Indo-Afghan Relations: Implications for Pakistan

Abstract

Afghanistan is located at the convergence of Central, Middle and South Asian regions, one of the most world prime geographical locations. Its strategic location and abundant mineral resources have always attracted international community including India. Hence Indian objectives to develop relations with Afghanistan are manifold and decades old. Indian foreign policy is devised by many factors like its bitter relations with Pakistan and its desire of access route to Central Asian Republics by limiting Pakistan’s reach that has serious implications for Pakistan. In view of its past experience, Pakistan perceives Indian extended desire to engage in Afghanistan as a deliberate strategy of using the later as a battleground to show its power and use influence against Pakistan. Terrorist incidents in Balochistan provide evidence and links with Indian RAW activities organized in Afghan areas. So, Indian intention to invest in Afghanistan for infrastructure rebuilding is not as simple as it is often claimed. India has covert objectives of troubling Pakistan. In hostile lunacy, India increased, dramatically, its involvement in Afghanistan when the Taliban era came to an end. India’s interference in Afghanistan is a clear reflection of its desire to execute Afghan land against Pakistan. India sees Afghan war an opportunity to encounter Pakistan’s influence in the region. This research paper will analyze Indian involvement in Afghanistan and its implications for Pakistan. The study is designed to unveil the hidden objectives of fast growing Indo-Afghan relations and evaluates Indian strategies in regional context.

The Importance of Regional Triangular - India-Pakistan-Afghanistan and Russian Interests in the Region

“…Here it is worth saying that being engaged in a cold war with the USA, the Soviet regime was struggling for hegemony in Central Asia (Saikal, 1987). Due to its geographical location, Afghanistan became a victim of a great game between the US and USSR since at that time both of them were trying to establish their predominance in the Central Asian Region (Raza & Mustafa, 2019). Even nowadays Russia views Afghanistan mainly through the prism of threats to its security and the security of its neighbours in Central Asia, where Moscow is striving for the "soft power hegemony" (Trenin & Malashenko, 2010).…”