pakistani342
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Article written by Praveen Swami (same guy who has the annoying screechy tv show?) article here, excerpts below:
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This much is clear: the new news from Afghanistan is not good. Three of Afghanistan’s 34 provincial capitals—Tarin Kot in Uruzgan, Lashkar Gah in Helmand, and Kunduz—are under direct Taliban siege. The Government admits nine districts of the country’s 398—Now Zad, Musa Qala, Bagran, and Dishu in Helmand; Warduj and Yamgan in Badakhshan; Kohistanat district in Sar-i Pul; Nawa in Ghazni; and Khak Afghan in Zabul. Forty more, it says, are “heavily contested”.
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President Ghani and Prime Minister Modi know the big problem here is Pakistan. For years now, Afghan leaders have been demanding Pakistan crack down on the Taliban, who operate with impunity from its cities. The much-vaunted Afghanistan-India-United States diplomatic axis is among a number of efforts meant to push Pakistan in that direction.
There’s good reason to suspect, though, that this high-diplomatic manoeuvring will amount to nothing. Islamabad has refused to act against the Taliban because it is in its best interests not to do so. Pakistan’s military sees the Taliban as allies who protect the country from its affiliates and partners, notably al-Qaeda, and some factions of the Tehreek-e-Taliban.
United States of America diplomats have become increasingly frustrated with Pakistan’s conduct—but there’s no stomach in Washington for actions that would punish the Pakistani state for its complicity with terror. No one wants to risk weakening a state with nuclear weapons: hideous as the status-quo is, western leaders see it as preferable to all the other options.
...
The long war that began on 9/11, it appears likely, is certain to remain mired in stalemate for many years to come—only this stalemate is not still, its relentless march fuelled each day by human blood.
...
This much is clear: the new news from Afghanistan is not good. Three of Afghanistan’s 34 provincial capitals—Tarin Kot in Uruzgan, Lashkar Gah in Helmand, and Kunduz—are under direct Taliban siege. The Government admits nine districts of the country’s 398—Now Zad, Musa Qala, Bagran, and Dishu in Helmand; Warduj and Yamgan in Badakhshan; Kohistanat district in Sar-i Pul; Nawa in Ghazni; and Khak Afghan in Zabul. Forty more, it says, are “heavily contested”.
...
President Ghani and Prime Minister Modi know the big problem here is Pakistan. For years now, Afghan leaders have been demanding Pakistan crack down on the Taliban, who operate with impunity from its cities. The much-vaunted Afghanistan-India-United States diplomatic axis is among a number of efforts meant to push Pakistan in that direction.
There’s good reason to suspect, though, that this high-diplomatic manoeuvring will amount to nothing. Islamabad has refused to act against the Taliban because it is in its best interests not to do so. Pakistan’s military sees the Taliban as allies who protect the country from its affiliates and partners, notably al-Qaeda, and some factions of the Tehreek-e-Taliban.
United States of America diplomats have become increasingly frustrated with Pakistan’s conduct—but there’s no stomach in Washington for actions that would punish the Pakistani state for its complicity with terror. No one wants to risk weakening a state with nuclear weapons: hideous as the status-quo is, western leaders see it as preferable to all the other options.
...
The long war that began on 9/11, it appears likely, is certain to remain mired in stalemate for many years to come—only this stalemate is not still, its relentless march fuelled each day by human blood.
