Aminullah is currently enrolled in MPhil in Management Sciences at Qurtuba University, Peshawar.
I am Aminullah Shinwari from Haska Maina District in Nangarhar Province, Afghanistan. I was born in Peshawar, Pakistan, on the 18th of December 1989, after my parents migrated in the late 1980’s following the Soviet Union invasion. I was first admitted in a private Pakistani school till Grade 6. But, later I was withdrawn from it and admitted in an Afghani school due to my weak financial situation. I graduated from 12th Grade from Sultan Shahabuddin Ghori High School, Peshawar. Then I moved to Jalalabad for my Bachelor in Business Administration (BBA) in a private university called Khurasan University. Later I moved back to Pakistan and, currently, I am busy in writing my Master of Philosophy (M.Phil) thesis at Qurtuba University, Hayatabad, Peshawar, in the field of Management Sciences. Apart from my studies, I also work with a private company “Aimal Sahar Ltd” as a Human Resource Manager.
As for every single person, his country is his identity, and it is his/her wish to visit, play, grow, get education, and have a peaceful life there. For me, what I miss about my country, Afghanistan, is its loving soil. When I grew up and started coming to know the world and my surroundings, I always felt underestimated. The people around me treated me like I came from another world. I noticed people’s perceptions and attitudes were always awkward towards Afghans. If I, or any Afghan, was going to Pakistani offices for legal work, I noticed upon discovering our Afghan identities, the behavior of the people would suddenly change towards us.
However, this was in recent years. The relations in the past, especially from 1980s until 2000 were extremely resplendent. It was with the passage of time that they led to hatred and clashes. As I see it, Pakistan and Afghanistan have an ancient friendship and have remained strategic partners in the region for many years. Since they both share a border of 2430 Kilometers, which is a very long border in Asia, on both sides of the border, there live two major ethnic groups- the Pashtuns and Baluchs. It is not just these social and ethnic traditions that are a similarity between the two, both countries have common economic interests too, such as in trade. Afghanistan was fully reliant on Pakistani products and transit route until 2013 while Pakistan’s best market for goods was also always Afghanistan. However, it is only lately that Afghanistan has focused on other substitute routes for her goods and transit.
I believe to maintain good social and economic relations and develop values of brotherhood and neighborhood, both countries have to assist each other, interact, negotiate, prepare strategies for mutual development and work for peace and stability together in the region.
My message to both the nations and, especially the youth, is to encourage, develop and build a climate of trust, and uproot the mistrust and bad word of mouth. Wars and continuous tensions have halted the process of development in the region and the Afghan people have been affected directly by this. It is time Islamic countries forge their unity to collectively meet our mutual challenges. To be prosperous and have friendly and brotherly relations with each other, both have to work for peace and stability and help each other in all aspects. 
About Afghan Studies Center: The Afghan Studies Center is an initiative by the Center for Research and Security Studies, Islamabad – an independent and non-profit think tank and advocacy center. One of the primary objectives of the Afghan Studies Center is to serve as a bridge between the youth of Pakistan and Afghanistan to interact with each other and join hands to become leaders of change and messengers of peace and cooperation beyond boundaries. To achieve this objective, the Afghan Studies Center invites young Afghans to share their story using our platform with the youth of Pakistan as well as the world.
