Pakistan has been caught up between two extremes in recent days. On one side, it is the United States which wants to instigate war in Afghanistan and on the other it is China which has total concentration on trade, business and investment. The United States has so far dumped billions of dollars in Afghanistan without gaining anything except coffins and humiliation. During his election campaign, the current US president Donald Trump had declared that he will withdraw troops from Afghanistan and will try to manage the domestic affairs. However, he has now decided to send more troops to Afghanistan, indicating that he will keep the boots on the ground for an indefinite period of time. Aggravation of war means more chaos and instability in the region.It is difficult to understand what has prompted the United States to reinforce its troops in Afghanistan which is not a threat to its security. The current government is established on the crutches of the US taxpayers’ money and this money could have been utilized on utility projects. But war is probably the only option to keep the region volatile and vindicate Taliban of their terrorist activities.
On another note, China is fully involved in the development of infrastructure from all sides of the country. The main purpose of Beijing is to involve the countries of the region in the process of economic development. The Chinese government belt and road project is part of it. The Pakistani government is weak, but has strong point of view on the situation in Afghanistan as political stability in that country is in its own interest. Pakistan is also struggling to improve its economy and does not want to involve itself in any military activity. The best option for the United States is to bring the war to an end and let the Afghans decide themselves what kind of government they want. As a matter of fact, interference in the internal affairs of Afghanistan is the root-cause of the problem. The war and instability in Afghanistan is affecting the economy of Pakistan. It is also not in the interest of the Chinese investment in Pakistan which is in billions of dollars and is one of the most efficient regional connectivity project. The economy of Pakistan has already lost $100 billion in the useless war on terror and peace is still nowhere in sight.
