Religious extremism is a Pakistani bomb that has shattered the foundations of Afghanistan.
Author: Dr. Malek Sitez, Professor of Political Science and International Relations at Selinus University (Denmark)
For forty-five years, Pakistan has unleashed fire and bombs on our land; it has dropped its most dangerous bombs on us, so that what is being deployed today is almost incomparable to them. The largest bomb Pakistan ever dropped on our country was far more dangerous than the atomic bomb it tested in 1998, which shocked the world.
The bomb that Pakistan dropped on Afghanistan and its people was religious extremism. They placed so-called jihadist leaders of Afghanistan under the umbrella of the ISI and used them against Afghanistan and its people. Later, they sheltered the Taliban and again used this group against the country, and now it is the turn of ISIS and other proxy groups.
The bomb of religious extremism! Is there anything uglier or more destructive than this? A bomb that spilled the blood of millions of innocent Muslims and destroyed the foundations of a nation and a state? Today, some of those same jihadist leaders claim they must protect Afghanistan, while behind the scenes, they are giving the Taliban the green light. No one asks them: Weren’t you fighting alongside Pakistan against Afghanistan yesterday? What has changed?
When Soviet forces left Afghanistan, and Dr. Najib called for a path of negotiation, he warned that if this path continued, Pakistan would unleash a river of blood in this land. Recordings of those speeches still exist. Yet at that time, you stood alongside the ISI and fought against a state that, after the Soviet withdrawal, was ready for reconciliation. Nothing had yet reached a point of no return; the army, police, national security, and government services were still functioning. Yet you paved the way for Pakistan to destroy this country.
Now you come and pretend that you are rising in defense of Afghanistan against Pakistan and want to save the country. We must analyze the situation in Afghanistan carefully and thoughtfully.
In law and politics, there is a concept called the “essence of a territory.” The essence of any land is its civilization, system, and the state that governs it. If this so-called state itself becomes an agent of war, arrogance, monopoly, destruction of values, violation of human dignity, social justice, and widespread human rights abuses—especially of half the society, i.e., women—does it not itself become the source of continuous war in that territory? Let us ask ourselves this fundamental question honestly.
Undoubtedly, Pakistan has acted contrary to all international law norms, but this behavior is not new. This policy has been pursued for four and a half decades. What exploded in Afghanistan was not merely a military bomb; it was an ideological bomb that targeted civilization, progress, people’s well-being, and even the concept of a national state in Afghanistan, and it destroyed them.
We must ask ourselves: if the goal is to achieve unity in the face of Pakistan, should this unity take shape with the Taliban themselves? From an analytical perspective, there is no convincing answer to this question.
The Taliban, who are products and protégés of Pakistan’s policies, how could they, in the long term, stand against the source that shaped their ideological essence? Pakistan’s ideological and strategic foundation is built on religious fundamentalism, especially in our region; it is a pillar of the country’s political identity. Without this pillar, the power structure in Pakistan would face serious challenges, even potential collapse. Pakistani strategists understand this well.
How could the Taliban stand against the very essence from which they were born and within which they were raised? And how could one expect that national, civil, intellectual, and democratic forces would also stand alongside such a movement? From a realistic analytical perspective, this seems naïve.
What we must consider is the formation of a national, democratic, and legitimate system based on the will of the Afghan people. Only such a system can create genuine cohesion to confront any foreign aggression or interference. A modern national state, grounded in popular legitimacy, can maintain resilience against external pressures and threats.
In my view, the Taliban fundamentally cannot, in the long term, stand against Pakistan; their ideological and strategic ties with Pakistan’s regional strategy do not fundamentally conflict. Therefore, the likelihood that they will once again be absorbed into Pakistan’s political orbit is very high.
In this context, a serious question arises: why do some individuals—even those who consider themselves intellectuals—give the Taliban a green light? From a perspective of political realism, this approach does not appear rational.
The reality is that Pakistan has committed crimes against humanity by killing innocent people. We have the right to raise our voices in defense of innocent citizens of our homeland and seek justice at the national and international levels to prevent the repetition of these crimes. But this demand for justice must be conscious, responsible, and vigilant.
Our struggle and demand for justice must not become a tool for justifying Talibanism or granting it legitimacy. We must act rationally and wisely and recognize that both Pakistan and the Taliban have, in practice, harmed Afghanistan’s national interests. Neither can be considered the true representative of the Afghan people or the savior of this land.
The only path to saving Afghanistan is the creation of a civilized, national, and legitimate system; one that is compatible with Afghanistan’s historical heritage, its diverse subcultures, social justice, and principles of human rights, including women’s rights. This path is the only way out of the country’s ongoing crises.
At the same time, we must uphold the principles of religious and intellectual tolerance toward all citizens. A society that respects the plurality of thought can achieve stability and progress. But at the same time, we must not allow extremism, in any form, to take root in society and drag our future backward into decline and degradation.
Afghanistan’s path passes through moderation, collective wisdom, justice, and a national system grounded in the will of its people.
