Editorial: Pak’s regional strategy in shatters
Pakistan’s deadly airstrikes on Kabul have exposed deep flaws in its Afghan strategy, highlighting strategic miscalculations, rising internal threats, and widening regional consequences
Pakistani airstrikes on Kabul — killing nearly 400 people and injuring over 250 — mark a grim inflection point in an escalating conflict between the erstwhile allies. Unlike previous skirmishes along the Durand Line, the March 16 raid, the bloodiest single attack in a worsening military confrontation, targeted a drug rehabilitation centre in the heart of the Afghan capital with terrible consequences. Though Islamabad has claimed that the operation was directed against insurgent networks allegedly orchestrating cross-border terrorism, visuals from the bombed Kabul hospital have thoroughly exposed Pakistan’s narrative. The tragedy may well be a turning point in the raging conflict. Importantly, it reflects the total collapse of Pakistan’s regional strategy, which aimed to install a pliable regime in Kabul and use it as a hedge against India. For decades, the Rawalpindi military bosses had convinced themselves that a Taliban government in Kabul would serve as a client state and a buffer against Indian influence. This arrangement, they thought, would give the much-desired strategic depth to Pakistan’s military establishment. However, the Taliban, which returned to power in 2021 following the hasty withdrawal of American troops, has refused to toe Islamabad’s line. The new regime made it abundantly clear that it would not hand over members of the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) taking shelter in their country. The TTP seeks to overthrow the Pakistani state, launching a wave of rebellion inside Pakistan that saw over 2,400 attacks last year.
In a grim irony, terrorism, nurtured for decades by Pakistani rulers, is now coming back to haunt the country with devastating effect. It was the very policy that gave birth to the TTP. The outfit has now vowed to overthrow the Pakistani State. Islamabad’s double game —harbouring terrorist groups like Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed while claiming to fight terrorism — has been thoroughly exposed now. On the one hand, it foments cross-border terrorism targeting India through proxies LeT and JeM; on the other, it cries foul about the TTP’s growing attacks in the country. When states use militancy as a tool of foreign policy, the lines between ‘proxy’ and ‘enemy’ will eventually blur. Shaken by the recent incidents, Pakistan is now discovering the hard way that one cannot keep snakes in one’s backyard and expect them only to bite the neighbours. Meanwhile, India has quietly expanded its ‘soft power’ footprint in Afghanistan, providing food aid, medical supplies, and executing key infrastructure projects. This strategy has earned India a special place in the hearts of the Afghan people. Another significant fallout of the ongoing Afghan-Pak war can be seen in the implementation of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). For years, China relied on the ISI to guarantee the safety of its workers. But, the situation is turning grim now. China is now demanding a Joint Security Management Hub, effectively ending Pakistan’s sole sovereignty over CPEC security.
