Asian Powers and Afghanistan of Future

Asian Powers and Afghanistan of the Future

Mirza Muhammad Ramzan, Islamabad.

According to the Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan, "During the Mughal Empire, Indian subcontinent alone produced 24% of the world's total production, but the British plundered it and made it a producer of only 2%." Question and answer session, 3 to 5 p.m., on Sunday, August 1, 2021 at Radio, Televisions, & FM channels). That is, the history of colonialism is nothing but the destruction of the world. It did nothing but destroyed the social fabric of nations. It established terrorist organizations to protect its face from this soot. Later Britain presented itself as the opponent of terrorist organizations. The French fought the Communist Revolution in Vietnam from March 13 to May 7, 1954. After their humiliating defeat, the United States jumped into the war. The Vietnam Crisis, which lasted for two decades, ended in a humiliating US defeat in 1975, bringing peace to the region. America then opened another front in Afghanistan in 1980 to stop the revolution. As a result of the war, economic resources were lost. The economic downturn hampered research and development. Meanwhile, Asian powers have taken the lead in technology.

Now, the issue of Afghanistan is going to settle. The American rulers are interpreting this war as a failure, while its supportive journalistic class is calling it the result of an American plan. Speaking on Geo's "Jirga" program, Dr. Asfandyar Mir of Stanford University in the United States said: "The United States is not in a hurry to leave Afghanistan. The United States has been trying to withdraw from the war on terror for the past few years. " While according to the Afghan President Ashraf Ghani: "The hasty withdrawal has worsened the security situation; the United States is responsible." (AFP, August 2, 2021)

The United States has also made changes because of China's growing power. The competition between the United States and China is not in South Asia or Central Asia but in the East Asia Pacific Ocean. He says: "The United States has got a major anti-China power in the form of India. The United States is also moving towards military modernization to compete China. " According to a November 15, 2020 edition of the New Zealand Independent newspaper, the world's largest free trade agreement has been reached between 15 Asian countries, including 10 ASEAN countries, while five major countries; China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, and New Zealand have made the world's largest trade agreements: the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). After this, the United States has tried to setback the importance of this agreement by highlighting the significance of the agreement, "QUAD" established in 2007. The four-nation alliance includes Australia, India, Japan, and the United States. The aim was to control China's growing influence in the Indo-Pacific region. On the other hand, quoting NNI News Agency, the daily Jang has published a statement of the Chinese President in its August 3, 2021 publication: "Military capabilities will be further enhanced. The faces of the oppressors will be broken. We will not allow foreign powers to suppress or enslave the countries. The Greater Chinese Wall will shatter such forces into pieces.”  In this context, on August 11, 2021, in Doha, the capital of Qatar, four countries, Russia, China, the United States and Pakistan, have held talks on the future of Afghanistan.

The Afghan Taliban have begun contacts with Afghanistan's neighbors in anticipation of the future. In these contacts, they have tried to gain support by assuring that the Afghan soil will not be used against any neighboring country. A delegation led by Sheikh Shahabuddin Dilawar arrived in Moscow on July 9. He met with Zamir Kabulov in a two-day visit and assured him that Afghanistan's territory would not be used against any other country. On July 28, 2021, a nine-member Taliban delegation led by Mullah Abdul Ghani arrived in China, where they met with the Chinese Foreign Minister regarding Afghanistan, in which they assured that Afghan territory would not be used against China. A similar delegation arrived in Iran on August 3rd and 4th for a two-day visit. Meanwhile, Indian Foreign Minister JS Shankar also arrived in Iran. As far as India is concerned, as it is not part of any kind of dialogue, even though it has invested 3 billion USD in Afghanistan, Delhi had also expressed its concerns in this regard. That is why US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken arrived in Delhi on July 30th and 31st for a two-day visit. From there, on a phone call to Ashraf Ghani, he assured the US support.

The problem of Afghanistan is simmering. Asia's emerging powers are at the crossroads of the region. On one side is Russia and on the other side are the borders of China, while Pakistan and Iran are its natural neighbors. The US-backed government has been in power for the last two decades. The Taliban and other pressure groups were raised to keep it under pressure. In addition, terrorist organizations such as Al Qaeda and ISIS were spread as monsters.

The whole strategy was of the past era when America was considered the world’s unipolar power and there was no other power to challenge its status. World conditions have been changed today. Asian powers are seen emerging on the global horizon. The United States has been defeated in war. His plans are a piece of paper and the agreements are stories of the past. Because the QUAD agreement dates back to 2007, with key members Japan and Australia, today both become members of the RCEP (Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership). India became a member of BRICS in 2015, became chairman of the New Development Bank and joined the SCO in 2017.

(Translated into English by Naeem Ahmed, Abu Dhabi)