President Ashraf Ghani is increasingly starting to sound like his predecessor, specifically with his targeted verbal attacks against Pakistan. On Saturday, the Afghan President went all out, and declared the Pakistani state guilty of harbouring terrorists, even going as far as saying that he could provide addresses of Afghani Taliban leaders in Quetta. If Mr Ghani really does know as much as he claims, why has he not shared this information with his neighbour? Surely discussion of these issues with a friendly nation is more conducive to solving the problem than making unfounded accusations.
The back and forth media accusations between Afghanistan and Pakistan have to stop. If a side genuinely has concerns, take it up on a diplomatic level. That is the only way to get beyond it. Statements that come from press briefings or interviews only fan a fire that need not exist. Pakistan has done more in the way of facilitating the Afghan-Taliban talks process than any other nation, even Afghanistan itself.
President Ghani knows that he has not managed to accomplish as much as was hoped during his stint in power. Any government in Afghanistan naturally has its work cut out for it, but that does not mean that his people have stopped expecting some improvement. Any development or semblance of normalcy in the country can only come if the security situation improves. But short of that, the country is going to remain on the brink (sometimes beyond) of war until this changes.
President Ghani probably understands this too. And the President’s own political career hangs in the balance. He may not be at the helm of affairs too long, which tells us why he has seemingly lost the plot on what is to be done next. He understands that the most pragmatic diversion tactic by a country’s leader is to attempt to redirect public outrage towards an outside force. If he wants to paint Pakistan as the enemy, good luck to him. But it is not a tactic that is likely to work in a country that is beset by threats internally. Ghani already has plenty of enemies on the inside, so it might be better to not try and estrange one of the very few friends that he still has, only to pander to India and the US. Yes, they help more than Pakistan, but the only thing that will actually save Ashraf Ghani’s government is by bringing stability to the country. And this does nothing to achieve that ultimate end.