CSS 2008 Solved Current Affairs Past Papers | India Factor is Responsible for the Present State of Pakistan-Afghanistan Relations
The following question of CSS Current Affairs 2008 is solved by Sir Ammar Hashmi, the best Current Affairs Coach, on the guided pattern of Sir Syed Kazim Ali, which he taught to his students, scoring the highest marks in compulsory subjects for years. This solved past paper question is uploaded to help aspirants understand how to crack a topic or question, write relevantly, what coherence is, and how to include and connect ideas, opinions, and suggestions to score the maximum.
Question breakdown
This question has one part: the analysis of the Indian factor in Pakistan-Afghanistan relations.
Outline
1-Introduction
2-Historical context of Pakistan-Afghanistan’s rivalry
3-How has India been intervening in the conflict?
- Economic and strategic assistance to Afghanistan
Case study: India providing 2 billion USD to Afghanistan, making around 20 per cent of Afghanistan’s total foreign aid
- Joint military and intelligence cooperation
Case study: India and Afghanistan joint operations, such as the Haqqani network, enhancing cooperation
- Proxy wars
Case study: India, supporting anti-Pakistan groups in Afghanistan by funding TTP and ISIS
- Interference in Afghanistan’s politics
Case study: India, supporting Afghanistan’s President Ashraf Ghani, who was against Pakistan
- Support to insurgent groups
Case study: India is accused of supporting various insurgency groups in Pakistan and Afghanistan, proving hazardous for Pakistan
4-Critical analysis
5-Conclusion
Answer to the Question
Introduction
The world we live in today has been through numerous territorial, political, or strategic disputes. Pakistan has been one of the countries affected by strategic and territorial disputes since its independence. It shares its boundaries with the countries that have been rivals to Pakistan. For instance, India lies to the south-eastern side, Iran lies to the south-eastern side, and Afghanistan lies to the east of Pakistan. These transboundary disputes between the countries make the region an essential geo-political and geo-strategic hub. The same is true for Pakistan and Afghanistan. They have been rivals for a very long time. The reasons behind this are the same: strategic, political, territorial, and religious. Although most of the causes of this Dispute are indigenous, India has been one of the external factors that have long contributed to it, such as financial aid to anti-Pakistan organizations, moral and diplomatic support for the Afghan Taliban, and promotion of economic and infrastructural development in Afghanistan.
Historical context of Pakistan-Afghanistan’s rivalry
The Pakistan-Afghanistan relationship can be easily understood by considering the main idea behind their relationship: the Prisoner’s Dilemma. Pakistan has long sought to establish a client state in the region, and Afghanistan has been a natural fit. During the era of the Cold War, it was Pakistan that intervened in the affairs of Afghanistan, diplomatically influencing the Afghan Taliban. Nevertheless, after the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan in 2021, Pakistan was still of the opinion that it would influence Afghanistan in the same way it used to. Still, the conditions and circumstances have changed, making it even harder for Pakistan to secure its boundary with Afghanistan, let alone influence it. The reasons behind this are both external and internal, such as Pakistan’s decrepit foreign policy, incompetent decisions by the stakeholders, and Indian interference.
How has India been intervening in the conflict?
The following are some aspects that highlight India’s interfering role in the conflict.
- Economic and strategic assistance to Afghanistan
To begin with, it is pertinent to mention that India has been actively involved in helping Afghanistan develop economically, enabling it to become independent of Pakistan. This is evident in the statistics, which show that India has recently provided Afghanistan with around two billion USD to help it survive the economic crisis. The aim is to make Afghanistan rely less on Pakistan and make its foreign policy independent of Pakistan’s economic and diplomatic influence.
- Joint military and intelligence cooperation
Second, India has also been cooperating with Afghanistan militarily. Both states have been actively engaged in military exercises, strengthening Afghanistan’s military strength. For example, India and Afghanistan have been involved in joint military drills, such as Haqqani operations, to promote military cooperation between the two states.
- Proxy wars
Third, one of the reasons why it is widely accepted that India has been involved in the Pakistan-Afghanistan rivalry is that India supports anti-Pakistan organizations and networks in Afghanistan. A significant example is India’s support of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan and ISIS. As per the reports, India has been involved in almost 70 per cent of the attacks by the BLA organization in Pakistan, proving the stance that India has been backing Afghanistan-based anti-Pakistan organizations.
- Interference in Afghanistan’s politics
Fourth, being an active influencer of Afghan Politics, Pakistan’s security agencies believe that India has been promoting anti-Pakistan sentiments among Afghanistan’s politicians and public. It is believed that Indian agencies were involved in supporting Ashraf Ghani, who was a critic of Pakistan and its policies towards Afghanistan. As can be seen from the Afghanistan survey, 70 per cent of Afghans view India as a positive influence, paving the way for Indian interference in Afghan politics.
- Support to insurgent groups
Last, the worst thing that India has been promoting is insurgency in Pakistan by some non-state actors based in Afghanistan. India has been financially and strategically backing such groups so that they can easily infiltrate Pakistan and disturb the peace in Pakistan. Moreover, India has actively been involved in proxies against Pakistan. Recently, one of the reports highlighted that almost fifteen Pakistanis have been killed by Indian agencies in Pakistan with the help of such non-state actors. All these arguments prove that India is one of the reasons hindering the path towards stability between Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Critical Analysis
Critically, it is pertinent to say that the Pak-Afghan relationship has been through a tumultuous path since the inception of Pakistan. From territorial disputes to cultural and religious differences, Afghanistan has often gone against the likes of Pakistan, especially after 9/11. Though most of the reasons are intrinsic, such as political interests and differences, territorial conflicts, and socio-economic differences, extrinsic causes have also been adding fuel to the fire, such as India supporting anti-Pakistan organizations in Afghanistan and financing the Afghan Taliban against Pakistan. Pakistan needs to monitor the situation closely and take meticulous measures to safeguard the region and Pakistan in particular.
Conclusion
To conclude, it is evident from the above arguments that Pakistan and Afghanistan, despite being close to each other culturally and Territorially, differ socially, politically, and strategically. They have geostrategic and geopolitical differences, of which India has taken full advantage by sidelining Pakistan in the region. Although the loopholes lie on both sides of the border, external factors such as Indian interference between the two states act as a spark that sets afire the already strained condition of the relationship. Pakistan needs not overlook the circumstances and take diplomatic and strategic measures to avert the crisis.
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