Pakistan massively enhanced the funding for Islamists in Afghanistan, hoping to bury ethnic nationalism. That strategy has now backfired spectacularly.
Pakistan failed to understand the fiercely independent psyche of the Afghans and Pashtun nationalism, which has dominated politics in Afghanistan since its emergence in 1747.
Days after Trump lay claim to the Bagram base, Russia, China, Iran and Pakistan “firmly opposed the reestablishment of military bases in and around Afghanistan by the countries responsible for the current situation”.
As the two neighbours entered into ceasefire, it is unlikely to be a lasting solution. History and ideology, among others, will see Kabul and Islamabad at odds again.
The Wakhan Corridor, located in Afghanistan’s Badakhshan province, borders PoJK, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and China’s Xinjiang — once linking these regions through the strategic Silk Road.
Speaking at Pakistan Military Academy in Abbottabad’s Kakul, Field Marshal Munir said it is ‘disconcerting that Afghan soil is being used for terrorism in Pakistan’.
After strikes, Afghanistan withdrew from a planned tri-nation series with Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Strikes reported hours after Pakistan and Taliban representatives agreed to extend a 48-hour truce.
The Afghan names have become a thorn in their side, since Pakistan now drives the narrative that the Taliban is essentially fighting a proxy war against the country for India.
The reverence and applause for the Taliban, a regime that denies Afghan women education, their freedom, and the very right to exist with dignity, was chilling.
Pakistan’s foreign office said ceasefire with Afghanistan came into effect ‘with mutual consent’, while Taliban maintained Islamabad ‘requested and insisted’ on it.
With bad loans shrinking & capital buffers stronger, urban co-op banks’ new umbrella body NUCFDC is now prioritising rollout of digital transformation.
If deal goes through, Greece will be 2nd foreign country to procure vehicle. Morocco was first; TATA Group has set up manufacturing unit there with minimum 30 percent indigenous content.
Many of you might think I got something so wrong in National Interest pieces written this year. I might disagree! But some deserve a Mea Culpa. I’d deal with the most recent this week.
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