FLASHPOINT
Pakistan sees a victorious Taliban in Afghanistan to the west and a partner in China to the East. But the U.S. is at odds with both, pushing leader Imran Khan into a delicate balancing act.
Pakistani Prime minister imran Khan presides today over a nuclear-armed major South Asian power situated at a critical geopolitical crossroads. To the west, the Taliban has emerged victorious from a two-decade war led by the United States. It has reestablished the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, a project Pakistan backed a quarter of a century ago, and with which it still maintains closer ties than any other government. To the east, a traditional partner, China, has risen up from its revolutionary roots to become a superpower contender willing to share the spoils with Pakistan.
But Khan’s country also finds itself at the center of deep-rooted tensions both regional and global. His exclusive interview with Newsweek touches upon a number of the most pressing issues his nation faces as he seeks to lead it through difficult times.
Unruly Neighbors
Pakistan’s modern history is intrinsically linked to that of its archfoe, India. Both nations were born out of the colonial United Kingdom’s departure from the subcontinent, where a 1947 partition along the Kashmir region created two independent states and left hundreds of thousands dead in the ensuing violence.
India and Pakistan engaged in three more outright wars, two of them focused on Kashmir. Today, the divided border valley remains a bloody flashpoint, as each side accuses the other of inflaming insurgency and instability.
Friends in High Places
The decades-long India-pakistan conflict ran parallel to the broader Cold War being waged between the U.S. and the Soviet Union. Throughout this geopolitical bout, Islamabad grew close with Washington, while New Delhi aligned itself with Moscow.
Though China shared a communist ideology with the USSR, Beijing ultimately sought a detente with Washington, a historic move in part facilitated by Islamabad, which had already established strong ties with the neighboring People’s Republic. That relationship weathered both the deterioration in U.s.-china relations and the warming of U.s.-india ties.
The connection between Washington and New Delhi has been recently strengthened by a common desire to confront China. The situation has evolved to a point where China and Pakistan now consider each other strategic partners intertwined in an ever-growing list of joint initiatives, not least of which is the China-pakistan Economic Corridor, a crucial branch of China’s intercontinental Belt and Road Initiative.
Graveyard of Empires
When the Soviet Union decided to intervene on behalf of a friendly but struggling communist government in Afghanistan, Pakistan played a leading role in the 1980s pro-mujahideen rebel campaign led by the U.S. and also assisted by China. Shortly after the resistance succeeded, the Taliban was formed and swept through much of Afghanistan in an offensive still backed by Pakistan.
After the U.S. staged its massive post-9/11 military offensive against the self-declared Islamic Emirate due to its links to Al-qaeda, Pakistan cracked down on a number of militant groups, but maintained contacts with the Taliban. This relationship has proven key as a resurgent Taliban has again taken the helm of Afghanistan in the wake of the U.S. military withdrawal last month. Communication between Islamabad and the Taliban continues as the group attempts to present itself as a worthy international partner for peace in a nation that has been at war for decades.
The Forever War on Terror
The next big milestone in the U.s.-led war on terror following the launch of U.s.-led operations in Afghanistan was the slaying of then-al-qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, who was caught hiding out in Pakistan nearly 10 years later. Washington continues to press on with its quest against such adversaries.
There are universal threats posed by the likes of Al-qaeda and the Islamic State militant group (ISIS) to the national security of countries across the globe. But there is also a more specific and immediate threat to Pakistan and its neighbors in the form of militant outfits like the Tehrik-i-taliban Pakistan, the East Turkestan Islamic Movement and the Baloch Liberation Army. The U.S. may withdraw from Afghanistan without worry of direct blowback from such elements, but Pakistan remains acutely aware of this lingering menace, and seeks to raise the alarm with the international community.
The border between Pakistan and India remains a bloody flashpoint, as each side accuses the other of inflaming insurgency and instability.