A Study of the Pakistan Factor in India's Foreign Policy Towards Afghanistan, 2001-2021

Abstract

For both India and Pakistan, Afghanistan has been a playground where both the country’s foreign policy goals differ and mostly contradicts, as mutual rivalry and suspicion have characterized relations between India and Pakistan. Pakistan’s foreign policy revolves around its competition with India, while India itself has been unable to look much beyond South Asia due to its difficult relations with Pakistan. Afghanistan plays a crucial geostrategic role for India. Afghanistan is critical for India’s outreach to the Central Asian Republics and as a balance to Pakistan and China. Pakistan has had a significant role in Indo-Afghan relations being the most significant outside actor in Afghan political affairs. India, which has shared religious and historical ties with Afghanistan, Pakistan is particularly sensitive to India’s long-standing alliance with Afghanistan. Time and again Indian assets and investments have been targeted by groups which are known to be proxies of Pakistan. Afghanistan offers Pakistan an alluring chance to engage in conflict with India. Pakistan is able to threaten India by using covert activities in Afghanistan, bypassing its traditional ways of doing so. Pakistan consequently deploys proxies (the Taliban, the Haqqani network, the LeT, etc.) in Afghanistan as part of its rivalry management strategy. Hurting India somewhere aids the conflict everywhere since issues within rivalries are interrelated. Pakistan has posed itself as one of the biggest hindrances on India’s Afghanistan foreign policy strategy limiting India’s regional aspirations. The study provides an historical perspective on Afghanistan’s political history and the geo-strategic importance of Afghanistan to India and Pakistan. The study also seeks to give a detailed analysis on India’s foreign policy in Afghanistan over the time, and it additionally aims to provide an analysis on the role played by Pakistan in India’s Afghan foreign policy strategy from the period of 2001-2021