Power dynamics

Letter July 28, 2020
A lot is left for time to decide

To end the ongoing violence in Afghanistan and work towards achieving stability in the country that has been in the throes of war for decades, it is essential to examine the ongoing power dynamics involving Afghanistan, India and Pakistan. Even though these three countries have a lot in common from a geographic and historical lens, they differ extensively in the domain of perpetuating their respective national interests.

However, each country has kept its geopolitical interests intact. Despite being landlocked, Afghanistan has offered a gateway to the rulers of Central Asian and Afghan origin to rule the undivided India for centuries. Moreover, from becoming the arena of a “great game” between Russia and Britain and later the Soviet Union and the US to a “graveyard of empires”, Afghanistan’s tough terrain and invincible landscape has stood the test of time. Pakistan’s alliance with the Taliban was visualised from the perspective of attaining strategic depth to buffer against Indian aggression as the latter accused the former for mobilising the mujahedeen to inflame insurgency in Kashmir. In retaliation, India by forming a nexus with Iran and backing the northern alliance, ingrained its footprints in Afghanistan by offering enthusiastic financial support to the government in Kabul in order to rebuild the war-torn country. The hapless Afghan government has shared a hostile relationship with Pakistan which was largely dominated by series of trust deficits as both countries accused one other for harbouring terrorists and providing them safe-havens. Nonetheless, Pakistan’s influence over the Taliban cannot be ignored as they have played a crucial role in bringing them to the negotiating table with Americans.

As Pakistan aims to resume its cross-border trade with Afghanistan, the Taliban propagate the narrative of “non-interference” in other countries affairs and the ultra-nationalist BJP-led government in India broods over its next political move, a lot is left for time to decide.

Hadia Mukhtar

Karachi

Published in The Express Tribune, July 28th, 2020.

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