Afghanistan’s province The desolate hills, challenging terrain, and winding roads that characterise Uruzgan. Due to this, it is an area of Afghanistan that is sparsely populated. On top of a hill in the Tarinkot district of this province, a guy was lighting a fire at night. On the hills the next day, this man started a fire once more. He was undoubtedly transmitting a covert signal of his existence by doing so, and perhaps the signal had been picked up. Because he neglected to start the fire on the third night. A US chopper descended in the dead of night during the early hours. Bags of food, guns, and batteries were all dropped.
The fact that the batteries would keep his cell phone running made this man quite delighted. He could not afford to take the chance of getting his cell phone off because his adversaries were pursuing him. He was expected to travel extensively throughout Afghanistan while maintaining contact with the US Embassy in Pakistan. This man was Hamid Karzai, and these were the latter days of 2001. The necessary items were sent after the American spy planes located him. How did Hamid Karzai bring the Taliban into Pakistan and why did the US support him while he was here?
After 9/11, why and where was Maulana Sufi Muhammad arrested? What significant conference between Gen. Musharraf and the US General took occurred in Islamabad? I’m Faisal Warraich, and I’ll be demonstrating all of this for the Dekho, Suno, Jano series on Pakistani history. Gambit Banda is a little, stunning region on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. An elderly man with a beard was urging the locals to participate in Jihad in Afghanistan in order to achieve the Heavens. In order to combat the Americans, he was Maulana Sufi Muhammad, who led hundreds of people to Mazar Sharif.
Most of the young people between the ages of 12 and 25 had joined him. Burhan, the 55-year-old Faisal Rehman of Gambit Banda’s son, was also one of them. Burhan, a worker at a Lahore tea shop, was ready to go to war with Sufi Muhammad in Afghanistan. Taliban were retreating and leaving Mazar Sharif when Sufi Muhammad brought these youth there. The Northern Alliance and Americans had taken control of the city (NA). However, during a battle, the news is frequently murky and only occasionally reaches the populace.
These young men entered a school structure to await the leader of the Taliban’s call. But after a few hours, hundreds of soldiers from the Northern Alliance surrounded the structure rather than Taliban. These kids suddenly realised that they had been encircled by the people they had come to fight. The mature ones among them sought to negotiate a peace treaty with the soldiers of the Northern Alliance. However, the Northern Alliance’s strong stance against Pakistan and the Taliban combined with the zeal of some youth, the opposing stance of certain elders, and their lack of experience led to indiscriminate firing.
Now 700 Pakistanis had to contend with heavily armed NA fighters and US jets dropping 1000-pound heavy bombs on them. Youth in Pakistan had no chance of surviving. Many of them were killed by the tremendous bombing, and the remaining ones were taken by NA fighters who were severely injured. When the young people who had survived were placed in the infamous Qilla Jangi jail, they suffered another setback in life. The elderly and frail Pakistanis were divided between the Uzbek and Tajik commanders. Burhan, a 16-year-old, was also taken into a commander’s custody. He received treatment that can only be lamented and not articulated.
From a guy released from the Afghan captivity, his father Faisal Rehman learnt the tragic story of his son. Faisal also saw a picture of his son, who was dressed in torn garments and suffering from swollen wounds in the bitter cold. The mother fell silent as she thought of her kid, and the father was unable to utter anything other than, “Allah, Allah.” The freed prisoner claimed that the Afghan commander had set a price of more than $2,000 for Burhan’s release. Faisal, who was already abjectly poor, wanted to know how much $2000 was in local money.
After that, he started saving Rs. 10 every day, which meant that, after 34 years, he would have the necessary sum. A few days later, the media reported that around 700 captives, many of them Pakistanis, had died in the Mazar Sharif prison. Faisal had no idea if Burhan was still alive or not. because the most recent reports indicated that Burhan had been placed in a commander’s personal custody. Faisal implored the officials for the release of his kid, displaying his picture and admonishing them of his innocence.
The senior officials expressed regret about his son’s situation and their helplessness to take any action. In any other circumstance, Burhan’s issue would not have been addressed at that time by Afghanistan’s central government. Taliban and Pakistanis were treated with utter contempt by the Northern Alliance, which by this point had taken over Kabul. People enjoy hearing about battle, but in reality, it is accompanied by suffering and catastrophes. The fact that Sufi Muhammad returned to Pakistan a few days prior to the slaughter of Pakistanis is notable. Sufi Muhammad had also been detained by the government.
As the Northern Alliance seized Kabul, its supporters poured out onto the road from every direction. Only two days after the Alliance had seized Kabul, crowds of civilians flocked to the movie theatres. After five years, the Taliban’s control came to an end, but who would now rule Afghanistan? And can you say whether such a leader would be able to unite Afghanistan? Given the ongoing civil strife in Afghanistan since its independence in 1919, this question was debatable. Finding a leader worthy enough to keep all Afghans united was the task at hand.
Ethnic groups existed in Afghanistan. Tajik 27%, Hazara 9%, Uzbek 8%, and Pushtun 42%. Others existed as well, although they were few and far between. It was therefore obvious that the leader would belong to the Pashtun ethnic group that was in the majority. The majority of the leaders of the Northern Alliance, who aided the US in Afghanistan, were Tajiks or Uzbeks. Although Pushtuns lacked a leader, they would undoubtedly suffer if a Tajik or an Uzbek took charge of Afghanistan. Although not all Pushtuns were Taliban, they were also Pushtun.
Some Pushtun, such as Hamid Karzai, Abdul Haq, and Agha Gul Sherzai, were independent of the Taliban. The US had to choose the leader of Afghanistan from among them and hand over some important positions to the Northern Alliance. Since the Taliban took control of Afghanistan, all three of them had been residing in Pakistan. Commander Abdul Haq rode a horse into Afghanistan following the US bombing. He was a well-liked general who aimed to unify all Afghan tribes. However, the Taliban executed Abdul Haq once they had kidnapped him. Agha Gul Sherzai was also denied the opportunity to rule Afghanistan because of his reputation for corruption and stealing. There was only Hamid Karzai remained.
If given the order, he promised to rally the Pushtun and others to fight the Taliban. The American understood. Then Karzai arrived in Pakistan, took a satellite phone from his apartment, and rode off on a motorcycle towards Afghanistan. He travelled throughout Afghanistan and advocated for a coalition against the Taliban with US support. Karzai was also reporting on his progress to the US embassy. As Karzai met with Afghan commanders and advisers, the US began to accept him more. Hamid Karzai was chosen as the interim president of Afghanistan by the United States and its allies.
The most crucial query, though, concerned Karzai’s quality of life if elected president. because the Taliban were pursuing him when he was on a motorcycle. Taliban desired to assassinate Hamid Karzai, which they were free to do at any time as they did with Abdul Haq. He was nonetheless spared by the Taliban but was the target of a bomb launched by a US B-52 aircraft. While attacking the Taliban, the US B-52 aeroplane targeted Hamid Karzai and his American allies. Three Americans were killed and 30 others were injured in what the American called “friendly fire.”
Hamid Karzai was hurt in that incident and barely made it out alive. This occurrence happened at the beginning of December 2001. After being rescued from Afghanistan, Hamid Karzia travelled to the US where he received medical attention and attended meetings. On December 5, 2001, the UN formed an interim structure in Afghanistan. This organization’s chairman was named as Hamid Karzai. This deal was called the “Bonn accord” since the meeting for it took place in Bonn, Germany. Under this arrangement, an international force was also to be stationed in Afghanistan.
After 9/11, the Bonn Agreement allowed for the deployment of the international forces known as ISAF in Afghanistan. Over 45 nations, including the US, NATO, Turkey, UAE, Singapore, and Jordan, had soldiers in Afghanistan as part of the same pact. In Afghanistan, these forces established approximately 700 bases. The ISAF army did not include Pakistan or Saudi Arabia. However, Hamid Karzai was unanimously recognised as the new Afghan president by ISAF allies and others. Therefore, Hamid Karzai and the Taliban came to this deal, which deeply angered America. Due to this deal, Pakistan suffered more than Karzai did. In Kandahar, the Taliban’s final stronghold, there was combat.
However, when Pushtun Hamid Karzai was chosen as the interim leader of Afghanistan, the Taliban chose to submit to him. The UN delegate and the Pushtun elders in Kunduz had already received a surrender offer from the Taliban. They did this because they had no faith in America or the Northern Alliance to bring them any good. Both Gen. Musharraf and the UK agreed to treat Taliban who would surrender leniently. Taliban were so let to peacefully depart Kunduz. Only foreigners were detained and then placed in a container where many of them suffocated to death. Taliban had likewise put down their weapons and left Amirabad.
Hamid Karzai may have reached the Taliban deal against this backdrop. He promised the Taliban that if they laid down their weapons, he would spare them. The Shah Wali Kot agreement was the result of a negotiation that took place there. The accord was covered by the media all across the world. This arrangement was reached following a private meeting with Mullah Omar, which we previously showed you. You already know why the Taliban ultimately opted to lay down their weapons. In light of Karzai’s pledge to choose a new Taliban leader,
Along with other commanders, Mullah Obaidulah gave up. Additionally, Karzai informed the governors of Zabul and Kandahar who were aware of the Taliban pact. Additionally, these governors were carrying out the Shah Wali Kot pact. It was a positive step for Pakistan and Afghanistan in the sake of world peace. But! Only two days later, Karzai’s decision and the agreement were rejected by US Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. The cancellation of the accord, US anger, and refusal of Karzai’s pardon over it were all covered by the international media.
Following this, Hamid Karzai became angry toward the Taliban and started to detain and murder them. As a first step, the US removed Karzai’s appointed governors of Zabul and Kandahar. You must be aware of who was chosen to fill their position. Hamidullah Tokhi, a dead opponent of the Taliban and close ally of Gulbaden Hikmatyar, was appointed governor in Zabul, where the majority of the Taliban resided and Mullah Omar was concealed. The US replaced Mullah Naqib, an appointee of Karzai, as governor of Kandahar, where the Taliban had also sought refuge. Agha had strong feelings against the Taliban and Hamid Karzia. Gul Sherzai, who lived in Quetta, was the same person that Mullah Omar had kicked out of the Taliban movement.
At that time, Gul Sherzai was also in charge of the CIA’s moderate intelligence network in Afghanistan. As a result, these governors became quite active in looking for Taliban and Mullah Omar in their respective provinces. On the other hand, reports of cruel treatment in Kunduz and Mazar Sharif reverberated throughout Afghanistan. These two events prevented the anti-US fighters from putting down their weapons. Arab and Taliban fighters then relocated to Iran, Pakistan, Tajikistan, and other countries. Due to their sympathisers in Pakistan, the Pushtuns predominately settled in the region around the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. Therefore, these Pushtuns crossed the permeable Pakistan-Afghanistan border and settled in Balochistan and KPK.
With the aid of their followers and sympathisers, they were able to go underground in this area. Gen. Musharraf was now going to search them and see whether any new terrorist networks had been established in Pakistan. It was a challenging task. The US Generals involved in this issue travelled to Pakistan to make preparations for an assault on Iraq. Gen. Musharraf had a significant complaint against them, but they were still scheduled to meet with him for an urgent matter. In December 2001, Gen. Tommy Franks and Gen. Musharraf met in Islamabad. They were joined in the meeting by US Ambassador Wendy Chamberlin.
Musharraf questioned why American airstrikes in Afghanistan were driving extremists into Pakistan. If Pakistan concealed itself in one of the many valleys, he said, it would have serious issues. Gen. Franks was unable to respond. Al-qaeda could be stopped from entering Pakistan, according to Gen. Musharraf, if the US gave logistical support to transport quickly 60,000 Pakistani soldiers… to the Afghan borders. The US envoy claimed that Gen. Franks also didn’t have an answer to it. Later on, the US informed General Musharraf that “helicopters were in low supply.” The United States required Gen. Musharraf’s assistance in the battle in Afghanistan.
So, setting Musharraf’s dictatorship aside, the US started providing generous financial help to Pakistan. Pakistan’s foreign loan payback period was extended from 10 to 20 years. The US then gave Pakistan $600 million in aid to reduce its budget deficit. It came in addition to the loan option and assistance from Europe and Japan. Pakistan’s foreign reserves increased to over $4 billion as a result of all of this for the first time. Gen. Musharraf was now financially stable and no longer subject to US pressure to push for democracy in Pakistan.
In light of this, Musharraf started pushing his political agenda. What was the purpose of that plan, and what part did NAB play? Which Al-Qaeda commanders, where they originated, and how were they detained in Pakistan? Why did India station 700,000 soldiers on the Pakistani border? In the upcoming History of Pakistan episode, I will demonstrate everything to you. Please offer a nonviolent solution to maintain Pakistan’s peace in the meantime in the comments area. You learned about an incident involving Sufi Muhammad in this episode.
It serves as a reminder that Sufi Muhammad also started a Shariah system movement in Malakand in 1994. In that movement, he had taken control of a sizable portion of the airport. Click here to read an excellent account of the French Revolution, and touch here to learn how Sultan Mehmed Fatih took control of Constantinople.Contact Us