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Express Tribune
18-06-2025
- Politics
- Express Tribune
A shared horizon: why Pak-Afghan ties matter
Listen to article Few bilateral relationships in South Asia are as deeply rooted and strategically consequential as those between Pakistan and Afghanistan. Shaped by centuries of interconnected history, overlapping ethnicities and geographic proximity, this bond remains vital not only to the futures of both nations, but to the collective peace and prosperity of the region. Pakistan's approach to Afghanistan has long been guided by a clear strategic principle: peace and stability in one country is essential to the sustainability of the other. From shared borders and interwoven tribes to economic dependencies and cultural affinities, the relationship transcends mere diplomacy. Pashtuns, Hazaras and other ethnic groups straddle both sides of the Durand Line, reinforcing the reality that these are not just neighboring states, but are socially and historically intertwined societies. While international discourse on Afghanistan tends to oscillate between periods of intense focus and indifference, Pakistan's engagement has remained steady. It has pursued dialogue with every Afghan government, irrespective of political orientation, rooted in a belief that only Afghan-led, Afghan-owned peace can yield durable stability. Even amid setbacks and strained moments, Pakistan has consistently chosen constructive diplomacy over provocation, acting from the perspective of regional responsibility rather than tactical convenience. One of the most tangible manifestations of this consistency lies in Pakistan's long-standing humanitarian commitment. For more than four decades, Pakistan has hosted over four million Afghan refugees — many of whom have integrated into local communities, contributing to society and shaping generations of diaspora identity. This effort is one of the largest and most enduring refugee-hosting initiatives in modern history and is a testament to the depth of Pakistan's social resilience and regional empathy. Critically, this refuge has been more than shelter — it has been an investment in people. Over 100,000 Afghan students have graduated from Pakistani institutions, and more than 7,000 are currently enrolled in universities across the country. The Allama Iqbal Scholarship initiative and dozens of school-level programmes have widened access to education, especially for Afghan girls. Many of these graduates now serve as civil servants, doctors, entrepreneurs and educators in Afghanistan, applying skills they acquired across the border. Pakistan's support is also visible inside Afghanistan itself. Institutions such as the Liaquat Ali Khan Engineering Faculty in Balkh, Rehman Baba School in Kabul, and healthcare facilities like Jinnah Hospital and the Nishtar Kidney Centre reflect long-term, needs-based investments. These projects are not mere diplomacy by brick and mortar, they are foundations of development that serve Afghan society daily. Infrastructure cooperation has emerged as a central pillar of Pakistan's regional strategy. The Torkham-Jalalabad highway, internal road systems in Nangarhar, and the Chaman-Spin Boldak and Peshawar-Jalalabad railway carriageways aim to transform Afghanistan from a landlocked buffer zone into a connective hub. With links to Central Asia, the Gulf and South Asia, Afghanistan's geostrategic value can only be realised through regional cooperation; and Pakistan is prepared to support that transformation. That said, the relationship has not been free of strain. Historical tensions, amplified by shifting alliances and India's influence in Afghan politics, have at times sowed mistrust. However, even when faced with hostile rhetoric and misinformation, Pakistan has not walked away from engagement Pakistan's response to the events of August 2021, when the Afghan government collapsed and a new political order emerged, further reinforced its commitment. While many Western nations reneged on promises to rebuild Afghanistan, Pakistan refused to balk out and kept acting in good faith. Beyond individual policies and initiatives lies an essential truth: for South and Central Asia to realise their collective potential, Afghanistan must be brought into the regional fold. Be it through trade corridors, energy transit lines or counterterrorism coordination, a peaceful and integrated Afghanistan benefits every stakeholder. However, to realise that vision, both countries must commit not only to cooperation, but to trust-building. The future of bilateral relations lies not just in high-level visits or official declarations, but in robust people-to-people diplomacy. Academic exchanges, youth collaborations, cultural forums and decentralised trade. It is also essential for the international community to engage with this relationship with nuance and depth. Too often, global actors view Afghanistan through short-term security lenses, ignoring the subtleties of regional dynamics. Ultimately, Pakistan cannot resolve every challenge Kabul faces. Nor can it dictate the course of Afghan politics. But what it can do — and has done — is to remain a constant: a consistent, empathetic and regionally grounded partner. In today's geopolitical terrain, where alliances are transactional and interests fleeting, this reliability carries immense value. Pakistan and Afghanistan are more than neighbours. They are linked by history, kinship and shared trials. As both countries navigate turbulent times and shifting alliances, they must resist the temptation to retreat into suspicion. Instead, they must recognise that no enduring regional peace is possible without their cooperation — and that true partnership is not a matter of strategy alone, but of shared destiny. The real question is not whether the Pak-Afghan ties matter. The real question is whether both nations — and their allies — are ready to nurture these ties with the long-term seriousness they deserve.
The Guardian
11-04-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Liberal candidate co-authored inquiry submission suggesting Hazaras not persecuted for ethnicity in Afghanistan
The Liberal candidate for Bruce co-authored a parliamentary submission suggesting the Hazara community in Afghanistan was not persecuted on the basis of its ethnicity, contradicting the Australian government and drawing rebuke from international human rights groups. Zahid Safi co-authored a submission to a 2021 parliamentary inquiry into Australia's involvement in the Afghanistan war, which incorrectly cited a Human Rights Watch (HRW) report to allege Hazara 'warlords' had 'cut the breasts of women' and watched 'live delivery of pregnant women' during the early 1990s. The 2005 HRW report does not mention these acts. The allegations led members of the Hazara community, which has a significant presence in the electorate of Bruce, to lodge their own dissenting submissions to the inquiry, alleging the claims relied on 'racist tropes' and sought to erase the 'well-documented persecution of an entire ethnic group'. Sign up for the Afternoon Update: Election 2025 email newsletter Safi did not directly comment on those allegations when contacted by Guardian Australia, instead stating he was 'a staunch advocate for freedom of religion or belief for all individuals worldwide'. 'As someone who fled the country because of war, I know everyone under the Taliban suffered, and my advocacy for human rights is shaped by those experiences,' Safi said. The Senate submission co-authored by Safi said, in reference to conflict in Afghanistan, 'that victims of war are not based on ethnicity'. 'The victims of war are targeted based on ideology,' the joint submission said. 'This means, whoever opposes the Taliban and their ideology, is perceived as the Taliban's enemy. Therefore, their perceived animosity is not based on ethnic division.' A 2022 briefing paper on Afghanistan, prepared by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, states the Hazara community are an ethnic group that represents an estimated 10-20% of the country's population. It states the Hazara face 'a high risk of harassment and violence (…) on the basis of their ethnicity and sectarian affiliation'. The department notes the Hazara community has been historically persecuted, noting it was subjected to 'the worst single recorded massacre in the country's recent history' in August 1998, when the Taliban, a predominantly Pashtun organisation, 'massacred at least 2,000 Hazaras'. The submission co-authored by Safi also expressed frustration that other ethnic groups from Afghanistan had allegedly been 'sidelined' by the Australian government and media, due to an alleged prioritisation of the Hazara community. 'Pashtuns have had the most casualties compared to others and this needs to be acknowledged by the Australian government as the 20 years' war existed mostly in the Pashtun provinces,' the submission stated. Thousands of Hazaras who fled Afghanistan after persecution from the Taliban in the 1990s settled in Melbourne's south-eastern suburbs, within the federal electorate of Bruce. The electorate is also home to other Afghan ethnic groups. Safi said: 'A full and fair reading of my submission makes clear that I advocated for every single living individual at risk from the national atrocity and humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan under the Taliban.' Guardian Australia has spoken to other co-authors of the report who stand by its claims. Bruce is held by the incumbent Labor MP, Julian Hill. A margin of 6.6% at the 2022 election has been reduced to 5.3% after a redistribution. . Sign up to Afternoon Update: Election 2025 Our Australian afternoon update breaks down the key election campaign stories of the day, telling you what's happening and why it matters after newsletter promotion The submission has been criticised by HRW's Afghanistan researcher, Fereshta Abbasi, who accused the authors of misrepresenting a report by the organisation to imply brutal violence in Kabul between 1992 and 1995 was conducted exclusively by Hazaras. 'Among these atrocities were those carried out by ethnically Pashtun militia forces and ethnically Hazara militia forces against civilians of these respective ethnic groups, in tit-for-tat kidnappings, rapes and killings,' Abbasi said. 'Attributing them exclusively towards Hazaras is misleading. It is our finding that these attacks were in fact based on ethnicity – in that the victims were targeted because of their ethnicity.' A dissenting submission made by members of the Hazara community, who asked for the Senate to withhold their names, said the submission co-authored by Safi had 'the effect of amplifying racist tropes'. 'It highlights the actions of a few actors in a past civil war, drawing attention to ethnicity to imply the guilt of entire ethnic groups, or to imply that people who belong to ethnic groups other than Pashtun are violent in nature,' the dissenting submission said. A separate dissenting report by two academics specialising in Afghanistan at La Trobe University and Deakin University, along with solicitors and PhD candidates, accused the submission of containing 'a series of factually incorrect statements and racist prejudices'. 'Instead of acknowledging the historical and current persecution of the Hazaras, and the significant risks faced by Hazaras in Afghanistan under the Taliban regime; the authors deliberately blame the Hazaras for the general violence and human rights abuses that were perpetrated during several phases of the war in Afghanistan,' the academics and lawyers said.
