It seems that Taleban are my main preoccupation. But to be honest, it is Afghanistan that concerns me most.  After all who can ever forget the land of his forefathers, the playground of his childhood? The war-torn land has not seen peace in over  twenty  years. Every day there is new trouble, new problems, and new quagmires that what is left of the nation of 18 million is facing.

At first it was the Russians, our so-called neighbors and "friends."  It is well known what the Soviets did to us.  We lost almost two million martyrs as a result of the Russian atrocities.  We lost millions more as refugees, most of them to find returning well-nigh impossible. The various groups began struggles for superiority over the others and, in the process, brought about death and destruction to the masses, the poor, devastated, and powerless people peasants. When they did not kill people, they destroyed farms, homes and national property and government establishments.  Kabul and Kabulis received the brunt of such brutality.

Next came a leader who had promised to lay the groundwork for an all-encompassing democratic government that would bring peace and prosperity to Afghanistan inside a period of six months first, then, in a year's time, and then decided that the seat of authority was too close to his heart than peace and tranquility to the people.  Some of the country's neighbors talked of a desire for peace, but deep down, they, too, had their own goals which they followed diligently.  They still do so to this date.  A period of highway robbery, and mini-feudal warlords followed which further aggravated the situation and made life in Afghanistan miserable for what was left of the nation.

Taleban appeared and seemed to be determined to stop brigandage, collect arms and thereby bring some measure of tranquility.  Unfortunately this too does not seem to bring about what the nation so direly needs, time to mend their mental and material wounds and look forward to a  semblance of
normalcy.

Taleban came with a brand of religious intolerance.  They stated outright that what was happening in the country was contrary to Islam. They termed such things as men shaving their beards or wearing suits instead of shirts and trousers  to work, or caps over their heads instead of turbans as grave crimes against Islam.

They called women going out to work as teachers, doctors, office workers and factory personnel without an all-covering outfit known as burqa a crime against Islam.  They termed girls' schools un-Islamic and banned them all over the land they occupied and are vying to do the same in the rest of the country.  Not only that, they also stopped boy's schools beyond a basic knowledge of reading the Holy Qur'an and elementary math and some writing.  Modern education was considered not necessary for the citizens of the
Ameerate of Afghanistan "and not the Kingdom or the Republic of  Afghanistan."  In this, they followed the path of the leaders of Mujahedeen, i. e., to grab hold of the seat of government in Afghanistan for all time and keep the land and the people under their  brand of rule.   Talk to them about government according to the choice of the Muslim peoples of Afghanistan, and create a parliamentary system and run the country according to the expressed and agreed-upon wish of the nation, and see it fall upon deaf ears.

I wonder if they know how they are planning to run the country and its government.  What financial resources can they rely upon and how much they expect would be needed year after year to keep everything running in an orderly way?

If they were thinking that Pakistan or any other country would continue to help them indefinitely, they are gravely mistaken.  Right now the country is suffering a grave shortage of wheat and flour, the staple food item of the country.  What is Pakistan doing to help the Afghans?  Nothing.  They forbid export of any food items to Afghanistan to let the United States know that they are following their and United Nations sanctions against Taleban.  Just yesterday Pakistan announced that they had imprisoned some 200 mostly Afghan nationals accusing them of possible acts of terrorism against American personnel in Pakistan.  Is there anyone who does not know that there are almost a million Afghan nationals still in Pakistan today who cannot return to their homes because of the threat of war that seems to never stop in Afghanistan and the impossibility of the world at large accepting them as refugees until peace can come to Afghanistan?  Just how many more will Pakistan imprison by false accusations?

Would Iran, the other neighbor, take steps to help Taleban who are in command of about 90% of Afghanistan?   A few days ago they allowed a small quantity of food items to reach Herat.  Then just a day or two afterwards Iran publicly announced that its stand against Taleban has not changed.  Taleban are playing host to Ossama bin Laden because he helped Afghanistan during the war against the Soviets and because he now apparently has taken refuge in the country against elements that are his enemies.  In so far as this is in accordance with the spirit of Afghan hospitality and in line with their principle of Pukhtanwali, it is all well and praiseworthy.  But is it fair to put a whole nation in grave danger by holding on to a "friend" who finally has come to his senses and has suggested that he is ready to leave Afghanistan and go to some secret spot elsewhere on earth?  Was that an honest promise or just a ruse perpetrated by Mr. Bin Laden?  Is it fair for Taleban to continue to keep Ossama in the country when a super power like the United States has openly warned Afghanistan that she would hold Afghanistan and Taleban totally responsible for any act of terrorism that takes place anywhere in the world where U.S. interests and American lives are threatened.

Just the other day an Algerian was caught in a remote Port of entry into the United States from neighboring Canada with enough nitroglycerine and other bomb-making materials to completely annihilate a four-block business and residential area in any American city.  The United States intelligence agencies immediately related  the man, Ahmad Ressam, to  bin Laden.  Prior to that the United States media announced that a group of 14 "terrorists" were caught in Jordan who were all trained in Afghanistan.  What would have happened to Afghans in remote Afghanistan, if Ressam and/or his band had actually been able to carry out their act of terrorism and blasted their bomb killing innumerable innocent people?  I believe the first reaction would take the form of bombarding the already devastated country of the Afghans for something that, in the eyes of the world , was the work of bin Laden and his clique of sworn enemies of the United States.  And it is not certain that any retaliatory measure would reach the person of bin Laden, the accused culprit.

When will Taleban put a stop to the further demolition of what may still be intact in the infrastructure of Afghanistan?  The destruction already wrought, by the Russians and mostly by Afghans themselves, must be measured in billions of dollars.  I see no funds of any kind in the Afghan treasury to rebuild what we lost.  How much more are we willing to lose by the futile stubbornness of Taleban in the matter of bin Laden?

Is there any way to make Taleban see and understand the consequences  of their act?  Will they realize the gravity of the situation by themselves?  Any time soon?

 I, for one, most earnestly hope so