President Ghani: Stuck Between India and Pakistan - Foreign Policy

For Afghan leaders, balancing the country’s regional foreign policy between India and Pakistan has never been an easy task. President Ashraf Ghani learned this the hard way when, in February, he attempted to improve Afghanistan’s relationship with Pakistan. Some argued that it signified a shift in the leadership’s view towards its nuclear-armed neighbor, while others said it had the potential to make New Delhi reconsider its strategic relations with Afghanistan.

Regardless of which side is right, traditional AfPak relations cannot be defined as two friendly nations living side by side. When Ghani assumed office in 2014, he had the option to either maintain the status quo and take no interest in improving relations with Pakistan, or to extend — yet again — an offer of peace and cooperation. His actions signify that he has chosen the latter.

Ghani’s decision last month to send Afghan cadets to Pakistan for military training and to coordinate and authorize joint military operations between the two countries sparked suspicions among some Afghans. The wounds of shelling in Kunar province by the Pakistani army were still fresh in people’s minds, when suddenly the government’s policy changed. It was an unprecedented decision by the president and, according to some analysts and government officials I spoke to, a risky shift in Afghan foreign policy. Trusting Pakistan — a neighbor long accused by Afghan leaders of destabilizing the country — at such a strategic level, while they haven’t taken any solid steps to prove their mutual commitment for peace in Afghanistan, stems from weak calculations by the National Unity Government.

Critics of Ghani’s decision cite Pakistan’s continued effort to destabilize the region, support Taliban fighters, and offer safe heavens to Taliban leaders as the main reasons for their disapproval. In a recent interview with the Guardian, former Pakistani president Pervez Musharraf admitted that, under his leadership, the Afghan government was snubbed by Islamabad because of its close cooperation with India. He added that the country’s Inter-Service Intelligence agency had even cultivated and supported the Taliban after their defeat in 2001.  Read More
President Ghani: Stuck Between India and Pakistan