TMA
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If Pakistan had the economic power then in theory yes. BUT and it is a big BUT. It all depends on the Afghan people in those territories under Pakistani control. That is like the wind. Even if Pakistan had the financial and political means all of this could be wasted if the "wind" changes.The way to bring prosperity to Afghan is by way of CPEC. We can share the bounties of CPEC with everyone.
The way to gain control over Afghan territory is a piecewise fashion. Here is a simple rule: if fire comes on us from any direction, or we find insurgents trying to cross over from any area, we simply take over the area under the pretext of maintaining security. The Afghan government should be apprised beforehand of this intention.
Once an area is under Pakistani control, the immediate steps must be gaining confidence of the local population. Impress upon them that they are now safe from terrorists and American bombings. Provide them means of livelihood and open access to rest of Pakistan. If the area is under populated, bring in the Afghan refugees and honourably settle them in this area. Raise LEAs amongst the local population. Install a system of governance that respects their wishes.
We need to bring along China, Saudi Arabia, and Russia into this. We can't do this alone, but under the CPEC umbrella, we can share the bounties with our neighbours.
If you are concerned about finances, here are the options: an actual two front, physical war with Afghanistan and India at the same time, or a preemptive strike on Afghanistan. We don't have the finances to deal with either. But in one case, we can plan and execute at our will, while in the other, the war will be imposed by the enemy at the most inopportune time.
Look, here is how you solve real world problems. When looking for the solution, find the best possible solution, disregarding any constraints. Now you can see what the best unconstrained solution looks like, start adding constraints and see how the solution gets modified. At this point, you have the ability to prioritize the constraints. You might add one, and see how that affects finances (for example). Compare that with some other constraint. This gives a natural priority between constraints.
Tell me, do you agree that IF Pakistan had the resources, the preemptive solution would be the best solution?
In practice Pakistan may have the military means to acquire border regions but to maintain and defend them...no.
NATO and Kabul will wreak havoc in those regions but supporting insurgents. They will bleed Pakistan with a thousand cuts and Pakistan will have no moral support from any of her neighbours unless Pakistan gains the go ahead with China and Russia. I do not think they will support Pakistan that much.
Pakistan has trouble defending Pakistani regions from US drone strikes. Pakistan has trouble gaining the confidence of Pakistanis.
Of course Pakistan needs China, Iran and Russia on board and with CPEC but always remember money does not buy love.
For your plan to even have a whiff of success...NATO must leave. For your plan to have a whiff of success Pakistan must herself be economically independent and stable. And even then it depends upon the Afghan people. Are they dependable?
So realistically containment is the better option. Repatriate Afghans refugees. Have a closed border. Make it hard for NATO in Afghanistan. Gain the support of Russia and China for this.
Pakistan will not face a conventional two front war. The ANA do not have this capability and the US knows this. They are working on hybrid warfare via the Western Border and Bharat is doing what she always does.