And in a latest show of defiance, the Taliban regime has issued directives to Afghan traders to seek “alternative routes” and end medical imports from Pakistan within three months. For decades, Afghanistan’s economy has depended on Pakistan’s geography. The Afghan Transit Trade has been the country’s cold lifeline, sustaining commerce and essential supplies even through wars and sanctions.
Therefore, the radical plan to reduce trade reliance on Pakistan comes as a troubling signal to the region that the Taliban rulers — rather than trying to meet their commitments with the world and reciprocating Pakistan’s widely-known generosity spanning decades – intend to continue shielding their “guests” — the TTP terrorists who have unleashed a reign of terror in Pakistan while acting as Indian proxies. Needless to mention Pakistan has stayed with the Afghans through thick and thin, supporting them amid international pressures and political setbacks.
Other regional actors, including China and Russia, have also repeatedly emphasised that peace and economic progress cannot coexist with terrorist safe havens on Afghan soil. Yet, instead of thinking rationally and judiciously to work to dismantle terrorist networks on their soil, the regime continues to provide sanctuaries to terrorist outfits. In doing so, it is even digging its own grave. Such staunch defiance against the entire region threatens to undo the very stability Kabul claims to seek.
Elimination of terrorist safe havens from Afghan soil is a prerequisite for durable connectivity across South and Central Asia — a goal attractive to China and central to regional trade corridors. If terror is allowed to fester, the region will fracture. In the end, the only beneficiary of a fractured region will be the Pakistan-obsessed India, watching instability unfold to its advantage.