Pakistan does its best to be a participant in any talks concerning the future of Afghanistan and is capable of wrecking any agreement or negotiation between the Hamid Karzai Government, NATO forces and the Taliban. In view of this, it is worth mentioning that attempts by the Afghan authorities to hold independently talks with the Taliban have ended in failure, especially owing to Pakistan’s position. For one, Pakistani intelligence service arrested one of the Taliban leaders, Mullah Abdul Gani Baradar as soon as it became clear that he was ready for negotiations with the Afghan authorities without the involvement of Islamabad. Clearly, in the future, Pakistan will not allow any one to hold talks with the Taliban, if Islamabad will not play the role of a key mediator. Secondly, the Pakistani military see Afghanistan as their sphere of influence. Afghanistan is perceived by Islamabad as its “backyard” and Pakistan will do its best to preserve this status. Pakistan’s military elite considers Afghanistan as its strategic resource, especially a place where the military can deploy nongovernmental formations and terrorist groups that will operate in the interests of Pakistan. In addition, Afghanistan guarantees strategic depth for Pakistan because a regime in Afghanistan loyal to Islamabad provides a space for manoeuvres and regrouping its forces in case of a conflict with India. Afghanistan is strategically important for the Pakistani authorities in case of a standoff with India.
Posted on: Fri, 24 Jan 2014 08:29:11 +0000
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