Gamal Nkrumah analyses the place of Afghanistan in the global political arena as it heads for presidential polls amid international furore over the NATO fiasco in the war-torn land The Pashtun people, always with somewhat smug pride and their conservative religious traditions, have a real cropper with the metamorphosis from ruling clique into an underground movement with a groundswell of support from peasants and the urban poor. Be that as it may, any Western policymaker who believes that the opium-producing nation will eventually act as a lieutenant for the interests of the United States and its Western allies in Central Asia clearly has been smoking something herbal. With no catharsis yet in view, it is increasingly becoming obvious that Afghanistan's tortured road to democratisation is heading for the dustbin of history unless it quickly makes amends with political Islam Taliban-style. Western policymakers appear to vacillate dangerously between mouthing spurious information about Afghanistan and the Taliban and expressing innocent ignorance. Their tendency for misinterpreting the realities on the ground in Afghanistan is bewildering. The leaders of Taliban, too, should reflect on where the violence they orchestrate has taken their people. Taliban leaders believe in the efficacy of revolutionary violence militant Islamist- style. The challenge Taliban leaders face today is that it is not force they need to deploy but the moral power of their faith. Political Islam is gaining adherents not only in Afghanistan but also throughout the Muslim world. The Taliban have threatened to blow up polling stations during today's presidential election claiming that voters are "infidels". The incumbent , an ethnic Pashtun himself, does not command the respect of the majority of his people. And yet, in all probability, he will win today's presidential poll. He presides over a messy and unglamorous democracy riddled with fundamental contradictions. The US is playing God and Karzai is widely seen as Washington's lackey, a position that leaves him open to criticism from his countrymen, and women. Worse, Karzai appears to pander to the least proficient aspects of the militant Islamist ideology. Not only does he have nothing to show for his sucking up to his masters and benefactors in Washington, but also he periodically flirts with the Taliban. One recent faux pas that has attracted international attention is that Karzai approved a bill that permits husbands to starve their wives if they refuse to have sex, a law which critics argue legalises "marital rape". The law only applies to Afghanistan's Shia Muslim minorities who constitute 15 per cent of the country's population. All Afghan women, however, are required by law to ask permission from their husbands if they seek employment. It is practices such as these that outrage Afghanistan's foreign democracy fixers. "They're obviously holding election in adverse circumstances," warned US Defense Secretary Robert Gates. Indeed, wherever Karzai lacks the chance to grandstand, the Taliban thrive and flourish. Karzai is in no position to preach. The Taliban propagate their militant ideological orientation. But what first needs to be done is to clean up the mess created by the occupying NATO forces. The war in Afghanistan is a tragedy not only for Afghanistan but also for the entire Muslim world. Karzai is not the first Afghan leader under a cloud. But even when Karzai wanted to renegotiate Afghan democratisation and political reform, which is very much unlikely given how much else he has on his plate, such a move would be futile without incorporating the bulk of his people -- the country's ethnic Pashtun. What should have been a historic presidential poll, to rescue the Afghan post-Taliban political establishment from its further slide into corruption and national irrelevance, was largely taken up by extraneous and arguments. And, such confusion was churned against the backdrop of widespread accusation by critics of vote buying and vote rigging. Predominantly Muslim democracies, where they exist, are too fragile to be knocked about like this. Majority Muslim countries such as Indonesia or Bangladesh are grappling with the very dynamics of Western-style multi-party democracy. The nascent democracy in neighbouring Pakistan is to say the least wobbly -- and that is an understatement. However, in Afghanistan nobody inside or outside the country honestly believes that the country is ready for a fully-fledged democracy modelled on that of the Western democracies. The sad truth is that Afghanistan has a long way to go before democracy is institutionally enshrined. First and foremost, a negotiated solution with Taliban must be worked out. Few Afghans are so in thrall to democracy, especially since it has exacerbated social tensions and created unacceptable income differentials in one of the world's poorest and least developed nations. The agony of Afghanistan will not lessen with Thursday's presidential poll. Most Afghans realise that President Karzai's tenure in office has not been flawless. Many Afghans undoubtedly resent that the West imposed Karzai on them. He was selected by Washington in order to advance the cause of democracy. The danger in Afghanistan where the militant Islamists and moderate Islamists have been at loggerheads for years is that the country ends up with a less democratic and sexist legal and institutional framework with misogynist lawmakers in charge of the country, determining the pace and the direction of change. Afghans have to come to terms with the necessity of compromise. Karzai pledged to invite Taliban leaders to a grand tribal council, the loya jirga, if re-elected. The Taliban have intensified the launching of rocket- propelled grenades on government buildings and NATO troop targets. The second core truth is that reforming the Afghan political system involves changing it. There are signs that certain elements of Afghan leadership fiercely resist this. Blaming Pashtun doubts on pressure from Taliban is a predictable reaction. The US Pentagon this week revealed a list of 367 kill or capture targets, tribal leaders -- mostly Pashtun -- involved in both the narcotics trade and the Taliban insurgency. It is true that many Pashtun leaders want Taliban blessings. Under such a dispensation, homegrown democracy is a distant dream. The invasion of Afghanistan was rubber-stamped by the UN, it was carried out by the US and NATO, and the UN has been merely a passive bystander. It is in this context that the controversy in Britain over the British military presence in Afghanistan has created brouhaha. Severe criticism at home over British Prime Minister Gordon Brown's government's war in Afghanistan has reached a crescendo. "We must fight on" Premier Brown insisted. He explained that British embroilment in the war in Afghanistan was prerequisite in the fight against international terror claiming that three-fourths of the terrorist acts in Britain originate from Afghanistan and neighbouring Pakistan. "It is to make Britain safe and the rest of the world safe that we must make sure we honour our commitment to maintain a free and stable Afghanistan," Brown pleaded somewhat feebly. Nevertheless, Brown re-iterated his call for "burden-sharing across Europe" in the fight against terrorism in Afghanistan. So why is Afghanistan so vital for Britain, Europe and the world? Unlike Iraq, Afghanistan has no substantial oil reserves. Yes, the country is indeed strategically located at the crossroads between Central Asia, the Middle East, and South Asia. "We will need more police and therefore a training programme for police," Brown extrapolated. The intention is presumably to enable the Afghan government and its police force to better face up to the challenge of militant political Islam in the country. An estimated 95 soldiers were injured in action in July, the bloodiest month so far since the invasion and occupation of Afghanistan by NATO troops in 2001. Military deaths dramatically increased from four in June to 22 soldiers in July this year. To date, the Afghan war has claimed the lives of 201 British troops since its inception in 2001. The resurgent Taliban is making its mark. At this rate, United States President Barack Obama will inevitably face similar criticism at home. After all, he following in ex-president Bush's footsteps, has put Afghanistan high on the world's agenda.
