A new phenomenon is becoming the norm in Asia. Militarily strong nations like China and Pakistan have taken to bullying weaker neighbours, usually over disputed border/territorial claims on land and sea. China has been constantly bullying Vietnam, the Philippines and Indonesia over islands in the South China sea. Pakistan has joined the club by being over-bearing on Afghanistan. At play is a dynamic of ‘might is right’.
Afghanistan has never recognised the Durand Line that separates it from the Pashtun areas of Pakistan, taking it to be an imperial construct designed to divide the nomadic tribes. Traditionally, they have freely moved across this border, whose porosity was later exploited by the CIA and ISI to push across 80,000 mujahideens to fight the Soviet Army in 1979. Post the Soviet withdrawal, Maj. Gen. Naseerullah Babar of the Pakistan Army raised the Taliban for a proxy conquest of Afghanistan. Pakistan sent in its regular troops in Mufti to operate tanks and artillery, and overawe the Farsiwans. Nawaz Sharif and his generals later entered Kabul like some war heroes. Mullah Omar of the Taliban gave refuge to Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda. He married Laden’s daughter and Afghanistan became the base for al-Qaeda’s operations.
After the 9/11 attacks, Pakistan was forced to cooperate with the US in dismantling the Taliban and al-Qaeda. Pakistan went along for some time, but as soon as US attention shifted to Iraq, it began to aid the Taliban insurgency. It swindled the US of $31 billion and yet kept Laden in a safe house. The US began re-raising the Afghan National Army (ANA). Pakistan demanded that the ANA be given no tanks, artillery or heavy weapons. Clearly, Pakistan was looking ahead to the time when the Americans would withdraw from Afghanistan. By 2014, the US had expended huge amounts of blood and treasure in Iraq and Afghanistan. It wanted to turn around to face a rising China and extricate from Afghanistan, but not in a messy way. So, it wanted the Pakistani Army to launch operations in FATA to put pressure on the Taliban and afford the US Army and NATO forces a clean break. Gen. Raheel Sharif earned a great deal of American gratitude for Op Zarb-e-Azb. As part of the arrangement, the US forces virtually handed over Afghanistan to Pakistan as its protectorate. India was asked to clear out. The Abdul Ghani government cancelled requests to India for supply of weapons and equipment. Pakistan was given the task of brokering peace talks between the Taliban and Kabul regime. It, however, had a dangerous end game in mind—to re-instal Taliban in Kabul and turn the clock back to 2001.
Pakistan did not deliver on the talks with Taliban. Instead, it covertly helped the latter stage major attacks in 2015 and 2016. The US seemed to be losing patience with Pakistan. Finally, it killed Taliban leader Mansour with a drone strike in Baluchistan. The US Congress cancelled the subsidised deal of selling eight F-16 fighters to Pakistan and stopped major payments for counter-insurgency operations.
As part of border management, Pakistan now decided to fence the Durand Line. Its fencing was bound to be a red rag to the Afghans. Soon border skirmishes broke out. On June 13, heavy firing erupted at the Torkham Gate where the Pakistanis were building a huge gate to check entry of Afghan citizens. In the firing, two Afghan soldiers and a Pakistani Major were killed. Over 20 soldiers were wounded on both sides. Pakistan rushed in its tanks and heavy guns to overawe the ANA (which just had small arms). Talks were started and firing stopped for the time being. No agreement, however, has been reached to resolve the crisis. Pakistan has expressed its determination to fence the Durand Line, and this could lead to more clashes on the Af-Pak border. Is the Pakistani design to draw out the ANA a ploy to help the Taliban? What then are India’s options?
• Rapidly do capacity building of the Afghan army, so that it has a military edge over the Taliban and can defend its territory against Pakistan’s incursions.
• Complete the Chabahar-Zaranj-Delaram road and beltway via Iran. Till then, supply tanks, artillery guns, attack helicopters and trainer jets via Russia.
• Once the Chabahar beltway opens up, it can supply large numbers of T-54/T-55 tanks and 105 mm field guns lying in our depot stocks and salvage yards.
Pakistan cannot be allowed to bully the long-suffering Afghanistan. The Afghans are a proud people and must be given the means to defend themselves.Should the situation deteriorate on the Durand Line, India could activate the LoC in J&K and give Pakistan a taste of its own medicine in terms of the use of artillery or heavy weapons. At least this will raise costs for Pakistan’s terrorism export and take the pressure off the beleaguered Afghan Army.
Source:-New Indian Express
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