A history of fraternal Turkish-Afghan relations

By Ahmet Gencturk

ANKARA (AA) - Long before the establishment of diplomatic relations between Afghanistan and Turkey, whose centenary was marked a few months ago, the Ottoman Empire reached Afghanistan with which it shared not only a common cultural and religious heritage but strategic interests.

In 1877, Sultan Abdulhamid II sent a delegation to Afghanistan in an effort to form an alliance against the Russian empire which was threatening the territorial integrity of both countries.

Even though it did not yield a concrete result because of Afghanistan’s weakness vis-à-vis Russia, relations between the two countries continued to gradually improve and consequently were inherited by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, who was leading the Turkish Independence War against occupying British, French and Greek forces.

Having regained its independence in 1919 from the British, Afghanistan looked to Turkey for help in reorganization state institutions.

Djemal Pasha, a prominent military and political figure in the Ottoman Empire during WWI, was tasked by Afghan King Amanullah to build the new army between 1920 - 1921.

He also played the role of facilitator between Amanullah and Ataturk.

Consequently, the establishment of formal diplomatic relations between the two countries came in 1921 through a treaty of alliance, according to which Turkey agreed to send a mission of teachers and army officers to contribute to reform efforts in Afghanistan.

Sending Fakri Pasha, famous defender of Medina during WWI, as the first ambassador to Afghanistan is an excellent example of the value Turkey attributed to bilateral relations. Turkey also helped Afghanistan draft its first Constitution in 1923.

After 1923, bilateral relations gained even further momentum and turned into strategic relations that exerted extensive influence in numerous sectors in Afghanistan. Amanullah also saw a model to imitate in contemporary Turkey.

In the scope of the treaty of friendship and political and economic cooperation that was signed during Amanullah’s visit to Turkey in 1928, Turkey emerged as one of the most influential countries for Afghanistan.

Accordingly, Turkey sponsored the foundation of an administrative school, modeled after its Faculty of Political Sciences, also known as Mekteb-Mulkiye, and launched a medical training program.

Meanwhile, Kazim Orbay, a senior and experienced army general who served in the Ottoman and Turkish armies, served as Chief of the General Staff of Afghanistan from 1928 - 1929.

Turkish-Afghani relations continued to flourish even after Amanullah abdicated the throne in 1929 under the rule of Nadir Shah and his son, Zahir Shah, who succeeded his father in 1933.

In 1937, the Turkish-Afghan Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation was renewed for another decade by Shah and Turkey continued to provide financial, technical, military, educational and medical assistance to Afghanistan.

That same year, Afghanistan became a member of the Saadabad Pact, initiated by Turkey, along with Iraq and Iran, in a move that elevated its regional prestige and contributed to its stability and security.

Although Afghanistan turned increasingly to the Soviet Union for security and development during the Cold War, that move did not translate to deterioration in bilateral relations.

Afghanistan continued to send students to universities and officers to military schools in Turkey.

Even when the Marxist People’s Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA) took power by ousting Mohammed Daoud Khan in 1978, Turkey remained and kept contacts with the regime for the sake of reaching out to the brotherly Afghan people. As a matter of fact, when the Soviets withdrew in 1989, Western embassies ceased operations but Ankara maintained a diplomatic presence in Kabul.

When inter-Mujahedeen disputes grew to a full-scale bloody civil war from 1992 - 1996, Turkey, despite have close ties to Turkic communities in Afghanistan, including Uzbeks, Kyrgyz and Turkmens, emphasized the importance of national reconciliation and sought to play a constructive role in ending the civil war

When NATO became involved in Afghanistan after 9/11 under the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), Turkey contributed to training and equipping the Afghan national police and military, providing non-combat security missions and logistical operations.

Meanwhile, the Turkish Coordination and Cooperation Agency (TIKA), with offices in Kabul, Herat and Mazar-i Sharif -- was profoundly involved in the reconstruction project.

Consequently, Turkey generated much goodwill from the populace, the Afghan government in Kabul and the Taliban.

Despite close ties with Pakistan, Turkey sought to include India in the process of Afghanistan’s national reconciliation.

In 2015, ISAF was replaced with the non-combat Resolute Support Mission (RSM), which intended to provide training, advice, and assistance to Afghan security forces and institutions.

Turkey once again contributed nearly 600 troops and ensured the security of Kabul’s international airport, the country’s major connection to the world.

Ankara has provided training to female Afghan police cadets at the police college in the central province in Sivas. Overall, as of late 2018, Turkey has trained nearly 5,400 Afghan police cadets, including more than 1,300 female candidates.

Having initiated around 1,100 projects TIKA built more than 100 schools in Afghanistan and undertook significant projects, including the construction of an annex for a hospital in Herat, providing food aid to thousands of families in northern Faryab, giving technical assistance to farmers in Herat province and opening a research center for poet and Sufi mystic Mevlana Jalal al-Din Rumi at Parwan University. Furthermore, between 2003 and 2016, 127 Turkish companies operated in the country, in construction and contracting 627 projects worth $6 billion.

Turks are the biggest foreign investors in contracting with other capital invested in health services, energy, and mining, according to the Turkish Foreign Ministry.

Against this background, it is only legitimate to argue that Turkey, which has prioritized development, security and prosperity for the Afghan people for decades, will stay as an essential player in its future.​​​​​​​