Editorial: We are all Afghans

A long time ago, when Afghanistan was far from democracy and the rule of the jungle prevailed, many negative actions taken by its rulers had a bad effect on national unity. The rulers were Pashtuns, but they achieved practically nothing through their one-family rule. Most Pashtun areas are in a worst state than remote and backward non-Pashtun regions. The Pashtuns got blamed for the brutal attitudes towards non-Pashtun which were prevalent under the dynastic rulers, but in fact they never enjoyed a better life than other parts of the country. As a result, because of misguided rulers, ethnic tensions grew over time and continued until the regime of terror - the Taleban and al-Qaeda. That regime was toppled by the US-led anti-terror coalition after the September 11, 2001 attacks on New York and Washington, the bloodiest display of Taleban/al-Qaeda seen. Following the fall of Taleban/al-Qaeda rule, it naturally took time to remove all the manifestations of the discriminations imposed by the Taleban. Even so, the situation overall is a positive one, which is approved by most people regardless of ethnic and other differences. Nowadays, instead of it being seen as a crime to belong to a particular ethnic group, many people respect this natural diversity.