Wajid Ali
Experts believe that Pakistan appears to have regained her central position in Afghanistan and West Asia, it remains the only guarantee for a lasting and comprehensive peace. Pakistan has always displayed her resolve and will to support an Afghan- led and Afghan- owned peaceful settlement of Afghan imbroglio. Experts opine that US policy makers have now realized that Afghan Taliban are to be treated as a major stake holder in Afghanistan. There is no other way to end the ‘longest war’ undertaken by US military in history, except directly negotiating peace with them.
Experts are of the view that US current strategy in Afghanistan and West Asia is driven by four major factors. Firstly, maintain reasonable influence in Afghanistan as part of exit strategy for US military. Secondly, try to use the Afghan Taliban as leverage in the region to strategically suffocate Iran and bring regime change by exploiting non Kinetic means. Thirdly, make sure that the power vacuum in Afghanistan is not exploited by Russia or China. Last but not the least, conclusively entangle Pakistan to achieve all of the above factors. As US mulls the new strategy in Afghanistan and West Asia, India finds her space limited due to ground realities and changing strategic environment in the region. Afghan Taliban delegation has already met with the US envoy Zalmay Khalilzad in Qatar to discuss ending the Afghan conflict. However, the recent Russian initiative has not been received with open arms by the Afghan as well as US governments, despite their representation in the conference held at Moscow.
The deteriorating peace and security in Afghanistan has not only crippled the Afghan economy but it has also devastated its infrastructure. Exploiting the challenges and threats of Afghanistan, India mischievously occupied disproportionate space in Afghanistan. India, through its complex matrix of investments, running vilification campaign against Pakistan and utilizing Indian sponsored media in Afghanistan, expanded her covert war against Pakistan through RAW and her surrogates in the NDS .India is also, supporting Daish and TTP to conduct a campaign of terror in the areas west of River Indus, including Balochistan (Kulbhushan is a case in point) and using Chabahar-Zaranj, Delaram route to bypass Pakistan through a trade maneuver targeting Pak-Afghan economic lifeline. . Indian challenges in Afghanistan and West Asia have morphed into a monstrous diplomatic migraine due to her highhandedness and lust for expanding power. With Taliban getting on board in Afghanistan and an emerging architecture of power based in Eastern and Southern Afghanistan, India finds herself totally isolated and out of the equation.
RAW-NDS-Daish nexus built through a system of bribes and incentives and delicately placed by Ajit-Doval to keep Durand Line on fire is likely to be dismantled by the new regime in Afghanistan. Indian investment of billions of dollars in Afghanistan and her so called soft power in Kabul will be washed away into Kabul River. India also tried to conduct a ‘water war’ against Pakistan by convincing Kabul that the natural flow of rivers into Pakistan had to be choked to help build Afghan economy. Afghan people have suffered tremendously because of power game played by regional and extra regional forces; three generations have sacrificed their future due the covert games played by likes of Doval-Modi circus, TTP and Daish, its high time that Afghanistan and Pakistan join hands to disenfranchise these forces of disintegration and develop a new trajectory of peace and prosperity in Afghanistan.
