Saving Afghanistan

Saving Afghanistan

Context

Global and regional powers must desist from playing the ‘Great Game’ and build peace

Current situation in Afghanistan

• Violence escalated this year
• The new ‘South Asia’ policy hasn’t yielded any major results, as violence continues on the ground.
• The statement from the Taliban rejecting Afghan President Ashraf Ghani’s offer of talks “without preconditions” and calling for the targeting of American forces in Afghanistan as part of a “spring offensive” signals the security challenge.
• According to the U.S., Afghan forces control just a little over half the territory today, down from nearly three-fourths in 2015

Different countries have different agendas in Afghanistan

• Growing U.S.-Russia tensions are creating space for proxies for both on Afghan soil, and the attacks by al-Qaeda and IS-related terror groups have their roots in the larger war between Iran and the Arab world
• Tensions between India and Pakistan cast a shadow over Afghanistan, with India’s development assistance under attack.
• Driven by the desire to secure itself from Islamist groups, China is trying to build a rival military base in Afghanistan.

Conclusion

Defeating terrorism in Afghanistan needs every stakeholder to put aside differences, and acknowledge that the current situation is a danger to all.