Pakistan needs national dialogue on Afghan policy: security expert

Abdullah Khan, Director of the Pakistan Institute of Conflict and Security Studies, has called for an open and meaningful national dialogue on Pakistan’s Afghan policy, arguing that the current approach is not weakening the Islamic Emirate but is increasingly pushing ordinary Afghans away from Pakistan.

In a statement, Khan said the people who formulated Pakistan’s current Afghan policy may be highly capable, but the direction and objectives of the policy appear difficult for ordinary citizens to understand.

“If Pakistan’s conflict is with the Taliban (IEA), why are measures being taken that could turn the entire Afghan population against Pakistan?” he questioned.

Khan also questioned proposals for supporting armed groups against the IEA. He said he personally did not support backing armed groups against the IEA, but if Pakistan ever considered such a strategy, an important question would be whether it still had reliable Afghan partners.

He argued that after Pakistan repatriated large numbers of Afghan citizens and continued measures encouraging those remaining in the country to leave, it would be difficult to persuade Afghan groups to trust Pakistan or work with it.

Khan further criticised what he described as Pakistan’s decision to treat the IEA as an enemy on a level comparable to India, calling it a dangerous strategic direction. He warned that such an approach could create space for India to rebuild its influence in Afghanistan and potentially use Afghan territory against Pakistan.

He questioned whether Pakistan could afford to open two fronts simultaneously along its eastern and western borders while already facing a serious terrorism challenge.

According to Khan, terrorism in Pakistan has increased significantly since the adoption of a hardline Afghan policy in October 2023. He also said border closures and other measures had adversely affected Pakistani and Afghan traders.

He called for an immediate national debate on Afghanistan policy to develop a workable strategy capable of addressing Pakistan’s security concerns while protecting its broader national interests.

Khan stressed that Pakistan’s Afghan policy should not be driven by the preferences of one individual or a limited group, but should instead be based on the broader national interest, Pakistan’s security and the lives of its security personnel.