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KABUL: Second Vice President Sarwar Danish’s remarks about Afghanistan’s former rulers in presence of President Ashraf Ghani in Bamyan province have ignited reactions.
Addressing a gathering in Bamyan in presence of President Ghani, Sarwar Danish made insulting remarks about former rulers of Afghanistan and their two and a half century rule. He said the Taliban emirate is as authoritarian and dictatorial in spirit and content as the Saduzai and Mohammadzai rules.
He said a small tribe had ruled Afghanistan for 230 years and that same situation should not be repeated. “The Taliban emirate is completely identical to Saduzai and Mohammadzai kingdoms in spirit and content. It is authoritarian and dictatorial. A small tribe ruled Afghanistan for 230 years, and if the Taliban come to power, they will rule over the country forever,” he had said.
Sarwar Danish’s press office released a video of his speech a day later, having removed his remarks about Saduzai and Mohammadzai. A day after his remarks, however, Mr. Danish told a press conference at Presidential Palace that he had meant to compare republican and monarchical regimes and that he had respect for Ahmad Shah Baba and other kings. He also rectified his statements in a gathering at Presidential Palace on the occasion of the International Day of Peace that he was just comparing democracy with monarchy, authoritarianism and hereditary rules.
“In my speech in Bamyan, there was a comparison between our republic government and monarchy. The nature of these remarks were not ethnic or personal. We should respect our history, culture, tribes, and historical figures of Afghanistan including Ahmad Shah Durrani and Amanullah Khan and others,” he said in his later speech.
Analysts believe that Sarwar Danish’s latest remarks are a blatant attempt to spread ethnic divisions in support of foreigners. They say that Danish is hated and isolated among his people and thus wants to find support among his people.
According to the analysts, this is an attempt to distort history as dangerous. They say over the past two and half centuries, the regimes and rulers had preserved Afghanistan’s prosperity and unity.
Such judgments are cruel because minorities were most engaged and given most shares in government affairs during that period. The latest remarks by Danish are a blatant attempt to spread ethnic divisions in support of foreigners.
Distortion of history is a dangerous thing, Asif Nang told Kabul News. “No one has the right to distort history and especially the pillars of the government, I mean the last 230 years of rule of government, in which no tribes and minorities were oppressed.”
This is judgment is cruel, there were no signs of dogmatic tyranny with the tribes during this period, he added.
Some lawmakers and politician activists say that Danish is representing Hazara ethnic group in President Ghani’s government, but he is now hated and isolated by his own people.
Danish is trying to restore his lost credibility among his ethnic through such controversial remarks, and also paving way for his survival in the government.
Analyst Najibullah Azad says Danish in presence of President Ghani had insulated the history of the entire country on which the world has written books on it. “Danish is insulating the basic foundation of Afghanistan which brought him to the power day,” he said.
His remarks come at a time when the government delegation are in Doha for the talks with the Taliban negotiating members to reach a peace deal to end the war in the country. “Such statements by him and other officials like him, is nothing but as practically way to sabotage the peace process,” he believed.
