Afghanistan-Pakistan Border Dispute - Essay Example

 Afghanistan-Pakistan border dispute Introduction There has been a long-standing dispute on the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan. Afghanistan is surrounded by six countries. However, the Durand Line bordering Pakistan is the most disputed of them all. The Pashtun area and the North West Frontier in Pakistan are claimed by Afghanistan on the grounds of the tribal communities residing in the area. The amount of violence in the area has grown since the US war on Afghanistan. According to the US intelligence agencies, the Al Qaeda has a significant dominance in this area. Afghanistan does not abide by the accepted borderline with Pakistan. The problems faced in the borders of Pakistan and Afghanistan has a solution in the reflective thinking. Individuals are engrossed in reflective thinking when they are faced with a problem, which do not provide answers. The answers in this case are uncertain and there is no authority to provide the correct answer. In this case, there is no specific correct answer and the problem has to be evaluated in the light of the past data. The subject of reflective thinking consists of the evaluation of beliefs and the integration of the contrasting views. The problem faced in the borders of Pakistan and Afghanistan is intense as its base lies in the problem between the tribes of the area and the problem do not provide with suggestive answers. (On reflective thinking; Bajoria) History and the causes of the border dispute The problem of the border of Afghanistan and Pakistan has a long history to it. The Afghanistan side of the border has a long history of various tribes fighting over the supremacy of the land. The British during its rule in the Indian sub continent began to expand its empire in the Central Asia where it faced the Russian opposition. The land of Afghanistan was fought over by both the countries. The English fought wars in Afghanistan and won over the land. They demarcated a three-tier border system to distinguish the extension of their rule. The lines were drawn by negotiation with the then Afghan ruler King Abdur Rahman Khan. The first border was between Pakistan and the areas under the Pashtun rule. The second tier distinguished the Pashtun areas from that of Afghanistan. This is the Durand line. Sir Henry Mortimer Durand drew the borderline and it was named after him. The Durand line is the globally documented boundary between Afghanistan and Pakistan. The third frontier was the external borders of Afghanistan in the north. Most of the problems in the area of the border stem from the presence of tribal communities in the region. Pashtuns are the dominant tribe in the area. The Afghani population consists of 40% of Pashtuns while that of Pakistan consists of 15-20%. Pashtuns on either border side do not consider the Durand Line as the border. They consider the area as a free area. The Pashtuns demand a separate nation of Pashtunistan in the area. The association between the two nations suffered with each country giving shelter to the enemies of the opposite country. For instance, the Baloch nationalists of the border area in Pakistan found shelter in Afghanistan in the 1970s. The Baloch are another fierce tribe known for their fighting. Pakistan hosted the Afghani Taliban and also helped in the insurgence of Jihad in the country during the attack of Russia. In addition to this, the borders have a notorious claim of having giving shelter to smuggling activities. The people from the either sides of the border are dependent to a large extent on the cross border smuggling activities. The dispute in the borders increased after 9/11 when Pakistan supported Afghanistan to drive terror out of Afghanistan. However, reports suggest that still, large amount of terrorist activities still remain in the borders with the presence of the militant groups. Criteria for acceptable solution From the above paragraph it can be inferred that the problem in the border areas of Afghanistan and Pakistan is very intense and the solution to the problem is reflective thinking. The intensity of the problem around the border is great and interests of many communities of the tribal people are in sync with it. The conflicting interests of the Pashtuns and the Baloch people are to be kept in mind while providing a solution to the problem. The area of freedom in this case is minimal with the area dominated by the hardcore militants of the area. Possible solutions The problem in this area disrupts the balance in the region and both the countries have to invest a lot of amount of money and time to tackle the problem. Henceforth, amicable solutions will help the country and the region to prosper. The possible solutions should be taken in light of the existing data about the conflicts and the population of the region. The problem solving through the method of reflective thinking appear to be much more scientific and valid. The solutions can be described as follows: Integration of the tribal communities in the mainstream economy: The Pashtuns are ethnic tribal people known for their fighting skills. They like to be independent and do not want anyone to rule over them. They generally live around the borders of Afghanistan and Pakistan and they are nomads. Though some of the people in the community are involved in the Government jobs in Afghanistan they are primarily nomads. They should be integrated in the mainstream society so that they are economically developed and feel as a part of the country. (Pashtunwali) However, the condition in the area does not support educational facilities. The terrain of the area and the pride of the Pashtuns restrict the entry of the Government and the army in the area. Therefore, the Government has to first arouse the importance of education and economy in the minds of the Pashtuns. In this way the tension in the border area will be nullified and the tribal people will be engaged in the development activities. Development of military facilities in the area: It is the responsibility of both the countries to develop the military facilities in the area to curb the growth of the militant activities. The area has been a breeding ground for militant camps and insurgent military activities should be aimed at destruction of these camps. The border should be protected to restrict the smuggling activities. The boundary is known to be porous with various paths among the mountains in the area. It is difficult to man the borders at every single point. In addition to it, there have been the activities of the tribes who oppose the presence of the militaries in the region. The terrain of the region is the biggest problem in the area for the military and the militants know the terrain better than them. They have a distinct advantage over the soldiers. The US soldiers faced the same problem when hunting for the militants in the region. However, with the development of the satellites the military can know the presence of the military camps in advance. Negotiation between the Governments overseen by a superpower: An amicable solution can be possible with negotiation between the Governments of Pakistan and Afghanistan over the border overseen by a superpower like the USA. However, with the tension in the area this alternative will take time to show up. Presence of Orthodox Muslim institutions in the area: One of the main reasons for the development of the militant activities in the area is because of the teachings of aggressive Muslim institutions in the area. The teachings of the orthodox Muslim organizations in the area can be helpful to curb the militant activities among the inhabitants. The orthodox Muslim institutions are opposed to the militant activities and their definition of religion is different from the militant organizations. Most of the militant activities around the world are aided by the teachings of the militant activities. The tribal area is prone to militant activities as the people are uneducated. Therefore the establishment of the Muslim institutions in the area will help in curbing the violence. However, it will face a lot of challenges from the militant organizations there. These are some of the solutions, which can help in bringing peace to the area and solve the border disputes between the two countries. Conclusions The border dispute between Afghanistan and Pakistan has a long history. In these cases individuals have to look for answers with the help of reflective thinking. The solutions to this problem cannot be implemented by the global governing bodies because of the ethnicity and the terrain of the region. Therefore, the responsibility rests upon the Governments of these countries. The best possible solution is to integrate the tribal communities in the mainstream society. The main problem lies in the economic conditions of the region and militants take advantage of the condition to lure the people of the area. With the development of the economic condition the problem will be solved from the base. The tribal communities can be helped by the Government to engage in the economic activities. The Tribal communities can be helped with education and that would increase the chances of getting jobs. The development of the economic activities will ensure that the tribal communities will not be involved in the smuggling and the terrorist activities. With education they will understand the ill effects of these acts. With the solution of the problem the countries will develop and the ethnic tribes of the region will come into the mainstream society. References 1. Bajoria, Jayshree. The troubled Afghan-Pakistani Border. Council on foreign relations. 20th March, 2009. Available at: http://www.cfr.org/publication/14905/troubled_afghanpakistani_border.html (Accessed on 19th March, 2010) 2. On Reflective thinking. Stanford, 1999. Available at: http://ldt.stanford.edu/ldt1999/Students/cmazow/MajorProject/onRefThink.htm (Accessed on 19th March, 2010) 3. Pashtunwali. The Pashtun way. Terrorist planet.com. n.d. Available at: http://www.terroristplanet.com/pashtun.htm (Accessed on 19th March, 2010) Read More