The Centre for Afghanistan, Middle East and Africa (CAMEA) at the Institute of Strategic Studies, Islamabad (ISSI) held an International Conference titled, “Perspectives on the Evolving Situation in Afghanistan”, in collaboration with the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung on March 28, 2022. The speakers in the inaugural session included, Ms. Amina Khan, Director CAMEA, Ambassador Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry, Director General ISSI, Dr. Niels Hegeswisch, Country Director FES, Pakistan. Honourable Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Foreign Minister of Pakistan and General Zubair Mahmood Hayat, Former Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee were Keynote Speakers and Honourable Shah Farman, Governor KPK was the Chief Guest at the occasion.
Honourable Shah Farman, the Chief Guest at the occasion stated that we need to understand the Afghans better as they feel betrayed. He said that the Afghan Jihad and the Nebraska University syllabus have changed mindsets and so many Afghans have given up their lives and have received nothing in return. Afgha ns have suffered enough over the decades and this has been the greatest dilemma of the past few decades. This is a great game which the Afghan people remember very well. Money was spent on wars instead of reconstruction which further alienated the Afghans and the war psychology was converted into a hate phenomenon, which has led to terrorism. He said that creating and justifying the institutions in Afghanistan to battle communism laid the foundation of Islamophobia so we cannot discuss the solution of Afghanistan in seclusion. He said that if the interdependent economy of any country goes down, everyone feels affected and we have no option but to accept that we are all human we have to rise and fall together because we are interdependent so we cannot isolate the countries that will go down if Afghanistan fails. He was of the view that we should stop segregating and dividing things as it is not possible that one country or one nation will go down without affecting the others. He further said that we must think about the Afghan situation and ask the question: are the Afghans responsible for this situation? The global community is responsible and we cannot look at the Afghan situation in seclusion as the world is interconnected, he concluded.
