Pakistan is actually looking for a crystal gazing future for some points in a necessary landmark context of Pak-Afghan relations.
In 1893 the British and then Afghan ruler formalised the 1660-mile Durand Line as de facto border. While identifying areas of respective influence it divided people living in the area. Agreement remained contested and Pakistan inherited cross border tensions that predated independence, the only country Afghanistan that opposed Pakistan’s membership of the UN, primarily because of the Durand Line. The issue though , simmering and occasional hiccups remained manageable and people to people contacts remained amicable and close. Soviet incursion into Afghanistan forced Pakistan to overtly help mujahidin to evict the Soviets from their country in 1979, Taliban emergence in mid 90s sucked in other regional powers, especially India perceiving strategic advantages of reducing Pakistan influence on its western borders, invested heavily to neutralise Taliban. Prolonged India was encouraged by the US and Pakistan perceived as the Taliban sponsor became the main target for effervescent troubleshooting. Post 9/11 forces inimical to Pakistan gained fillip resulting in increased terrorism incidents on Pakistani soil. India enhanced investments to portray Pakistan as a sponsor of terrorism to compel the country give up its stance on Kashmir and accept Indian regional dominance. The influence of Pakistan helped broker a peace deal that led to the present situation.Motif of relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan ,therefore has been a bitter historical tiff which should have been readily resolved right after Pakistan gained independence. That it was not, can be an idiosyncratic aspect ,the great game dynamics which continue to be played out to this day. A key facilitator of the great game has been lack of representative governments on both sides. A poor landlocked Afghanistan kingship where opinions of subjects did not matter and Pakistan politics usurped by vested interests. The Governments of both countries have been pawns in superpower rivalries: first during the cold war, and then for survival leaving little inclination to address lingering issues. This may change with a Taliban dominated government in Kabul dealing with a newer Pakistani leadership in Islamabad, Only time will tell. Matter of fact is that it is more about change on the Afghan side than Pakistan where economic difficulties with a burgeoning population leaves little options for major deviations fromparameters, but, Taliban are indecipherable of their fighting abilities notwithstanding, their governance is yet to be tested and they are not used to compromises and lack resources to bring relief to their people and make their lives better.
In a context ,clear witness of history states don’t choose to become buffers as this position confines them into a time warp and they are unable to break free from the shackles imposed upon states and buffer states are lesser international entities trapped between powerful and aggressive neighbouring actors and are constrained to play by the rules devised by their powerful interlocutors.
The Taliban are now on trial and the US led Western countries do not believe videlicet grounds that bereaved the well trained and well equipped Afghan National Army of the will to fight the Taliban are not too complex to be enigmatic, whilst, the abrupt and nervous US withdrawal of troops witnessed by military strategists in disbelief demoralised the Afghan security forces and the unpopular and corrupt Afghan political leadership riven by dissension could not hold their nerves too without the sunshade of foreign security. Ironically and Interestingly, the Taliban didn’t conquer Afghanistan. Anemic and powerless Ashraf Ghani surrendered the country to his bête noire. Ashraf Ghani had a delusional perception, while cut from the ground realities about the infallibility of foreign support, the fire power of his military, the fighting prowess of his allies especially the sleek
combatants and his personal public popularity, Ashraf Ghani was fed with wrong and fanciful assessments of his corrupt Generals and foreign intelligence agencies including CIA and RAW.
On the contrary, US shared his misapprehension that he would hold the ground long enough until the conclusion of intra-Afghan talks resulting in a power sharing formula. Even so, the US generals remained on ground in Afghanistan for two decagram problem is profoundly country on tribal, ethnic, linguistic, religious and ideological affiliations that militate against national unity, and create and reinforce numerous tribal and religious power edifices, the US failed to grasp the dynamics of the Afghan society. The country needs to be treated as an independent and a sovereign state mainstream 19th century to a new round of contestation between the US-led western world and the Soviet Union after the First World War.
The US failed to understand the Afghans who prefer to live in hunger as a free people than prosperity in subjugation. The international community
should value the Taliban’s enormity of the task. Else, from the creation of broad based governing structures in the politically and ethnically fragmented Afghan society, they have to rid the country of terrorist out-fits, poppy cultivation, narcotics trade and tribal militias, redoubtable challenges could not be carried out without international help.
Afghans endures untold miseries because of the active interference in their country by foreign powers for five decades. The dimensions of those they have trounced to exacerbate their socio-economic difficulties is enormous elseway. A challenging and rough patch is Pakistan’s point of view, the greatest danger is that faced with governance and security issues , the Taliban too start seeing or get influenced through the named generations of war , hitherto in the fifth generation Pakistan already facing a lot of troubles, deadly embrace with violence. Jump Verb,
The onerous task of Pakistan has been closely coordinating with the extended troika and the other regional countries to help Afghans to bring peace and stability to their country. Taliban government vagueness finds its feet and potential issues between Pakistan and Afghanistan are attended to and Taliban government may yet present the best chance for everlasting peace and prosperity for the territory.
