THE DRUMS of war are being beaten by leaders in Washington DC, Britain, Russia and the countries of the NATO alliance. And in Afghanistan, another part of the world, hundreds of thousands of frightened people march to the soundless vibrations desperately seeking sanctuary in the several countries that border their native land.

At the time of writing, not one blow has been struck by the coalition of states that have thrown in their lot with the American administration, which has vowed to rid the planet of terrorism.

But the people of Afghanistan know that it is just a matter of time before the awesome military might of the United States will strike their country for reportedly harbouring the terrorist groups, and specifically, the army of Saudi dissident Osama bin Laden, who is suspected of having masterminded the September 11 devastation of the World Trade Center in New York and the partial destruction of the Pentagon in Washington, DC.

With every passing day, the coalition gathers more countries in its camp while the obverse situation afflicts the ruling group in Afghanistan. Earlier this week, the United Arab Emirates and the government of Saudi Arabia publicly announced that they would be siding with America on the issue of eradicating terrorism. These states have also cautioned the Afghani people to distance themselves from bin Laden and force him and his adherents to leave their land.

While heads of government and other very senior officials are working the telephones and shuttling back and forth between Europe, Asia and the United States to consolidate the coalition and to help articulate the various facets and parameters of the first major war of the 21st century, the people of Afghanistan are moving in hordes out of their homeland to seek some sort of safe haven away from what will soon become the main theatre of military confrontation.

Already, the BBC, CNN and several other news organisations have reported that a major human disaster is at hand. The American Red Cross and some humanitarian NGOs have prepared makeshift, but relatively adequate accommodation for thousands of would-be refugees expected to penetrate the borders of Pakistan. However, these agencies are under no delusion that they can meet the needs of fleeing people if and when the missiles and other ordnance of mass destruction are let loose.

In spite of the reality of its present occupation, it is difficult for persons of conscience not to have some sympathy for the war-weary and oppressed people of Afghanistan. That land-locked state has not fully overcome the effects of a decade of war with the former Soviet Union, a conflict, one international body says, that left the country with 500,000 people suffering from some form of disability.

The Taliban came to power in the latter half of the 1990s. Headed by Islamic students, the 20,000-strong sect quickly established a fundamentalist regime based on Islamic law. Within a few years, those people who had welcomed the government of the clerics after so many decades of war and civil strife were dismayed to discover how rigid their rules for living would be.

Educated and professional women soon discovered that they could not even walk on the streets without their husbands. They were forbidden to lecture in universities or practise medicine in hospitals. Now, after all the tribulations people of Afghanistan have undergone, here comes the strong probability of the country being bombarded by the coalition of forces.

Let us hope that the present situation will be resolved quickly thereby averting human misery and displacement of unimaginable proportions.