Chapter 2 continues...

The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and India’s refusal to condemn the military occupation—at least publicly—also raised concerns within Pakistan of the possibility of an emerging Afghan-Indian- Soviet axis that posed a threat to the country’s security.

Concerns over India’s presence in Afghanistan have similarly dictated Pakistan’s Afghan policy even post-2001 and are likely to do so even post-2014. In fact, General Musharraf, in an effort to convince his military generals to support US efforts in Afghanistan in the immediate aftermath of 9/11, argued that if Pakistan did not accept US demands, India could step in to fill the vacuum by offering military support to the US. Pakistan feared the prospects of facing a hostile India allied to the US militar y.7
India’s reconstruction efforts in Afghanistan over the past decade have been a major source of concern for Pakistan and are viewed by Rawalpindi as part of India’s overall plan to undermine Pakistan’s interests. In particular, it has viewed Indian consulates in Mazar-e-Sharif, Jalalabad, Herat, and Kandahar as centres of ‘mischief.’ India has been accused of using these consulates to support insurgencies in Balochistan and the Khyber- Pakhtunkhwa. The signing of the Strategic Partnership Agreement between Afghanistan and India in October 2011 is also said to have concernedthemilitaryestablishmentinPakistan.
Pakistan has sought to limit India’s influence in Afghanistan by denying transit through its territory to Indian goods bound for Afghanistan. A number of Indian targets in Afghanistan have also been attacked. The attack on the Indian Embassy in Kabul in 2008 was traced to the ISI and the Haqqani Network, and the ISI was also said to be involved in the attack on the Indian Consulate in Jalalabad in August 2013.

Pakistan’s apprehensions of India’s efforts in Afghanistan post- 2001 were such that even the US discouraged India from playing a much larger role in Afghanistan lest it antagonise Pakistan. There has been a clear departure from this American approach in recent years with US officials encouraging India to step up its engagement with Afghanistan, particularly as far as the provision of military aid and training is concerned.

To be continued...