Pakistan and Afghanistan are two neighbors in Asia. Since the inception of Pakistan, relations with Afghanistan remained uneven. Today even after the withdrawal of US forces from Afghanistan Pak-Afghan relations are still suffering. That’s why in CSS Examination this topic is of utmost importance I am going to share it with you here. Being an important topic every student should consider reading about the Future of Pak-Afghan relations.
To understand the future of Pak-Afghan relations first we have to look at the background.
Background of Pak-Afghan Relations
After the Taliban government came to Afghanistan, there was hope that Pakistan-Afghan relations would improve. After the fencing of the western border, the movement of terrorists will also be blocked.
During the past few days, it is clear from the incidents of bilateral clashes and fence demolition on the Pak-Afghan border that the situation is not so easy. The worrying thing is that terrorism is starting to rise again in Pakistan.
During the last few weeks, there has been an alarming increase in the incidents of terrorism in the major cities of the country including Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and former tribal areas. Large-scale public demonstrations were also witnessed in other areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, including Swat, against the incidents of terrorism and the return of the Taliban to the areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
After the formation of the Taliban government in Afghanistan, the general perception was that the Taliban government would help Pakistan against terrorist groups.
The Taliban government helped Pakistan to the extent of negotiating with the TTP and there was a ceasefire between Pakistan and the TTP for a long time during the negotiations. But the Taliban government did not allow the anti-Pakistani terrorist groups in Afghanistan. flatly refused to take any concrete action against it.
Pak-Afghan Relations in Future
Before coming to power, the Taliban promised the world that Afghan soil would not be used for terrorism against any country. The Taliban released thousands of TTP terrorists from prisons instead of trying to rid the Afghan soil of anti-Pakistani terrorist elements. The relationship between the Afghan Taliban and TTP is no longer hidden from the world.
Terrorist attacks on Pakistan’s security forces from Afghan soil and the return of TTP militants to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, including the former tribal areas, show that the Taliban government is reluctant to crack down on the TTP. The Taliban government may fear that TTP fighters may join ISIS or other anti-Taliban groups if it takes action against the TTP.
On the other hand, despite Pakistan’s sincere efforts, the Taliban government is facing diplomatic isolation. So far, no country has recognized the interim government of the Taliban in Afghanistan.
The United States has once again demanded the formation of a national government that includes all classes, the protection of human rights, and the lifting of restrictions on women’s education and employment for the return of the frozen assets of 7 billion dollars of Afghanistan.
It has been more than a year since the Taliban came to power and during this time, the Taliban administration has taken measures that have not only limited the employment opportunities for women but also their free movement in Afghan society. It also became difficult. On the other hand, the education of young girls is also suspended in most parts of the country.
The Taliban’s position is that all Afghan ethnic and other political groups are represented in their interim government and Afghan women have all the rights according to the country’s customs, but the international community and other countries in the region disagree with this position of the Taliban. Do not agree.
After the Taliban took control of Kabul in August last year, they signaled that their policy would be different than in the past, but some of the Taliban government’s initiatives related to women’s social and professional activities and education for girls. Withholding permission is an indication that the Taliban are not ready to soften their policies at this time.
Afghan women, youth, and children are paying the heaviest price for the hard-line ideology and policies of the Taliban government. On the one hand, the doors of employment and education were completely closed to women.
On the other hand, due to the worst economic crisis due to global isolation and strict sanctions, shortage of food and medicine, and youth unemployment.
It is a fact that hunger, poverty, and unemployment are directly related to extremist ideologies. Complete peace and elimination of radical ideologies in Afghanistan are only possible if economic difficulties are eliminated.
China and Russia can help Afghanistan not only in the form of direct investment but also through diplomatic and political efforts to end the global isolation of the Taliban government and to convince the American and European countries to return the frozen assets of Afghanistan.
They can, but not until the Taliban government revises its behavior and withdraws restrictions on human rights, women’s education, and employment opportunities. Until then, the world will not take the Taliban government’s actions and promises seriously.
The Taliban government must also understand that the fate of Pakistan and Afghanistan are intertwined in terms of bilateral historical, religious, and cultural relations, as an unstable Afghanistan is not in Pakistan’s interest, just like the incidents of terrorism in Pakistan and cross-border terrorism. Terrorist attacks on security forces are the biggest threat to mutual peace.
Conclusion
The Taliban government must also understand that, unlike in the past, the world of the 21st century will not tolerate restrictions on expression, human rights violations, or restrictions on women’s education and employment. In order to gain global acceptance and end diplomatic isolation, the Taliban government will have to approach the world with a mature outlook while relaxing political and social restrictions.
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