Afghanistan Pak Relations
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Afghanistan–Pakistan relations began in 1947 when British India was partitioned into the Republic of India and the state of Pakistan. Afghanistan and Pakistan are usually described as inseparable states due to their sharing of similar history, religion, culture, linguistic, and ethnic ties, as well as sharing of multiple trade and economic ties. Both neighbouring nations are Islamic republics and part of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation. However, the relationship between the two has been affected by the 1980s Soviet war , the rise of the Taliban, the 2001-present war in Afghanistan, the issues of Pashtunistan and Balochistan, the Afghanistan-Pakistan Skirmishes, and Afghanistan's strong relations with India. Southern and eastern Afghanistan is predominately a Pashto-speaking area like the adjacent North-West Frontier Province, and Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan. This entire area is inhabited by the Pashtun people who belong to different Pashtun tribes. The Pashtuns have lived in this region since at least the time of Alexander the Great in 330 B.C. [1][2] The Greek historian Herodotus mentioned a people called Pactyans living on the eastern frontier of Arachosia as early as the 1st millennium BC. [3] The region of Afghanistan and Pa kistan has been ruled by many important empires in the last 2,000 years, including the Kushans, Ghaznavids, Ghurids, Timurids, Mughals, and Durranis. From the First Anglo-Afghan War to the Third Anglo-Afghan War , the region took a new shape when the Durand Line was established in 1893 by the British. This border line has separated the Pashtun and Baloch tribes and is today the location where fighting is taking place between militants and Afghan-Pakistani military who are backed by NATO forces. Osama bin Laden is believed to be hiding in Pakistan but it's unconfirmed. In June 2008 relations between the two countries came to its worse level when Afghan President Hamid Karzai threatened to send troops over the border to fight militants inside Pakistan. [4] Pakistan, on the other side, issued a warning to Afghanistan that it would not "tolerate any violations of its borders". [5] Afghan President Hamid Karzai and former Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf hugging on January 24, 2008, at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Relations have continued to be strained, as several top Afghan officials stated they are weary of Pakistan's negative influence in the country. The Afghan politics usually accuse Pakistan of using its intelligence agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), in aiding the Taliban militants. Pakistan has denied the allegations but has said it does not have full con trol of the actions of the ISI. Relations became even more strained as the United States supports an Afghan invasion of rogue tribal regions. Between Pakistan and Afghanistan is the p oorly marked Durand Line frontier area. The p roblem is exacerbated by cultural, historical, linguistic, ethnic and political ties crossing close relations between peoples who live on both sides of the border. This is further complicated by the fact that many of the Pashtun tribes on both sides of the border marry one another and refuse to recognize the Durand Line division. Following the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 19 79, the Pakistani government played a vital role in supporting the Mujahideen and assisting Afghan refugees. Pakistan absorbed an estimated 3 million refugees
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and provided shelter, education, and places to work. After the Soviet withdrawal in February 1989, Pakistan,with cooperation from the world community, continued to provide extensive support for displaced Afghans. In1999, the United States provided approximately $70 million in humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan andAfghan refugees in Pakistan, mainly through multilateral organizations and Non-governmental organizations(NGOs).
Pakistani strategists view Afghanistan as providing "strategic depth" in the event of a war with neighboringIndia. In the event that the Indian Army crosses into Pakistan, the Pakistan Army would temporary locate
supplies in Afghanistan and prepare for a counter-offensive. Furthermore, many Pakistani saw in Afghanistanand Afghans a common bond based on religion, history, culture, language and ethnic ties. At various times,Pakistan backed the mujahideen against the Soviets, mujahideen against each other and the Taliban against the Northern Alliance.
Karzai with U.S. President Barack Obama and Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari during a US-Afghan-Pakistan Trilateral meeting at the White House in Washington, D.C.
The overthrow of the Taliban regime in November 2001 has seen somewhat strained relations betweenAfghanistan and Pakistan. The present Karzai administration in Kabul feels that the remnants of the former Taliban government are being supported by factions within Pakistan for the same above reasons. However,Pakistan has said the government cannot control all elements of its intelligence agency, the ISI, which severalcountries accuse of contributing to instability in Afghanistan. On June 15 2008, in the after-math of successful
major Taliban operations, due to growing internal instability within Afghanistan and the Karzai's governmentinability to address domestic issues, the Afghan government issued a statement threatening to send its armyacross the Durand Line in pursuit of rebels stationed along the mountainous border inside Pakistan; thestatement caused considerable damage to bilateral relations and was rebuked by Pakistani officials asinnapropriate. The United States, however, has stated it does support a temporary Afghan invasion of roguetribal areas in Pakistan if the Pakistani army is incapable of doing so.
A large share of Afghanistan's foreign and economic trade is either with, originates from or passes through,Pakistan. Afghanistan is largely dependent on Pakistan for basic foodstuffs and most of its commerce has beendirected towards Pakistan. However, improved relations with Iran and Turkmenistan, Afghanistan's other neighbors, the country has found more trade routes besides Pakistan. This also contributes to worse relations asthe government tries finding ways to lessen its connections with Pakistan and find more markets to trade with,mainly Iran, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan.[citation needed
