Contemporary Pak-Afghan restless relations

PAKISTAN and Afghanistan relations have been characterized by over eight decades of intense hostility, irritation and annoyance, except for one decade (1979–1988) of cooperation, when Pakistan supported the Afghan resistance movement against the Soviet invasion to prevent the spread of communism. At that time, Pakistan was declared a “front-line” state and backed Afghan freedom fighters for the restoration of an independent and neutral Afghanistan. The Mujahideen successfully weakened Moscow and history referred to Afghanistan as the Soviet Union’s Vietnam. There is no doubt that it was Pakistan’s diplomatic and material support to freedom fighters that enabled a sustained insurgency to liberate Afghanistan. After the Afghan war, the United States and Pakistan played a key role in transforming the freedom fighters into the Taliban, in an effort to stabilize Afghanistan. They seized power in Kabul with Pakistan’s backing and began violating human rights while also undermining centuries-old legal and Shariah principles. They devastated people’s lives through forced land seizures, oppression of marginalized farmers and illegal control over public resources. They also provided shelter to terrorist organizations, expanded internal fragmentation and worsened the economy, resulting in a chaotic security landscape that threatened global peace and stability. In this situation, the United States toppled the Taliban government in 2001 and initiated a 20-year military engagement, which ended with a rapid Taliban resurgence. The US withdrew in August 2021 and handed over power to the Taliban, but this created a profound humanitarian crisis. The Taliban imposed severe restrictions on women and provided safe havens to global terrorist groups, including Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Al-Qaeda and Daesh, thereby creating a volatile security landscape. In this situation, Pakistan engaged in high-level diplomatic efforts to persuade Kabul regarding deteriorating relations; however,