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Mahathir Can Help Restore Peace in Afghanistan: Former Afghan Minister
JAKARTA, Nov 1 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - Former Afghan minister Farouq Azam said Thursday that Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad is one of the world leaders who can help restore peace in Afghanistan with the backing of the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC).
Azam said the OIC, under Mahathir's guidance, could appoint a commission to investigate ways to form an interim government in Afghanistan.
He added that this commission could come up with a suitable formula to form an administration that could rebuild Afghanistan and reunite its people.
"Dr. Mahathir can also work with the OIC and the United Nations, facilitate the gathering of prominent Afghans representing all ethnic, political, religious, tribal and intellectual groups, to sit together and come up with a transitional administration government,'' Azam said in an interview with London's
Star newspaper.
Azam, who is currently the chairman of the London-based Afghanistan Studies Forum (ASF), said his institution would help contact and mobilize Afghan intellectuals, academics and professionals all over the world to come together.
He said they would advise Mahathir and the OIC on the type of government suitable for the war-torn country.
Azam, who was Minister of Education from 1989 to 1991 and Minister for Refugees from 1993 to 1996, said ASF members had also proposed that Afghanistan closely align itself with Malaysia in order to restore stability.
"Dr. Mahathir has earned the respect of the Afghan intellectuals as academics for strengthening the OIC as well as for turning Malaysia into the most developed and progressive Muslim country in the world," Azam said.
He also alleged that the United States had committed two atrocities against the long-suffering people of Afghanistan since the attacks on the World Trade Center.
"The first atrocity was to bomb Afghanistan," said Azam. "And the second atrocity was to impose the Northern Alliance on the people of Afghanistan by bringing them under the cap of our King to set up government after the Taliban regime has been eradicated.''
By doing so, added Azam, the U.S. was also doing great injustice to the King, whom the Northern Alliance regarded as a bitter enemy due to his liberal ways.
"Ask President Burhanuddin Rabbani what he thinks of the King and you'll find out how much the King is hated by members of the Northern Alliance,'' he said.
He said that the Northern Alliance had merely formed a loose coalition in its bid to oust the Taliban and would only destroy Afghanistan further with continued in fighting once the government is formed.
Meanwhile, the Malaysian government was split on how to respond to the continuing U.S. attacks on Afghanistan.
Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar said Malaysia would not interfere with the U.S. strikes in Afghanistan, although it has protested the civilian casualties.
With additional reporting by Kazi Mahmood
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