| 30 August 1998 | Sunday | 07 Jamadi-ul-Awwal 1419 |
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Ashvagan
WHAT would we do were dawn to dawn each day in Pakistan if there were no Dawn, the newspaper founded by the founder of the nation, Mohammad Ali Jinnah? It informs, it educates and it entertains. Its first editorial on August 26 ends with the words: "Watching these events it is difficult to decide whether to laugh or to cry." Let us rather laugh.
Ashvagan, the 'Land of Horses,' as Afghanistan was once known long, long ago, formed itself into a state in 1747. The first Amir, Ahmad Khan ruled well and wisely (1747-73). His brothers and sons succeeded him, the last of the family, brother Mahmud being overthrown in 1818. Thereafter, for eight years, anarchy prevailed. It was during this period that Afghanistan became the main playing field for the Great Game, started in 1824 and which now, almost two centuries later, still continues.
In 1826, Amir Dost Mohammad restored a semblance of order until 1838 when he was forced to abdicate. Then came ten rulers until the progressive Habibullah Khan took the throne in 1901, ruling over not only his country but over an extended harem of unveiled women dressed in the latest European fashions. He was assassinated in 1919. His brother Nasrullah Khan succeeded him, holding the throne for a month until the people brought in Habibullah's son, Amanullah Khan. Once more, for ten years, there was relative peace in the Land of Horses.
This period has been encapsulated in 'Through Amanullah's Afghanistan' (pub. 1929) written by Sohrab Kavasji Hormusjee Katrak, a former mayor of Karachi. From the introductory essay by his contemporary scholar Gustad Kaikhosro Nariman :
"Once elevated to the throne by the will of the people, Amanullah threw himself body, heart and soul into the task of redeeming his motherland from ignorance, sloth, corruption, bigotry and partial subordination to the foreign paramount power, from which it received a yearly subsidy of 12 raised to 18 lakhs in lieu of an undertaking to have no relations with foreign states save through Britain. The aim of Amanullah's reign was to see Afghanistan free. He married the daughter of a journalist, Mahmud Tarzi, a person without parallel at home, who had ample share in the making of modern Afghanistan."
Amanullah's first act was to proclaim the independence of his country and the conclusion of direct treaties with other European powers. Thereafter, he took on the emancipation of women, education, the solving of the linguistic problem, town planning, the development of resources, agriculture - in short, progress and modernization.
But Amanullah moved too swiftly. The religious establishment had little stomach for reform. They were supported by the treachery of those who used and abused religion to serve their selfish ends, by the unbelievers who proclaim belief and exploit cheap religious zealotry. Unrest spread, civil war ensued, Amanullah abdicated and left the country. A bandit chief, Bacha-i-Saqao, usurped the throne, holding it from January to October 1929.
During his short period in power he achieved much. Promising the Afghans a complete return to the principles of the Quran and Sharia law. He halted each and every one of Amanullah's progressive measures. All modern schools were closed, female students were recalled from abroad, foreign advisers were forced to leave Kabul, polygamy laws were reinstated, laboratories, libraries, palaces and royal museums were sacked, rare books and articles of value were either destroyed, burnt or sold at ridiculous prices. Bacha's chief victims were Amanullah's officials, wealthy merchants, influential and learned men. Most were either blown from the mouths of canons, shot, beaten, bastinadoed, impaled, bayonetted, or starved to death. Confiscation of property, exile or simple death was deemed an uncommon instance of leniency. Students were regarded as secret enemies.
An orderly, well-run, clean Kabul was converted into a city of rioting, sabotage and destruction, the latter extending even to the felling of trees. Its inhabitants lived in daily terror of horrible occurrences. No one knew who ruled, nor what may occur from minute to minute.
The reign of terror was accompanied by a string of decrees designed to enhance the new ruler's popularity. He promised to lower taxes, abolished conscription, dissolved the ministries of education and justice, both of which were regarded as unnecessary and unwelcome infringements of the power of the religious establishments. The sole responsibility for the courts and schools reverted to the religious leadership.
Bacha proclaimed that he represented the 'true faith,' and that as a result of Amanullah's innovations, calculated to injure the sanctity of Islam, he had received the call and had taken a vow to serve the cause of God. To legitimize his rule, he took the title Amir Habibullah Ghazi, Servant of God and the Nation.
But his authority had shallow roots. Most of the tribes either refused to support him or were openly hostile, as were the Shias. These difficulties were compounded by a depleted treasury, looted by Bacha and his supporters, and by the suspension of normal trade. Unable to control raging corruption, unable to pay a disorganized army, he himself resorted to wholesale extortion and persecution.
Nadir Khan, kinsman of Dost Mohammad and cousin of Amanullah by marriage, rallied the tribes and in October 1929 they marched into Kabul to the cheers of the relieved townspeople. The cheers did not last long, the city was ransacked by the tribesmen, the citizens paying a high price for their relief. Bacha fled with his followers, most of whom were subsequently killed in the ensuing fighting, the rest deserting him. He surrendered unconditionally, and along with ten men who had stuck by him, was publicly hanged.
Nadir Shah acceded to the throne, his programme aimed at reestablishing political stability and the reconstruction of society. The first task was to repair the ruins of Afghanistan and to preserve its independence. Without intruding on religious beliefs and traditions, his intention was that his people achieve material and intellectual progress side by side with cultural reforms. He saw no reason why religion and progress should disagree, for, as he proclaimed, Islam does not prohibit progress. He attached great importance to education, without which no country can take a step forward, and schools were reopened. To do it all, he needed to replenish his treasury and to promote the development of industry and trade. In 1930, he permitted the opening of the Afghan National Bank, which encouraged the setting up of 30 large private joint-stock companies.
In mid-1933 things started to go wrong for Nadir Shah. Partisans of Amanullah, impatient modernists, disillusioned nationalists fomented trouble and in November Nadir Shah was assassinated by a student during a school prize-giving ceremony. That same day, his only son, Zahir Shah, ascended the throne, the last of the kings of Afghanistan.
In July 1973, he was deposed by his cousin, Mohammad Daud, and went off to Italy to live in exile. President Daud was assassinated in 1978, followed by Nur Mohammad Taraki, deposed and executed in September 1979, followed by Hafizullah Amin, deposed and assassinated in December 1979. Babrak Karmal took over as president and the Russians marched in.
Zia's Afghan policy we all know, as we know whom it enriched. Since then we have supported Engineer freedom fighters, Taliban freedom fighters, all of whom have ravished and destroyed the once beautiful country reducing it to a state almost beyond redemption.
Come 1998, and Osama enters, as do cruise missiles. The Tomahawk missile is a fantastic piece of equipment. It is powered by a turbo jet engine, travels at 500 mph, can be launched from the torpedo tube of a surface ship or a submarine, carries 1,000 lbs of high explosives over a range of 1,000 miles. It is guided by a terrain mapping system augmented by global positioning satellite data. The initial coordinates are fed into the missile's navigation system by the launching platform. Mid-course correction is made at the time of landfall, using key features of the coastline. Thereafter the missile flies a pre-programmed path to avoid populated areas and radar sites. A flat featureless terrain is a problem, while complex contours are more effective in enabling the missile to find its way and zero in on the target. All the in-flight and target contour information is fed into the missile's terrain following computer which is linked to its ground mapping radar. The missile flies much of the time when over enemy territory at a height of between 50 and 100 feet.
The Tomahawk has a very small radar cross-section. Most ground radar, unless mounted on a hilltop and looking down, will not be able to catch it. Even then, such a radar would need to be programmed to screen out ground clutter, especially in daytime. An AWAC plane, looking down with doppler radar, operating on particular wavelengths, could pick up a Tomahawk, but not perhaps over broken ground.
We are in deep trouble. People are looking for a Talleyrand (letter to editor, August 29) to sort out our problems and save the country. But we need have no fear. Amirul Momineen Mohammad Nawaz Sharif, ably aided by Naib Ameers Rafiq Tarar, Sartaj Aziz, Khalid Anwer, Ghous Ali Shah, Hamid Gul, the two Chaudhrys, and other luminaries will see us through. The tabled 15th Amendment is the answer to all problems, big or small.
