Remnants of the long war: Repercussions of US withdrawal from Afghanistan, Mujahideen model

Between the US withdrawal and the tension in Afghanistan and the surrounding region, Kashmir remains one of the hot spots, on the line of sustainable peace sought by international interventions.

US forces are preparing to withdraw from Afghan territory by September, on the anniversary of the events of September 11, 2001, to end the longest war in the region, amid fears that peace will not be possible due to the relationship between the Taliban and al-Qaeda.

Afghan Kashmiri formula

The situation in Afghanistan is linked to ancient relations with Kashmir. The Afghans ruled Kashmir between 1752 and 1819. In that era, the Afghan rulers expanded the area of the Kashmiri shawl trade and marketed it around the world. Among the Afghan rulers in Kashmir was Amir Khan Jawan Sher, who built Sher Garhi Palace (which is still under the use of the leaders of Kashmir - under the influence of India), the Amiran Kadal bridge and some other facilities. Thousands of Afghans and Pashtuns live in Indian Kashmir and Pakistani Kashmir.

Inside Afghanistan, there were Kashmiri immigrants who came and now have Afghan citizenship, and these Kashmiris established their communities in Afghanistan and occupied high government positions in the past.

In light of this overlap, the tense situation in the Kashmir region may cast a shadow over the expected peace process in Afghanistan, especially in the presence of threats from armed groups, including Hizb-ul-Mujahideen.

For Pakistan’s interests

Hizb-ul-Mujahideen is one of the largest terrorist groups in Kashmir, which is fighting for the separation of the territory in favor of the government of Pakistan, considering India as an infidel country. The organization was founded between 1989 and 1990 at the hands of Muhammad Ahsan Dar, becoming the military hand of Jamaat-e-Islami in Pakistan.

The movement shares its goals with the Taliban, which also aims to attack US and Western interests. It also runs training camps in eastern Afghanistan.

With the US withdrawal, the movement’s fields expanded, which suffered losses in its ranks as a result of the American missile bombing of Osama bin Laden’s training camps in Khost in August 1998, which made the movement’s leader issue the aforementioned fatwa to take revenge against the United States.

Hizb-ul-Mujahideen involvement

According to the Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies, Hizb-ul-Mujahideen was involved in multiple operations against Indian military concentrations and formed a tool to destabilize them, by being just an armed wing of a group with separatist political purposes, as well as its cooperation with terrorist groups with the same goal. India and the United States placed it on the terrorism list.

The United States considered Hizb-ul-Mujahideen a global terrorist organization 50 days after the group’s leader, Sayeed Salahudeen, was included on the list of global terrorists. The US State Department said the reason is because of the danger the group poses to American citizens and the international community.

In a statement, the US Treasury said that it had designated the Pakistan-based group as a terrorist group, frozen any assets it might have in the United States, and prohibited Americans from doing business with it.

“The purpose of these sanctions is to deprive the Hizb-ul-Mujahideen group of the resources it needs to carry out terrorist attacks,” the Treasury said.

Both India and Pakistan claim sovereignty over all of Kashmir, and Pakistan denies providing material support to the Kashmiri separatists, but pledged to continue moral and diplomatic support for them.

India blames Pakistan for fueling the 28-year insurgency in Muslim-majority Kashmir and has ratcheted up pressure on it.