Afghanistan is about three and a half months away from its historic elections to elect its leader, the president of the country, for the next four years in April of 2009. One of the contenders obviously will be the serving president Hamid Karzai, who according to political analysts has lost his popularity in the last couple of years to a very dangerous extent.

What does this mean? It means there will be a vacuum that will have to be filled. The elections will definitely test the wisdom of an uneducated Afghan nation. This time they will once again go to the polling stations to cast their votes in favor of their favorite candidate. How lucky will the Afghan nation be in terms of selecting their upcoming leader will largely depend on who will run against President Karzai.

As far as the hash and bash of political activities are concerned, it’s going on in full swing. With the formation of a so-called National Front of Afghanistan, an alliance of ex-Jihadis, united for their thirst for power, who would wish to bring forth a common candidate to challenge Karzai. Afghan nation will find a choice to choose between Karzai and the proposed candidate by the United Front of Ex-Jihadists, though.

What does this mean? It means that Afghan nation will again have to suffer under anyone of these two guys who would bag more votes in an unpopular democratic act that the so-called civilized world will welcome and appreciate as an exercise of democracy for a nation that knows not even A,B,C of democratic politics. A nation that has fought 30 years of continuous war, a nation which has been ruled with might and not right. How could one expect to have a good choice for the poor voters? I wonder.

The ex-jihadists still as hungry for power as they were when American invasion led to the removal of Taliban regime in the final days of 2001 had ruled Afghanistan from 1992-1996-7 and have a legacy of bloodshed, conflict and civil war, a very notorious bent to be reckoned upon. They are the proud heroes of CIA-USSR war fought in Afghanistan for over a decade from 1979-1992 in which they were mere actors.

However, the title that makes them more popular is their beloved JIHADI term which they hold close to their heart. The top leaders are the winners of war crimes award in Afghanistan. They were nominated for the same by the UN in a detailed report on ‘war crimes in Afghanistan’. The biggest their title in their newly founded alliance, the bigger their crime against humanity.

Fortunately, for the Afghan nation that one of them Abdul Rashid Dostum, the Uzbek minority communist-jihadist leader, fled to Turkey to seek asylum just a month ago. Yet, the poor Afghans will have a restricted choice of selecting between two pre-determined runners for the top slot of the country. Democracy will once again be embarrassed in a nation where gun speaks and might rules.

To the closed minds of local leaders, it’s the only option for them to go with. It appears as if the Afghan nation still needs to wait for a Mesiah, who can ultimately save them from the menace of Jihadists, corrupt system and narrow minded, conservative leadership.

These were the vultures who had turned Afghanistan into a ghost house, killed over 65000 Kabuli youth and gave all the troubles Afghans could have ever survived. Once again they are set to make a comeback, but how funny that this time they are going to be elected by the same people who suffered so badly under them when they had the power.