AFGHANISTAN AND TADJIKISTAN: DESTABILISING FACTORS FOR SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIAN REGION

Abstract

The struggle for power in Tadjikistan and Afghanistan poses a threat to regional stability. Moreover, foreign interference in both states leads towards the destabilisation of the region. Though Tadjikistan has been stabilised due to foreign mediation, the ethnic minorities in Afghanistan want to get rid of Pashtoon domination the largest ‘ethnic group’, comprising 45 per cent of the Afghan population which gets support from external powers. Tadjikistan, which borders Afghanistan, directly influences the ongoing internal power rivalries on the Afghan political scene. Thus both states have become victims of internal and external power struggles. This paper is an attempt to analyse the destabilising factors and the possible implications for the South and Central Asian region if the Tadjik-Afghan problem is not resolved peacefully.

References

1. 1 Thoni, Julien (1994), ‘The Tadjik Conflict: The Dialectic Between International Fragmentation and External Vulnerability 1991-94’, Occasional Paper No. 3, Geneva: Programs for Strategic and International Security Studies, p. 8.
2. 2 The Frontier Post, Peshawar, 1 February 1994.
3. 3 Dawn, Karachi, 8 March 1994.
4. 4 ‘Tadjikistan in the 1990s’, Spot Light on Regional Affairs, Vol. XV, No. 9, September 1996, Islamabad: Institute of Regional Studies, p. 12.
5. 5 Ibid.
6. 6 Ibid.
7. 7 Dawn, Karachi, 20 July 1996.
8. 8 Waymouth, Lolly (1996), ‘Drugs and Terror in Afghanistan’, The Washington Post, reproduced in The News, Karachi, 20 November 1996.

9. 9 Khan, Ismail (1996), ‘Concern at Reactivation of Afghan Militant Camps’, The News, 22 November 1996.
10. 10 Ibid.
11. 11 Dawn, 16 October 1996.
12. 12 Matinuddin, Lt. Gen. Kamal (1996), ‘Afghanistan Issue: The Talaban Factor’, National Development and Security Vol. IV, No. 4, Rawalpindi, May, p. 110.
13. 13 Op. cit., Spot Light on Regional Affairs, p. 18.
14. 14 Ibid., p. 19.
15. 15 Dawn, 11 February 1996.
16. 16 Dawn, 3 February 1996.
17. 17 Katyal, K. K. (1994), ‘India Being Briefed on Tajik Situation’, The Hindu, New Delhi, 18 May 1994, quoted in Spot Light on Regional Affairs, p. 27.
18. 18 Ibid.
19. 19 Lipovsky, Igor P. (1996), ‘Central Asia: In Search of a New Political Identity’, The Middle East Journal Vol. L, No. 2, California, p. 212.
20. 20 Ibid., p. 216.
21. 21 Li, Yuan Aing (1990), ‘Population Change in Xinjiang Autonomous Region (1949-1989)’, Central Asian Survey Vol. IX, No. 1, p. 49, quoted in Dr. K. Warikoo, Dr. K. (1995-96), ‘Ethnic Religious Resurgence in Xinjiang’, Eurasian Studies No. 4, Ankara, p. 30.
22. 22 Ibid., p. 33.
23. 23 Ibid., p. 37.
24. 24 Ibid.
25. 25 Ahmed, Mutahir (1992), ‘Prospects of Islamic Fundamentalism in Central Asia’, Pakistan Horizon Vol. VL, No. 3, Karachi, July, p. 80.
26. 26 The News, 20 November 1996.
27. 27 Ibid.
28. 28 Rashid, Jamil, ‘Tajikistan Quagmire of Central Asia’, Strategic Studies, Islamabad, p. 159.
29. 29 The News, 20 November 1996.
30. 30 Dawn, 28 September 1996.
31. 31 The Frontier Post, Peshawar, 11 March 1992.
32. 32 The Spokesman of the Talaban, Mullah Khaksar, in a interview with the writer stated that Talaban’s ultimate goal was to “establish God’s rule and Islamic Shari’ah,” prescribed by Talaban. When asked about Islamic ideology, he stated that “we have our own Islamic ideology, outside of that, we have no concerns”. 14 December 1996, Karachi.
33. 33 The News, 15 December 1996.
34. 34 Though there is a sharp division on this issue, the writer asked Mullah Khaksar about the possible disintegration of Afghanistan. He stated “we are not Pashtoons but Afghans, we will not allow anybody to dismember Afghanistan, we will fight till the last Afghan”, 14 December 1996, Karachi.
35. 35 ‘Impact of Central Asian Development on South and West Asia’, Spotlight on Regional Affairs, Vol. XI, No. 4, 1 April 1992, p. 31.
36. 36 Far Eastern Economic Review, Hong Kong, 24 September 1992.
37. 37 In a seminar on Afghanistan, in Karachi. In the presence of renowned scholars, a Pashtoon secular democratic scholar, Afrasiab Khattak floated this idea. 15 November 1996.