Panjshir fall: ‘Last nail in India’s great game coffin in Afghanistan’

Using Afghan soil against Pakistan has become impossible for New Delhi after Taliban’s swift takeover

ISLAMABAD:

The capture of Panjshir Valley by the Taliban is being dubbed as the ‘last nail in India’s coffin in Afghanistan’, as its huge investment in men and material to 'destabilise' Pakistan has finally washed away.

India, being the major stakeholder of the ‘great game’ of disrupting the region’s peace, has suddenly been left high and dry after the swift takeover of Afghanistan by the Taliban. Now for India, to use Afghan soil against Pakistan has become impossible.

The fall of Panjshir has also revealed the secret of its prolonged resistance, which owes to India’s continuous support to the Northern Alliance, a coalition of anti-Taliban warlords. The worst-case scenario has come as a strategic shock for India, just like a ‘disgraceful silent death’ of the Indian network aimed to destabilise Pakistan.

Also, India’s hope of using the “formidable” Panjshir Valley as a launching pad for anti-Taliban operations to reclaim Afghanistan, have fallen flat.

In the current scenario, India has emerged as the most-affected country after it has utterly disappointed the United States and is seen as an unreliable partner which failed to deliver.

In a border dispute with China, India projected its false image of military and economic might, which has now badly been tarnished. The experts believe that given the situation, India has lost its credibility for any kind of future role in the region.

On sensing being ‘out of the game’, India is trying to manage its domestic and international public opinion through propaganda campaigns against Pakistan and the Taliban. Out of sheer frustration, some elements are now trying to create mountains out of molehill.

Recently, the anti-Pakistan protest in Kabul with hardly 50 to 70 people in contradiction to the “so-called” reports of hundreds of protesters comes under the planned activity of the Indian intelligence agency to distract international perception.

Also read: Indian army general thinks Shaan, Umair Jaswal are soldiers martyred in Panjshir

Also, the supporters of the resistance front in Panjshir province accused Pakistan of providing airpower in support of the Taliban in their victory in Panjshir by circulating on social media a “fake picture” of a destroyed fighter jet. The concocted story of the Pakistan Air Force supporting the Taliban was mainly peddled by Indian media.

A candid analysis of the media reporting covering the incidents indicates variance in the accounts of protest reported.

Some Indian news channels reported that the protests were mainly against the visit of Pakistan's intelligence chief, while others claimed that it was due to PAF’s support to the Taliban during the Panjshir operation.

Another version was that the protesters demanded an inclusive government, called for respecting the rights of women and none of their gatherings was meant to be explicitly anti-Taliban.

Only one disclaimer was common to all stories, i.e. ‘Our channel could not independently verify the claims narrated by protesters’.

As India’s influence in Afghanistan has ended after a long time, it is high time for Pakistan not to tolerate any blame game and keep a check on India’s nefarious designs for a timely and matching response.