Some of you guys are full of bluster. Forcefully annexing Wakhan is asking for trouble. NO ONE, not even china, will support us on this. We have no legitimate reason & therefore it would be against international law. We're not a great power that can do whatever it wants. Remember that. Also, what will you do if another insurgency starts there? Building a transport route through there is already difficult enough. If anything this is a measure of last resort.
If you want to stop Afghan chutiyapa once & for all, the only solution is to change the tribal, ethnonationalist, chauvnistic Afghan mindset. This is a decades long project. And don't think if you leave them alone they'll change by themselves like the Saudis did. Saudi family owes it's position to the west & the west only cares about them b/c of oil which is why they're so involved in SA. This won't happen in Afg & Afghans are more stubborn than Saudis to begin with who got fat & greedy from oil.
Short term steps:
1. Fortify border
2. Disproportionate kinetic retaliation to any attack against us.
3. Other responses include halting health & student visas & trade, returning refugees, etc
4. Eliminate anti-pak figures
5. Raids against TTP strongholds & assassinate their leaders
6. Use anti-TTP ulema to promote our fight as being against khawarij. Use this rhetoric to pressurize IEA unless they want to be labelled the same
7. Threaten to support anti-Taliban elements if they don't play nice. Impress upon them that the only way they will have peace is if we have it too.
Long term steps:
1. Build up Islamic PR. I mentioned how in a previous comment (see below). Tying into societal reform is promoting an islamic society where religion & living in unity with coreligionists from other ethnicities matters more than ethnic kinship. Also, where sharia matters more than cultural practices like pashtunwali. Their leverage will loosen greatly on us this way.
Promote our islamic street cred. Make documentaries about Pakistan's Islamic actions like supporting Afghan jihad, Kashmir, Palestine, Bosnia, etc. Heck, we can even make docs on how we supported Taliban against US (with gov officials denying it of course *wink wink*). Make docs on how Pakistan has supported Afg so much. For spice, add pro-pak statements from friendly Afghans.
Make docs for any controversial thing we've participated in like WoT or black September providing justification & nuance to why we had to do what we did.
Yes, we can rebuild our islamic PR. 1st step is by putting pdm behind bars along with bajwa & other adventurous generals. Reform justice system away from British law & make it sharia compliant. Engage with local & international ulema by hosting events & discussions, etc. Most importantly, societal reforms in general.
2. Carry out propaganda warfare by making docs on Afg ethnonationalism & unislamic aspects of their society despite the Taliban claiming to be islamic.
3. Ideological warfare. Support pro-pak NGOs & news org in Afg. Buy off loyalties. We might be broke but they're more broke than us & plenty for sale as well regardless of how they might portray themselves.
Enough of the stick. Now for the carrot.
5. Promote our culture & pakistaniyat through entertainment industry. Turn them into Afghan version of weebs & Kpop fans.
6. Promote economic ties. Make sure that out of all their neighbours, their economy is tied to the well being of ours.
7. Continue funding development & humanitarian projects. Use media to make sure they don't forget it.
8. Train their academics, military officers, journalists, etc. Use this opportunity to turn as many of them as possible into our pawns.
9. Offer a loose confederation, where they can have reasonable autonomy.
Backup plan:
Work with Afg neighbours & local separatists to balkanize it. I'm sure Iranis, Uzbeks & Tajiks won't mind finally removing this headache once & for all. Bonus for them if they can gain territory as well.