Pakistan has the key to cut the Gordian knot of the Afghan peace process. Afghan peace will remain elusive unless Islamabad respects the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Afghanistan in practice. Pakistan has been playing a double game with Afghanistan for almost half a century now. Pakistan’s public and official attitude towards Afghanistan is like one between two independent and neighborly states, but in fact it continues to pursue the policy of “strategic depth” by harboring and backing anti-Afghan government militants. Islamabad has been supporting anti-Afghan government elements since the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. The main factor for the Taliban’s resurgence and control over almost half of Afghanistan is the Pakistan’s state support for the group.
The country has not faced any consequences despite playing a destructive role in Afghanistan. Islamabad has played both sides over the last two decades. One the one hand, it has received billions of dollars from the international community under the pretext of fighting terror, but on the other hand, it has backed militant groups who have fought against foreign and Afghan forces in Afghanistan. Apart from some actions, Islamabad has not been punished for its hypocritical policy. After the Trump administration suspended a portion of assistance to Pakistan, Islamabad has begun efforts to mend fences with the United States, as part of which Prime Minister Imran Khan’s is in Washington on a three-day visit.
Washington should not repeat its past mistakes in relations with Islamabad. If Trump and his administration really seek a solution to the Afghan knot, they should not be deceived by the Pakistani rhetoric, and must tie any engagement with the country to its actions. American leaders must clearly communicate to the Pakistani government, especially its military and intelligence leaders, that they no longer can play both sides. Either it should give up using terrorists as proxy forces or it has to face isolation at the global level as a state sponsor of terrorism. Only a categorical position on the part of the international community can force Islamabad to halt its support for terrorists. As long as Pakistan sees a room to blind the world, especially the US, the country cannot be expected to change its behavior.