Afghanistan, 1998

The urgency of the

alarming situation in Afghanistan, particularly given the

events of the past few months, requires me to explain why

and how that situation continues to pose major threats to

the peace and security of the world.

There is an evil triangle that is haunting our region.

This evil triangle has imprisoned and terrorized an entire

nation. It has almost engulfed our region in a major

confrontation. The spread of this evil triangle like a plague

is about to contaminate the entire area, setting off alarm

bells from the Far East to the Far West, even echoing in

faraway capitals of the world. The evil triangle I am

referring to is one between: first, the Pakistani military

Inter-Service Intelligence (ISI); secondly, branches of

international terrorism and drug traffickers operating from

Afghanistan; and thirdly, the infamous Taliban militia.

On 7 August 1998, two African capitals suffered

major explosions, sending a shock wave of international

terrorism throughout the world. The following day, nine

Iranian diplomats and a journalist were ferociously

gunned down inside the Consulate-General of the Islamic

Republic of Iran in Mazar-i-Sharif. According to Amnesty

International, from 8 to 10 August thousands of ethnic

Hazara civilians were killed in Mazar-i-Sharif. On 21

August 1998, Lieutenant-Colonel Carmine Calo, Military

Adviser to the United Nations Special Mission to

Afghanistan, an Italian national, was brutally murdered by

two Pakistani terrorists on assignment in Kabul. All of

these shocking events have one thing in common: the

implementation of an anachronistic socio-political agenda

by means of destructive force and violence and the

adventurous hegemony of the Pakistani army in the

region. These things pose a direct threat to regional peace

and security.

Three major concerns — namely, terrorism, drugs

and the violation of human rights — are originating in the

Taliban-held areas of Afghanistan, but they are being

instigated from across the border. During the twelfth

summit of the Non-Aligned Movement, on 3 September

1998 in Durban, South Africa, President Burhanuddin

Rabbani brought these issues to the attention of the

summit. In its paragraphs on terrorism the Final

Document of the summit says it is imperative that no

State organize, assist or participate in terrorist acts in the

territories of other States or encourage activities directed

towards such acts, including permitting the use of national

territory or the soil of a neighbouring country for

planning and training for such a purpose and or the

financing of terrorist activities. Paragraph 153 of the Final

Document states that the heads of State or Government

solemnly reaffirmed their unequivocal condemnation of

any political, diplomatic, moral or material support for

terrorism. We fully agree with the generally expressed

view that the global phenomenon of terrorism requires a

collective and concerted response.

Afghanistan, along with other members of the Non-

Aligned Movement, also condemns the practice of

recruiting, financing, training, using or supporting

mercenaries as a violation of the purposes and principles

of the Charter of the United Nations. Let us make it clear

once again here that the Taliban are Pakistani

mercenaries.

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On 28 August 1998, pursuant to the deterioration of

the situation stemming from a whole new series of military

activities evidently directed by the cross-border ISI officers,

the Security Council adopted an important resolution, 1193

(1998), for which President Rabbani voiced his firm support

at the Durban summit. However, the response of the

Taliban mercenaries and their cross-border patrons to the

resolution — a major assault on Bamyan valley on 14

September, during which the most atrocious acts were

committed against the civilian population of the valley —

was yet another vow to continue their military agenda.

Presently, the only country that takes pride in

recognizing the Taliban and in fact urges others to do the

same remains Pakistan. The Pakistani meddling in

Afghanistan — which has direct consequences for Pakistan

itself and the entire region — has best been summarized in

the Pakistani daily The News on 25 September 1998. I

quote:

“North-West Asia is in great trouble and the Taliban

are the catalyst behind it. The Taliban have not just

dragged Iran and the Central Asian republics into the

conflict, they have also pushed Pakistan into a tense

relationship with all its Muslim neighbours. What was

supposed to provide Pakistan with strategic depth'

has turned into a quagmire. Islamabad is now faced

with yet another critical choice between either cutting

Taliban to size or siding with them against friendly

neighbours.”

The article continues, and I quote,

“If somebody thinks that with the Taliban victory

a lasting peace will be restored in Afghanistan and

peace dividends will start flowing in, he is sadly

mistaken.”

Headlines such as “Crises push Pakistan to the brink

of disaster” in the Washington Post of 26 September are

early warnings about a state of affairs that will affect the

entire region. In fact, when a fragile and vulnerable country

like Pakistan involves itself in a great game, as the Afghani

people say, it digs its own grave.

Article 1 of the United Nations Charter calls for

effective and collective measures for the prevention and

removal of threats to peace. Consistent with this, the

Islamic State of Afghanistan, over the past three years, has

repeatedly warned the international community of the

mounting threat to regional peace and security posed by the

Pakistani Government?s military intelligence service, (ISI),

and its mercenaries, the Taliban, in Afghanistan.

Unfortunately, these early warnings have all gone

unheard.

Today, the exacerbated situation in Afghanistan and

its menacing implications for the region and beyond are

exactly what we deserve. The international community

must admit that it has done too little in the face of the

increasingly bold and aggressive ISI policy towards

Afghanistan and has gone too far with its policy of

appeasement towards the Taliban in their fight against the

rest of the world. The Security Council must determine

the existence of this threat to peace, breach of the peace

and act of aggression by Pakistan, and should take

appropriate measures against the perpetrators in

conformity with Articles 41 and 42 of the Charter. The

alarming situation in Afghanistan requires definitive

action by the Security Council. It is time that the presence

of about 28,000 armed Pakistanis in Afghanistan was

dealt with in accordance with Article 39 of the United

Nations Charter.

The Taliban?s obstinately rejectionist and

intransigent attitude towards peace and human rights is

well known to the international community. Let us recall

once again how the Taliban?s retrograde militia, helped

and patronized by their cross-border allies, visualize and

conceive the events in Afghanistan.

The Taliban have their own answer to every issue

raised by the United Nations and the international

community. When asked to establish a broad-based

representative Government, the Taliban reply that they

have brought many parts of Afghanistan under their

military domination and that this is a broad-based

representative Government. When requested to hold

elections in Afghanistan, the Taliban state that elections

are unIslamic. They say that other Muslim countries

which adhere to the principle of elections have

overlooked the true teachings of Islam. When told to

respect human rights, the Taliban reply that they have

their own standards for human rights. They say that

human rights in other Muslim countries are not based on

Islam.

In response to constant appeals to respect the human

rights of women and reopen girls? schools, the Taliban,

quoted in The Washington Post of 25 September 1998,

say that

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“the countries that shout about freedom for women

want to use them only for prostitution and

entertainment until they get old and useless”.

The Taliban say they know best what to do with women

and girls.

When asked to put an end to drug production and

trafficking, the Taliban say that, though produced in

Afghanistan, narcotics are consumed overseas. They also

say that drug production and smuggling, operations which

the Taliban and some Pakistani military officers jointly

maintain, earn them profits. When asked to hold

negotiations with the parties to the conflict, the Taliban,

again quoted in The Washington Post, say that their first

priority has been to disarm the opposition and that

negotiations will follow only then.

Peace has no place on the Taliban agenda. Even when

Mr. Lakhdar Brahimi, the Secretary-General?s Special

Envoy, urged them to attend the face-to-face talks with us,

held in Ashgabat on 5 April 1998, they did not participate.

On 25 April 1998, the negotiations between both sides in

Islamabad — under the supervision of the United Nations

and the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) —

were unilaterally abandoned by the Taliban and the

ceasefire observed at the request of the United Nations and

the United States was pre-emptively broken by a major

Taliban offensive north of Kabul. Because of the failure of

the Taliban?s military offensive, they returned the following

day, 26 April, for further negotiations, but soon unilaterally

and definitively abandoned the negotiations once more, as

noted by the Secretary-General.

In essence, the Taliban?s intransigence stems from

their firm and stubborn conviction that the only solution is

a military solution. This conviction is also indicative of the

ideas of their Pakistani mentors, who are determined to

dominate Afghanistan. Thus, any and all efforts to reach a

peaceful solution have been intentionally thwarted. It came

as a surprise to no one that the Taliban not only refused to

attend the intra-Afghan gathering on 18 July 1998 in Bonn,

Germany, which sought to initiate what was hoped would

be the traditional grand assembly, or Loya jirgah, but also,

one week earlier, condemned the all-Afghan gathering and

launched major military operations, supported by the

Pakistani air force, in northern Afghanistan.

The Islamic State of Afghanistan strongly confirms the

views that have been expressed in this Assembly for years

that there is no military solution to the conflict in

Afghanistan. The withdrawal of foreign military and

armed personnel and the return of the opposition to the

negotiating table for a political dialogue aimed at

achieving a lasting political settlement of the conflict,

along with the formation of a fully representative, broad-

based, multi-ethnic Government, are the main points that

could ensure an environment of peace in Afghanistan and

the entire region.

We are proposing such an intra-Afghan dialogue

without delay or precondition, on the basis of the

following principles, which emanate from our national

platform and international commitment to Article 2,

paragraph 2 of the United Nations Charter, as well to as

our tenets and culture.

First, concerning the principles of Islam, the Islamic

tenets and teachings are guidelines of supreme value, in

compliance with which the future political system, the

constitution and other laws shall be founded.

Secondly, the principle of democracy and pluralism

shall constitute the mainspring of the future political

system to be formed in Afghanistan.

Thirdly, concerning the principle of human rights,

the observation of and respect for human rights —

including the rights of women and girls to education,

work and beneficial coexistence in harmony with the

provisions of human rights instruments — are among the

principles that shall be integral parts of any peace

agreement. This shows our commitment as a member of

the international community.

Fourthly, the principle of elections and the

delegation of authority to local government shall be

incorporated into any peace agreement as urgent and

necessary elements of confidence-building and as the

realization of the will of the people. Local administrations

and their leaders, including the members of provincial

councils, shall all be elected. The central representative

Government, to be equitably accommodating to all ethnic

groups and segments of Afghan society, shall function

constitutionally.

Fifthly, as to the principles of permanent neutrality

and independence, countries of the region and the

international community shall recognize the permanent

neutrality of Afghanistan. Afghanistan will never enter

into any political or military alliance against any State

and Afghan soil will not be used as a base for hostilities

against another State. International relations shall be

28

conducted independently, in a manner consistent with the

principles enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations.

Afghanistan shall actively participate in the processes of

regional economic cooperation, transit and transport of

trade. It shall be a good partner in the community of

nations.

The Islamic State of Afghanistan welcomes the

meeting of the “Six plus Two” group, held at the level of

Foreign Ministers in New York on 21 September 1998.

Afghanistan fully agrees with the points of common

understanding and expresses its firm support for the

Secretary-General?s decision to send his Special Envoy,

Ambassador Lakhdar Brahimi, to the region. Afghanistan

remains committed to giving his mission its full

cooperation.

The Islamic State of Afghanistan firmly supports the

institutional reform of the United Nations, rightly referred

to as a “quiet revolution” by the Secretary-General.

Similarly, the establishment of a Development Account and

the United Nations Fund for International Partnerships,

among other innovations, deserve the support of Member

States. However, the least developed countries and in

particular those stricken by war, have to be given priority

attention in this field.

In their Declaration on the Occasion of the Fiftieth

Anniversary of the United Nations, Member States

promised to

“give to the twenty-first century a United Nations

equipped, financed and structured to serve effectively

the peoples in whose name it was established”.

(resolution 50/6)

This has to include the institutional framework of the

Organization, namely, a Security Council with working

methods and a composition that better reflect today?s needs

and realities.

The Working Group that has been mandated to

examine this question will soon start its sixth year of

intensive discussions. These discussions cannot go on

indefinitely. It is time to set a concrete agenda and to act if

we want to meet the challenges of the next millennium.

Afghanistan therefore supports an overall reform which

would make the Security Council?s work more transparent

and its composition more representative. This would mean

permanent seats for the developing and the developed

world, the latter to include global economic players such as

Germany and Japan. At the same time, a sufficient number

of non-permanent seats should be added to take into

account the interests of smaller and medium-sized

countries. The Charter therefore must be amended in

order drastically to reduce the use of the right of veto,

which is most undemocratic. The coming century requires

a Security Council that conforms with the new landscape

of the world.