Afghanistan is supposed to make some important and overarching decisions to bring an end to the lingering ongoing conflict and provide a roadmap for the future as international forces have begun leaving the country. The decision-makers must base these decisions on the country's national interests, which are yet to be articulated and defined comprehensively and for both short and long terms. These decisions are not easy and require a high level of sophistication, expertise, prudence and more importantly, rationalism on the part of those who are going to make these decisions.
They need to set aside sentimentalisms and emotions that may plunge the country into a new round of irreparable bloody chaos if not managed and if not mixed with a trace of rationality.
These decisions must provide strong cushions against the return of the callous lunatic fringes that continue to blow innocent people and lack any humanity-oriented creed. These decisions to be made must provide insurances against the descent of the country into any internal bloodshed and make sure that the destiny of the country will not fall into the hands of intrusive and hostile neighbors that continue to follow their national interests at the expense of Afghanistan.
It is not less important to say that the ongoing efforts to decide the future course of peace and stability for the country must make sure that it will continue to traverse the path to democratic consolidation and to becoming a pluralistic tolerant society, which Afghan people really deserve to have.
There are some individuals, Mullahs and groups that attempt to influence these decisions, which also include a decision on long-term strategic cooperation and partnership with the free and western world, by fomenting religious sentimentalisms and other tradition-based emotions. They put forward very simplistic and naïve arguments about Afghan conflict to hoodwink Afghan people or to pave the way for arousing them if the decisions made serve our national interests but fail to meet the demands of their bosses in the neighboring countries.
These attempts are aligned with the vicious desires of some of our intrusive neighbors that continue to think that their interests lie in a fragmented, undeveloped, emotional and destabilized Afghanistan. Thirty years of war and conflict must have taught us to act rationally and follow the lines that lead to our national interests, a united strong and stabilized Afghanistan.
As president Karzai said in recent interview with a private Pakistani TV channel, our neighbors have been more considerate of western country's interests and demands while they do not pay any attention to our interests and demands but continue to pressurize us or exploit some elements in the country to serve their demands even if this leads to the collapse of our own system.
We must begin to learn not to commit suicide for the purpose of serving our neighbors' interests or for the purpose of religious sentimentalisms. In fact, with regard to religious emotions we must learn from other more proud Islamic countries that have provided better conditions for their Muslim citizens to practice the holy teachings of our conspicuous religion of Islam.