Criticism Grows Within Pakistan Over Its Afghanistan Policy

Maulana Fazl-ur-Rehman, the leader of Pakistan’s Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam party, has once again criticized his country’s policies toward Afghanistan.

Maulana Fazlur Rehman, in a conversation with reporters, said that Pakistan’s policy over the past several decades regarding Afghanistan and the fight against terrorism has been flawed, and as a result, has not produced positive outcomes.

“I can confidently say that over the past 75 to 78 years, neither Pakistan’s policy toward Afghanistan has been correct nor has its counter-terrorism strategy yielded any positive results. Decision-making should rest with politicians, and power should only be exercised after their decisions,” he said.

Criticism of Pakistan’s policies toward Afghanistan is not new. Religious scholars and politicians in the country have previously voiced concerns about how Pakistan deals with Afghanistan and have stressed the need to resolve issues between the two countries.

Political analysts believe that these criticisms reflect growing dissatisfaction within Pakistan regarding its decades-old policies toward Afghanistan. According to them, without a fundamental review of Pakistan’s foreign and security policies, improving bilateral relations will not be possible.

Najib Rahman Shamal, a political analyst, said: “Today, the truth has become evident, not only to the region and the world, but even to the leaders of Pakistan’s religious groups, who now recognize that their country’s policies toward Afghanistan were mistaken.”

Khalil Ahmad Nadim, another political analyst, stated: “Now that Pakistan is in deep crisis, politically, economically, and socially, facing popular and ethnic uprisings, they are admitting that their policy toward Afghanistan has been wrong.”

Earlier, the leader of Pakistan’s Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam had also announced that on December 22, a meeting will be held in Karachi with the participation of politicians and religious scholars, with the improvement of relations with Afghanistan and Iran as one of the main topics of discussion.