Institute of regional studies, Research institute in Islamabad, Pakistan

Not only the common Afghans but also the Taliban have understood that Pakistan is their enemy number one while India has always had brotherly ties with them. Nobody would have expected that the Afghanistan team, which is considered the weakest in the ICC World Cup, would defeat Pakistan! However, the Afghanistan team was so fired up that they crushed Pakistan by eight wickets following their victory against England. Celebrations broke out in a number of Afghan villages and cities, including Khost and Kabul, following this triumph. While it is normal to celebrate a win, this celebration seemed to indicate that the enemy had been vanquished! To celebrate the victory, the Taliban opened fire on the streets and people came out on the streets and started dancing joyfully.Afghanistan truly believed that it had defeated the enemy with this win. This too was quickly proved to be true. When Afghanistan’s Ibrahim Zadran, who scored 87 runs in the match, came to receive the Player of the Match trophy, he declared, “I dedicate this Man of the Match award to those Afghan refugees who are being forcibly expelled from Pakistan.” This statement of Zadran was like a slap on the face of Pakistan which would not have expected such a statement even in its wildest dreams. Actually, the Pakistani government has issued an order for the approximately 17 lakh Afghan refugees, who are currently in the country, to leave Pakistan by November 1. This order of Pakistan has been criticised not only by Afghanistan but also by other countries. How can so many people return to Afghanistan so soon and what will they do there? These refugees will face a food crisis!The anger and hatred generated against Pakistan in Afghanistan can also be understood from the tweet of Kabul police. It was written in that tweet, “This victory of Afghanistan has a special message for some people. We are making progress. Look at us but don’t bother us.” The name of Pakistan was not mentioned in the tweet but no one had any problem in understanding that the tweet of the police was intended not for anyone else but for Pakistan. The Afghan cricket team was also congratulated from the X account of the Chief of Staff of the Prime Minister’s Office of the Taliban government. Congratulations came swiftly from even former President Hamid Karzai.Although it is understandable that Pakistanis would be disheartened by the defeat, former fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar tried to provide a balm and said, “Afghans are our brothers and we have taken beatings from our brothers.” But the question is, whether Afghans are ready to view Pakistanis as brothers?” The reality is that the people of Afghanistan look upon Pakistan as their biggest enemy and India as their true friend. A Taliban-affiliated journalist posted this image on social media with the caption, “A Pathan from India, celebrating the victory over Pakistan with a Pathan from Afghanistan. We are grateful to India for its support of Afghanistan during the competition.” There were a lot more tweets complimenting India and criticising Pakistan.The reality of this time is that Pakistan has been exposed in Afghanistan also. The common people there have always believed that Pakistan was responsible for their misery, but now even the Taliban has understood the tactics of Pakistan. It just kept pretending to support the Taliban. It is fully aware of the fact that Pakistan helped the Americans a lot out of greed for money. America stayed in Pakistan for a considerable amount of time even during its withdrawal from Afghanistan, and even now, Pakistan stands ready to help the United States of America in any circumstance. The second thing that the Taliban have realised is that Pakistan’s current financial situation is so miserable that it is hungry for every crumb of bread, so how can it help others? However, India not only established a parliament there but also constructed numerous large dams, opened hospitals, and carried out other projects that helped the average Afghan. India has never been lagging behind in giving the average Afghan access to supplies and medications, despite not having recognised the Taliban.Taliban know that Pakistan wants to capture some part of the border. That is why Taliban is helping Tehreek-e-Taliban inside Pakistan so that Pakistan can be cut to its size. Pakistan was trying to keep Afghanistan in its pocket in the name of Islam, but the enmity between the two has deepened. During this hostile time, if Afghans defeat Pakistan then celebration is natural. I would request the Taliban to also give girls a chance to show their skills on the playground and move ahead in life. Afghan girls are just as capable of doing amazing things as the local boys.The author is the chairman, Editorial Board of Lokmat Media and former member of Rajya Sabha.vijaydarda@lokmat.com

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