Security Trends in Northern Afghanistan: Khalid Farooqi Explains
Khalid Farooqi is a member of Afghan parliament and the leader of Hizb-e Islami Afghanistan, a registered entity in post-Taliban Afghanistan.
Khalid Farooqi
During the jihad against the Soviets, Mr. Farooqi was the deputy leader of the then Hizb-e Islami and reported to Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, now an insurgent leader and the commander in charge of the province of Paktia. Mr. Farqooi is a graduate of an Islamic seminary in Pakistan and has a Bachelor’s in International Law and Islamic Jurisprudence. Kabul Direct interviewed Mr. Farooqi at his residence in northwest Kabul.
Kabul Direct: What is your assessment of the current security situation in northern Afghanistan?
Khalid Farooqi: When the Taliban started attacking the NATO supply route in eastern Afghanistan, the international forces began using alternate routes in the north. Naturally, the insurgents attacked this route as well as they are determined to cut off NATO’s supply chain and create disorder. The insurgents are also eager to expand northward into Central Asia, just as they have expanded their activities into Pakistan.
Kabul Direct: What is your evidence for this?
Khalid Farooqi: Previously, the insurgents went north and east inside Afghanistan. As they grew stronger, they were able to pressure Pakistan.
Kabul Direct: Are the Afghan and Pakistan Taliban part of the same coordinated group or are they independent entities?
Khalid Farooqi: I believe that the the architect and head commander of the entire chain of insurgency and terrorism in Pakistan and Afghanistan is Al Qaida. The Taliban carry out Al Qaeda’s agenda.
Kabul Direct: Are you saying that it is Al Qaeda that is the leading factor behind the insurgency?
Khalid Farooqi: Well, compared to the other players, yes, Al Qaeda is highly active.
Kabul Direct: Why do you say this?
Khali Farooqi: Even Tahir Youldashov the leader of IMU who was active in the Northwest Frontier Province of Pakistan, particularly Waziristan, wanted to send his forces to northern Afghanistan to get to Central Asia. I fear that it is not just northern Afghanistan that is now under threat but also Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
Kabul Direct: In your view, who are the main runners of the insurgency in northern Afghanistan? Hizb-e Islami? Other groups?
Khalid Farooqi: As I said, Al Qaeda is the main entity. Then there are the people who have been displaced by the warlords in the where they could find safe harbor. They are vulnerable to being recruited to fight the insurgency. This is why I have long recommended we need to help return all the displaced people to a normal life. Otherwise we can assume they will end up in the insurgency. While both Karzai and Abdullah’s supporters like to use the insurgency as a political weapon against the other, there are deeper and broader issues at play here.
Kabul Direct: Who exactly are these displaced persons?
Khalid Farooqi: They are the people who were accused of aiding the Taliban. This compelled them to flee where they could find safe harbor.
Kabul Direct: Where did they flee from?
KhalidFarooqi: People came from Takhar – and from Baghlan, Kunduz, Balkh and Faryab, as well.
Kabul Direct: You really feel that if only these displaced persons were properly rehabilitated they would no longer be able to be used as tools by the insurgents?
Khalid Farooqi: I think we can reasonably assume that people would not join the insurgency if they believed they could live a normal life and be treated fairly.
Kabul Direct: Let us talk about today’s Hizb- e Islami. I understand that Hizb-e Islami has always attracted people from all of Afghanistan’s communities of Afghanistan, not just the Pashtuns. For example, there have even been Hazaras who identified themselves as members of Hizb-e Islami. Is your membership still diverse?
Kahlid Farooqi: . Yes, our membership is still diverse. We have Tajik, Uzbeks and Hazaras, in addition to Pashtun among our members and senior commanders and leaders. But in the current political process, power is not distributed based on political affiliation. It is distributed based on ethnicity, which is seen as the stronger force in Afghanistan. It was the Pashtuns who were given power, after all, not the Hizb-e Islami or any another political party. Nevertheless, the Pashtuns in the government do not represent the interests of all Pashtuns.
Kabul Direct: According to press reports, the Hizb-e Islami has been actively involved in the insurgency in the north. Is this correct?
Khalid Farooqi: If there are Hizb-e Islami insurgents, they are not part of the Hizb-e Islami that is an officially recognized group. I cannot speak for those who act outside the domain of the registered entity.
Kabul Direct: Are these renegade commanders who are involved in the insurgency following orders from Gulbuddin Hekmatyar?
Khalid Farooqi: It is only natural that those who are denied their rights should struggle to gain something. I do think there might be Hizb-e Islami elements in the insurgency.
Kabul Direct: You say these people should have their rights restored and these elements should be under the attention of the government. How do you think the government can attend to these Hizb-e Islami elements?
Khalid Farooqi: Take for example the formation of the Afghan National Army. Everyone got a share but the commanders of Hizb-e Islami. During the anti-Soviet jihad, we had around 3,000 trained commanders and men and yet none of them are found in today’s army.
Kabul Direct: Why is this? Did the government reject them or did they reject the opportunity to serve in the national forces?
Khalid Farooqi: It is the fault of the government. The government should have attended to each faction.
Kabul Direct: So are you saying that all of these men have joined the insurgency because they were overlooked?
Khalid Farooqi: It is only natural that they became either become part of the political opposition or the armed insurgency.
Kabul Direct: So how do we resolve this situation?
Khalid Farooqi: We need to give them special attention. They should be given their rights.
Kabul Direct: How exactly?
Khalid Farooqi: They needed to be invited to join the government. If the communists who have the blood on their hands of all the Afghans the communists massacred can have their share of power, why not the mujahidin? They sacrificed their own blood to save this country – and from the communists no less.
Kabul Direct: What else do you recommend as the way forward?
Khalid Farooqi: Well, they are many ways. When I am talking about Hizb-e Islami, I am talking about Tajiks, Uzbiks and Hazaras, not only Pashtons.
Kabul Direct: Is Hizb-e Islami ready to begin peace negotiations?
Khalid Farooqi: The first step would be to remove all Afghans from the black list. Second, they must be given their political rights. They need to be given a share in the reconstruction of Afghanistan. They cannot be asked to just come to the government and abandon their weapons. They will not join the government if this is the invitation. They need to be negotiated with as a power. When we fought the Soviets, they repeatedly asked that we lay down our weapons and join them but we never accepted their invitation.
Kabul Direct: You yourself have witnessed that the so-called black list is now down to 100 people. But there has not been the proportional decline in the insurgency that you are suggesting would occur were this list eliminated.
Khalid Farooqi: You will only see a decline when there are no Afghans whatsoever on this list. There is no Afghan that is a terrorist.
Kabul Direct: What if the insurgents do not come to the negotiations table?
Khalid Farooqi: If the government does all this and the insurgents still will not accept the invitation for peace then the people will know that the government did everything possible to get to the peace table.
Kabul Direct: The insurgents have said they will only come to negotiations after the foreign forces leave Afghanistan. Do you believe that the foreign forces should leave in
order to get the insurgents to the table?
Khalid Farooqi: No. Negotiations should take place without such preconditions. Neither side should insist on preconditions. All Afghans must be engaged in this process.
Kabul Direct: President Karzai has already asked for negotiations without preconditions.
Khalid Farooqi: I repeat, the blacklist must be abandoned. Prisoners on both sides should be freed. Both sides must be able to trust each other.
Kabul Direct: If the blacklist is gone, will Hekmatyar participate in peace negotiations?
Khalid Farooqi: If the blacklist is gone and people still refuse to negotiate peace then the Afghan government needs to take a position against them.
Kabul Direct: But since 2006 there have been numbers of reports that Gulbuddin Hekmatyar and those who follow him inside Hizb-e Islami have joined the Taliban’s fight against the Afghan government. Are these reports correct?
Khalid Farooqi: Until I see evidence that shows these claims to be true I would not rely on these reports as anything other than propaganda.
Then the president must be free of communitarian, sectarian, regional, and international influence. No special interests should be higher than the interests of the nation as a whole.
Why was I able to travel throughout Afghanistan during the campaign without the coterie of security that politicians are usually forced to travel with? It was because I am known to be independent and unattached to anyone’s agenda. We have to build a strong economy in Afghanistan. And we have to be honest with the international community. Karzai needs to choose his friends. He cannot have both President AhmadiNejad and President Obama as his personal friends at the same time.
No Comments