad news of his tragic death the founder of Ahamdiyya community commented that Oh the land of Kabul, with the murder of this innocent man, you have degraded yourself in the eyes of Almighty and now there will be no peace on the land unless the occupants of land repent the cruelty and reverted back to their creator for the forgiveness of this sin. So Mr Pacha Khan Zardan, might be you and many others will laugh on it but it is also a fact that some times nature punishes the nation for a very long time for the very tragic crime against innocent people and only way out to avoid the punishment remains in asking the forgiveness from Almighty God of such sin as He has all the powers to run this universe.