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AT Monitoring Desk-KABUL: The entire Afghan nation including the Pashtun and Baluch ethnic population in Pakistan have came hard over the controversial statement of Latif Pedram, considering Durand Line as an International boundary with Pakistan which is contrary to the national interests and long-standing integrity of Afghan nation. Lawmakers taking part in an evidently furious debate on Monday have termed Latif Pedram as ‘spy’.
A Lawmaker, Qudratullah Sahak emphasized for stoning him to send a strong message to the Punjabis of Punjab in Pakistan that their agent on Afghan soil would meet the same fate for even discussing the status of Durand Line. Some lawmakers stressed on Pedram’s ouster from the Wolesi Jirga for committing treason. Another lawmaker Mirbat Gul Mangal also slammed Pedram and said, “What is Pedram’s purpose and where from he is being oxygenated. No one is allowed to have controversial comments on the Durand Line.”
“For the sake of God Mr. Speaker, if you don’t take action against Pedram, you would exclusively be held responsible, the angry parliamentarian went on to warm the Speaker Abdul Rauf Ibrahimi.
Another Lawmaker said that Pedram is ignorant of sensitivities of Afghan issues, acting and speaking on the direction of his masters, outside the country.
The lawmakers added, “ We swear to God that from today onward, if anyone would dare indulge in such illegal and controversial statements and debates about the Durand Line, the entire Afghan nation would break his head and jaws.
Nawab Mangal from Paktia said, “Those who cannot heal the nation’s wounds, they add to them. He added that Pedram is making controversial statements for his individual and other’s interests, so he should be immediately expelled from the Parliament.
“Pedram is a spy and traitor and there is no space for the spies in Afghan Parliament. All the elected members who came here are responsible to protect national interests and historic geography. Speaking against national interests wouldn’t be tolerated,” Obaidullah Barakzai, a lawmaker from Uruzgan province said.
Abdur Rauf Inami, a representative from Badakhshan province said, the Durand Line is a national issue and we are all one when it comes to the national interests. Some other lawmakers also demanded to in list Pedram as treacherous and dismissed him from Wolesi Jirga.
Pedram was also present in the session but he remained silent till the end.
Speaker Ibrahimi, while responding to the situations said that Durand Line is a national issue and any single individual, tribe or specific group could not decide over its status. He emphasized and identified that any decision regarding the Durand Line could only be made by the historical and traditional Afghan assembly of elders, called the Loya Jirga.
Prior to this, Members of Meshrano Jirga (Senate) on Sunday declared that Durand Line is an imaginary line and recognizing it as an international border would not be acceptable to the people of Afghanistan. The Meshrano Jirga retaliation came a day after the defunct and controversial statement of Pedram. Senators argued that it is only the Afghan nation (Loya Jirga) to maintain the authority to determine the fate of Durand Line.
Pedram’s nominal party has not representation of all ethnicities of the country and there is not a single Pashtun in his party, Senator Zalmai Zabuli said.
“More than 80 million people are living along Durand Line, facing sever repression for over half a century and they had not given their fundamental rights of freedom of expression and movement, senator Nadir Baloch said.
Senator Farhad Sakhi said that even the President or any other institution of the government has no authority to decide over the Durand Line. He added that only Loya Jirga is the authorized the body to decide the issue.
Concluding the debate, Senate Speaker, Fazal Hadi Muslimyar said, “Durand Line as a permanent border is not acceptable to the Afghan people from the day first. He added that the land and people across the Durand line belongs to Afghanistan. We have to restore all that. If anyone has any kind of imagination in this respect, it fails and is unacceptable.”
Moreover, responding to the closure decision of Pakistan, former President Hamid Karzai said, “The government of Pakistan has no legal authority to dictate terms on Durand Line. We remind to the government of Pakistan that Afghanistan hasn’t and will not recognize the Durand Line.”
Similarly across the Durand Line, the Awami National Party (ANP) and Pashtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PKMAP), the two major Pashtun nationalist parties had never been recognized the Line as border with Pakistan. The workers of both nationalist parties are chanting slogans of “Lar o Bar yo Afghan”. Begum Nasim Wali khan, wife of well-known Pashtun nationalist Politician late Abdul Wali khan has repeatedly said that we wouldn’t recognize Durand Line as permanent border, created by the British Empire for one hundred years. She furthered in an interview with ‘Pashtun Times’, “I don’t recognize it for the same reason as for example Germans were refused to recognize the Berlin Wall just because some foreign power had built it to divide Germans into East and West. The division of German nation was not acceptable to Germans, why the Pashtun division at the hand of the colonial power should be acceptable to Pashtuns. Pashtuns are living on their historical land, and since people of both sides of the line are Pashtuns, having one tongue, one culture, one blood and one religious faith, there seems no reason for them to be divided or to accept any such division. Let us not forget that even for the Pakistani-nourished Taliban it was difficult to accept Durand Line as permanent border, which they did not accept when they ruled over the country.
In addition to that, Malik Jabbar from Waziristan said, “Durand Line is an imperialistic line which is not acceptable at any cost. He added that we are illegally occupied by the state of Pakistan which remains disputed from the day first. He demanded installation of UN-led administration in FATA to decide over the fate of FATA through a Loya Jirga. He added that the land and people of FATA belongs to Afghanistan.”
Moreover, Sajid Turi, an activist from Kurram agency said that regarding Durand Line, there is no difference in our stand with Afghanistan. He added that our people are being seized by the Pakistani army and have no right to freedom of expression and movement.
Haji khyal Gul shenwari, belongs to Khyber agency said that the Durand Line had been administratively divided the Pashtun tribes, living on both sides of the Line which is a clear violation to our fundamental human rights. He said that it is the responsibility of the World champions of democracy and human rights to give us right to decide our fate. He added that fencing work and military installation of Pakistan is not acceptable to them.
Malik Bashar of Bajaur agency and Haji Gul momand came hard on Pakistan and said we are being occupied by Pakistan, doing trade of our blood and culture. He said that we are warmly waiting of the day to rejoin our brothers and sisters in Afghanistan which is possible through a Loya Jirga of Lar o Bar Afghan under the shelter of United Nations. Similarly, the Baluch ethnicity and Sindhi nationalist parties also not consider and recognize the Durand Line as a permanent border. It’s time to unify the divided Afghan tribes on both sides of Durand Line as Germans did. Keeping in view the ongoing war on terror and safe sanctuaries of various terrorist outfits on Pakistan’s soil, plotting terrorism in Afghanistan to undermine US-led NATO mission, unification of Lar o Bar Afghan is the most result-oriented solution to all the regional and international burning problems. It could be the cheapest solution and strategy to ensure durable peace and stability in the region.
