THE current attack of Pakistani armed forces on a few posts on Afghanistan and the strong Afghani retaliation point to a historical reality that the two countries are natural foes, so to say, no matter their earlier hobnobbing with each other over long stretches of time. Unable to contain the attacks on its forces and inland installations by Taliban militants over the past some years, Pakistani forces appear to have lost their patience and have attacked Afghani border posts claiming success in taking control there and killing as many as 200 Afghani soldiers. In its retaliatory action, the Afghan forces, too, claimed to have grabbed many Pakistani posts and killed over 50 Pakistani soldiers.

 

And to seal matters from its side, Afghanistan Foreign Affairs Minister Mr. Amir Muttaqi declared from Indian soil that his country would tolerate no aggression on its sovereignty and integrity, and would hit back the hardest. Such extreme positions do not happen in a flash; those happen only over stretched periods of hostilities. Hence our observation that Afghanistan and Pakistan are natural foes -- who occasionally try to build bridges between themselves. India has assured Afghanistan that it would stand by Kabul’s side in times of crisis. In return, Afghani Foreign Affairs Minister Mr. Amir Muttaqi has assured Minister of External Affairs Dr. S. Jaishankar that Kabul would never allow anybody to use Afghani soil for purposes of terrorism and any anti-Indian activity. This understanding is nothing but a peaking of amiability between India and Afghanistan.

 

For the past years, India has been one of the strongest partners of Afghanistan in its attempt of national reconstruction. Kabul has always recognised the merit of India’s foreign policy platform of ‘non-reciprocal assistance’ (without any strings attached). India has built roads, railroads, railroad stations, Parliament building, hospitals, schools in war-ravaged Afghanistan -- though Kabul’s conduct was not ideal everytime. Notwithstanding that, India has continued to mentor Afghanistan with a long-range strategic view. As Afghanistan and Pakistan indulge in serious border clashes, Islamabad will have to take into account the India factor -- against the background of amiable relations New Delhi has had with Kabul over time. Even when the world fussed about the Taliban (controlling the Afghanistan Government) being a religious extremist organisation, India saw that movement as an expression of the Afghan people’s self-assertion. With a much larger geopolitical vision in its mind, India offered a sensible rationale about the traumatic domestic condition through which Afghanistan has had to pass for years. For, India realised that Afghanistan has been ravaged by foreign interference -- first by Russia and later by the United States -- and agreed that the country needed a serious dose of developmental activity. Pakistan has conducted itself exactly the opposite of what India has done. It has a strong military -- which Afghanistan does not possess.

 

The Afghans are a fighter race, and would be able to give a befitting answer to Pakistani aggression. Unfortunately, they do not have modern weapons to fight Pakistan. True, when the Americans left Afghanistan, they left a lot of war marchandise behind, and the Afghan forces are making the best use of that weaponry. Yet, it may prove to be an uneven battle between the superior Pakistani forces and the fighter people of Afghanistan -- led by Taliban. However, what Pakistan lacks is its moral fibre -- which may prove its undoing in the current clashes. As the Afghans retaliate to the current aggression by Pakistan, they will have a moral upper hand. The Taliban may represent certain religious dogma, all right. Yet, it knows that in changing international scenario, Pakistan is one country that should be restricted in its aggression.