Jan Achakzai

Is Afghanistan to emerge a new proxy battleground in Post Quad US-China strategic rivalry?  Pakistan, China & Afghan FM's conference hope for an Afghan settlement. Jan Achakzai  The Foreign Ministers of Pakistan, China, and Afghanistan conference  reiterated the political solution and emphasized sustainable peace in Afghanistan comes after 44 percent completion of the US troops withdrawal from the country as per the Pentagon handout. The strategic  Bagram base is about to be handed over to Afghan forces. On the other hand, the Taliban spring offensive is in full swing and they have come close to urban centers from across Afghanistan. The efforts and possible consensus for Intra Afghan dialogue and any potential settlement are moving at a snail pace while the mounting gains on the battlefield are making it hard for the Taliban to give in and   compromise politically.  What exactly is at stake for China and Pakistan to collaborate is a combination of...

Afghanistan: Pakistan should not push Taliban to the wall Jan Achakzai  Much has been written about Pakistan-Afghanistan relations, Pakistan has strategic interest in Afghanistan that it is not a sanctuary to proxy groups like the TTP, BLA, and other outfits fighting Islamabad as an extension of India's indirect warfare in Balochistan and other borderlands like ex FATA region. Any solution to Afghan conflict  is a must to reflect Islamabad's genuine security concerns.  Since the Kabul administration is a semi-client regime of Delhi willingly playing  Indian strategic Afghan chess game, it has no incentive to reign in these anti-Pakistan militant groups. So comes Pakistan's leverage on the Afghan Taliban as a hedge against Afghanistan's recognition of implicit suzerainty of and  sphere of influence by India, its irredentist claim on Pakistan's western border, its levers of ethnic/racial groups in KP and Balochistan and other variables aimed to create instability...