Heads up – Embassy 18 – July/August 2009

Digging in for the long term

Barely a day has passed since Homayoun Tandar arrived in London as Afghanistan’s Ambassador to London that his country has not been front-page news, with the upcoming elections and the rising British Army death toll in Helmand Province.

But Tandar, a seasoned diplomat, is used to defending his country’s interests – in the 1980s, as a member of Commander Massoud’s Afghan resistance, he rallied support against the Soviet invasion; as a diplomat in the 1990s, he was a lonely voice in Geneva, urging the West to condemn the Taliban’s human rights record and warning his colleagues against the threat of Al Qaeda; as a Sorbonne-educated archaeologist, he led the outcry against the Taliban’s destruction of the Bamiyan Buddhas; and in 2001 he was a member of the Rome and Bonn negotiations to rebuild Afghanistan.

Now, as headlines ponder Britain’s role in his country, the Ambassador’s message is clear: Afghanistan is making progress. What the headlines fail to mention is that of the country’s 34 provinces, the security threat is isolated to the four southern provinces neighbouring Pakistan.

Having served as Afghanistan’s Deputy National Security Adviser, the Ambassador says the source of insecurity can be traced to extremists who have taken refuge in the self-administered tribal areas of Pakistan. “What is needed is an intelligence-led regional approach to combat the Taliban and Al Qaeda who use Pakistan as a base to plan operations in southern Afghanistan,” he says.

The election of a civil government in Pakistan was welcomed in Kabul, says Tandar, but he warns that Pakistan’s military remains in control of the intelligence services (ISI) which harbour extreme elements.

One of his main tasks here in London will be to urge Britain to use its influence with the government of Pakistan for a regional solution to extremism. “This would be worth more to Afghanistan than billions of pounds of aid,” says the Ambassador.

Meanwhile, the remaining 30 provinces in Afghanistan are “quite peaceful” he says, adding that preparations are well under way for the elections, which he describes as “a milestone” in Afghanistan’s young democracy.

“This is the first time we have held two elections in a row. Already over 16 million people have registered and in Khost women outnumber men in voter registration. As we speak, there are gatherings over teapots debating the coming elections.”

While observers worry about tribal rivalries, Tandar claims the influence of tribal politics is greatly exaggerated: “We are not a prehistoric society. The people face a choice of candidates and they will vote according to their policies not their tribe. Diversity has never been a problem for us; no matter what the external dangers Afghans have faced, we have always stood together.”

Whatever the shape of the new government, it will need sustained assistance from the international community, says Tandar. In 2001, Afghanistan was a failed state without a police force, an army or a public service; now it has an 80,000-strong police force, an 82,000-strong professional army and tax revenues have increased seven-fold.

But progress has been halting due to the lack of coordination between the assisting countries, he adds. Internal differences within Nato have also hampered security operations, difficulties he observed first-hand as head of Afghanistan’s mission to the European Communities (2002-07) and Ambassador to Nato (2004-07).

In addition to a more coordinated approach, the nature of assistance needs to change. “We are beyond the stage of humanitarian assistance; what we need now is development aid to tackle things such as poverty, illiteracy and child mortality.”

While the financial crisis is likely to affect the level of aid to Afghanistan, he hopes his country will continue to receive assistance in the form of technical cooperation and training to strengthen Afghanistan’s institutions.

During his tour of duty, the Ambassador also plans to persuade British businesses to invest in Afghanistan’s agricultural and renewable energy sectors.

Agricultural programmes will concentrate on replacing Afghanistan’s opium production. Already saffron cultivation has replaced poppies in Herat, while in Kunduz, revenue from fish farming already exceeds that of opium production. In insecure areas, especially Helmand, opium production remains unacceptably high, but the Ambassador says the government aims to reduce production by 30% across the country this year.

In the renewable energy sector, the Panshir Valley now boasts the only wind farm in the region, while the Hindu-Kush valley holds much potential for hydro-electricity generation. He cites the UK-assisted Kajaki dam project as an example which will provide electricity for two million homes and irrigate 500,000 farms. “Through projects like this we can completely reverse statistics in Afghanistan,” he says.

Investment in infrastructure projects is also needed to link Afghanistan’s provinces and neighbouring countries with a network of electric cables, gas pipelines, roads and railways.

While security and development issues will occupy most of the Ambassador’s time, culture remains an abiding passion. He hopes to devote some time to organise festivals for the Afghan community and an exhibition of Afghan archaeological treasures. In 2012, he plans to celebrate the London Olympics by bringing traditional Buzkashi games on horseback to the capital.