‘The Afghan conundrum’

Muhammad Waqar Rana, Business Recorder op-ed writer, in his latest contribution to the newspaper titled “The Afghan conundrum” seems to have unveiled a new dimension of the Pak-Afghan relationship. According to him, “A large number of Afghan students studied in Pakistan, mostly in Madaris (religious schools), which imparted a particular doctrine suited to the times. International Islamic University, Islamabad, established in early 1980s, after Pakistanis had the highest number of Afghans as students. The people of Afghanistan have a great tradition of scholarship. They have rich minds with fantastic memory. Many of them excelled in law, Sharia and economics and went to the top Western Universities and later served their country. They never felt obliged to Pakistan. They were critical of Pakistan and its policies when engaged in a discussion.”

It is quite unfortunate; it is by no manner of means a right thing to do in response to what Pakistan and its academic institutions have done for them. The Afghan elite in particular seems to live in a world of conspiracy theories, causing many to harbour deep suspicions of Pakistan.

Lahore Rashid Mehdi