After India’s folly, the emerging situation can be best described by the proverb “the basket broke in the cat’s favour”—in other words, a fortunate opportunity has arisen that previously seemed unlikely.
The Taliban-led Afghanistan was already showing signs of hostility even before India’s aggression.
Their growing interactions and meetings with India raised concerns.
It became evident that, for their limited and narrow objectives, they had chosen to align with India.
Then, when India imposed aggression on Pakistan, Afghanistan, at this critical juncture, acted in a way that hadn’t even occurred during the reign of the late King Zahir Shah.
When India attacked Pakistan in the darkness of night in 1965, Afghanistan’s stance wasn’t very friendly either, but even then, we had no serious worries from that front.
Throughout the 17 days of that war, we remained unconcerned about our western border.
However, during the recent Pakistan-India war, the ideologically driven Taliban regime in Afghanistan did something unprecedented: they openly supported India.
This behavior by the Taliban offers insight into the future dynamics of the region.
But what happened after the war may have been beyond anyone’s expectations.
The expression coined for Pakistan-China friendship—“higher than mountains, deeper than oceans and sweeter than honey”—is truly remarkable, whoever may have coined it.
The recent war between Pakistan and India proved this statement entirely accurate.
Not only did China stand firmly with us during the war, but afterward it also took a step whose long-lasting effects will be felt throughout the region and will reshape its entire landscape.
Immediately after the war, China brought Pakistan and Afghanistan together under its hospitality.
In this conference, several matters were discussed and decisions made—the most important being the decision to extend the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) into Afghanistan.
Afghanistan is the delicate link in the chain connecting Pakistan to Central Asia.
The late Sufi thinker and unique fiction writer Ashfaq Ahmed once said that the weakest link in a chain is the strongest, for it alone has the power to break the chain.
Afghanistan was exactly that weak link between South and Central Asia.
Though it had the potential to become an energy corridor between these regions, it neither benefitted itself nor allowed others to benefit.
This remained the case even in matters of trade.
Afghanistan never provided any rationale for its longstanding passive role, but during this recent Pakistan-India conflict, it committed a blunder of mountainous proportions.
The scale of this mistake can be measured by the fact that only one other country, Israel, stood with India on this issue.
This clearly indicates how weak and unjustifiable India’s stance was, such that even its traditional allies chose not to support it.
This is an unprecedented historical event.
Had Afghanistan’s leadership possessed even minimal foresight, it would have assessed the situation wisely and made the right decision.
Instead, their hasty approach placed them alongside Israel.
If not today, then tomorrow, the Afghan people will surely question their leadership; and if they don’t, then history itself will demand an answer from them.
In such circumstances, one approach would have been to leave Afghanistan to its own devices and let neighbouring countries move forward without it—which, to some extent, had been the case so far.
But this time, things took a different turn.
With Pakistan’s cooperation, China wisely extended a hand of friendship toward Afghanistan.
This was the backdrop for the trilateral foreign ministers’ meeting in China, where, among other decisions, it was resolved to include Afghanistan in CPEC.
Although the inclusion is now clear, it is still important to highlight that Afghanistan itself is a party to this decision.
It is essential to note Afghanistan’s participation in this decision so that its significance can be understood.
It means that Afghanistan will no longer remain the weak link in the region.
Instead, it will now walk alongside other regional nations like Pakistan and China, contributing to regional stability.
And it won’t stop there—this cooperation will lead to increased trade and prosperity throughout the region.
If these decisions are implemented—which seems certain—it would mean the elimination of terrorism from this region.
Groups like the TTP and BLA will find no space here.
Furthermore, the interim Afghan government, which had previously supported destabilizing groups, will no longer do so.
The final question remains: Will this Afghanistan, which has never honoured its commitments, fulfill its promise this time?
There is only one answer: China was not a party to such agreements before.
This implies that India’s blunder has created room for a new and auspicious beginning in the region and Pakistan and China did not let the opportunity go to waste.
This marks a new and splendid beginning in the region—one we are privileged to witness.
—This writer is former advisor to the President of Pakistan, author & mass media theorist. (farooq.adilbhuta@gmail,com)
