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Pakistan's Economic Pressure Against NATO And Afghanistan Must Stop - Forbes

PaklovesTurkiye

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Anders Corr , CONTRIBUTOR....I cover international politics, security and political risk.
Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own.

Pakistan is opening its border with Afghanistan for just 48 hours starting today, and only for people. This is too little too late for those who lost over two weeks of their lives stranded at the border, or who depend on regular and legal cross-border transit. In addition, Pakistan is not allowing transit of containerized cargo that is now piling up at the seaport in Karachi on the Arabian Sea and incurring demurrage charges. That containerized cargo is the economic life-blood of Afghanistan, which is landlocked and dependent on Pakistan’s ports. Pakistan should immediately open its border with Afghanistan to legitimate migration and trade.

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Afghan nationals wait to cross the border into Afghanistan from Pakistan at the Torkham Border Post in Pakistan's Khyber Agency on March 7, 2017. The Pakistan-Afghan border at Torkham and Chaman in Balochistan province has been re-opened for two days to facilitate Afghan nationals who want to return to their country. A spike in tensions led to the border being closed following a spate of attacks in Pakistan, the deadliest of which was a suicide attack at a crowded Sufi shrine in Pakistan's Sindh province which killed 90 people, and which was claimed by the Islamic State (IS) group. QAZI RAUF/AFP/Getty Images

Pakistan claims that it closed the border due to terrorist attacks emanating from Afghanistan. But given that terrorists can use small clandestine trails known as ratlines through the mountains between Pakistan and Afghanistan, and bribe Pakistani border guards along the way, Pakistan’s reasoning rings false. The reality is that Pakistan’s border is porous to terrorists, but not to containerized cargo. So Pakistan is not closing the border to stop terrorism, but rather to put economic pressure on Afghanistan through trade sanctions by another name.

Pakistan’s continued border closing to legitimate trade has even given breathing space to terrorism over the past two weeks, because it restricts critical Afghan National Security Force (ANSF) and NATO shipments for counter-terrorism and stability operations. In 2010, at the height of NATO involvement in Afghanistan, NATO depended on Pakistani routes for about 70% of its requirements. In 2010 and 2011, Pakistan cut off NATO supplies to Afghanistan for political leverage. NATO and the ANSF probably continue to get a large percentage of supplies through Pakistan, so the border closure puts a severe strain on Afghan operations against Pakistan-supported Taliban, Haqqani Network, Islamic State, and other terrorists.

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A Pakistani border security official (L) checks the travel documents of an Afghan national carrying his mother on his back before crossing the border into Afghanistan from Pakistan at the Torkham Border Post in Pakistan's Khyber Agency on March 7, 2017. QAZI RAUF/AFP/Getty Images

There are plenty of Pakistanis who can lend these terrorists support. A 2015 Pew Survey found that 9% of Pakistanis approve of Islamic State. Another Pew Survey in 2014 found that 8% of Pakistanis approve of the Taliban, and 12% approve of Al Qaeda. Pakistan’s military, which has a hand in supporting these terrorists, is the most popular institution in Pakistan at 87% approval. As Noman Ansari, the editor-in-chief of youth-oriented IGN Pakistan opined in 2015,

We need to take charge of what we teach in our schools.... We need to counter the extremist narrative in a meaningful way. As I said before, you can’t bomb an ideology. Our belief system begs for reformation at its core, before it is too late.”

We must stop believing Pakistan’s lies about its border closing, and admit that Pakistan is trying to economically pressure Afghanistan and NATO. This is consistent with its general attempts to restrict trade between its adversary India, and Afghanistan. Pakistan and its ally and largest trade partner China are aggressive, and see democratic countries like the U.S., India, and Afghanistan as strategic competitors. As a result, China’s One Belt One Road (OBOR) has largely sidelined India and Afghanistan in favor of Pakistan.

India is a key potential trading partner for Afghanistan, and increased trade between the two democracies could strengthen India and increase Afghanistan’s economic independence from Pakistan. But Pakistan would prefer Afghanistan to be an economic and diplomatic dependency -- strategic depth for its conflict with India.

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An Afghan national drags a stretcher carrying a patient before crossing the border into Afghanistan from Pakistan at the Torkham Border Post in Pakistan's Khyber Agency on March 7, 2017. QAZI RAUF/AFP/Getty Images

Fixing violence, religious extremism, terrorism, and authoritarianism in Pakistan and Afghanistan is a tall order. It will not be easy. But it starts with the U.S. and Europe recognizing that we need to oppose, publicly and vigorously, the corrupt alliance of China, Pakistan, and terrorists in South Asia. We need to recognize that Pakistan is using duplicity to veil its authoritarian and terrorist tactics. From this understanding should flow international measures of the strongest type against China and Pakistan to counter authoritarian violence and state-sponsored terrorism in South Asia.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/anders...ato-and-afghanistan-must-stop/2/#412744e31047


:angry: Pakistan needs to not submit to these fukers who themselves are building wall on Mexican border, who supported ISIS in Syria, helping India and ISIS to gain foot inside Afghanistan to sandwich Pakistan from both sides...If more than 100 people had been killed in US in week or two, just like in Pakistan happened, what would have US done afterwards???...Pakistan needs to show middle finger to them when it comes to our national security, our people and interests.




 
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When Osama bin laden incident happened and Mullah Akhtar Mohammad Mansour got killed than all blames goes to Pakistan. Nobody blames porous border and free access to cross from Afghanistan to Pakistan. Now when we are sealing these border then all these bogus reports is coming.. durand line, humanitarian crisis bla bla bla..
Lots of Pakistanis got killed because of terrorist activities from NDS and RAW trained terrorist who got free access to cross..
So it is better to seal the border permanently as Afghanistan become a pawn of India and they missed no chance to abuse Pakistan in all world forums..
 
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What shud stop is terrorist and.daesh santuaries right under nato noses in afghanistan.... which seems.like.with their full support
 
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it will do no good for Pakistan or Afghanistan only people coming out happy out of this in the long run will be terrorists with more recruits for them,
 
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What is this guy smoking? Isn't it obvious this border closure is to pressure Afghanistan to act against TTP, JuA and other terrorists attacking Pakistan?

He's also accusing Pakistan of supporting Al Qaeda, ISIS, Taliban, etc. He's clearly off his rockers. No need to make much of this piece.
 
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It is right that's with the closing of the border with Afghanistan have great impact upon the economy and people reside with in it, even their necessary goods had been stranded on other side. which is of their daily use.

Allow me to say that the suicide vest which was been earthed on the Center city of Lahore and at sufi shrine in the mid of Feb was exported from Afghanistan through the same channel using the same infrastructure which is actually meant for trade for the good use, not for the seek of the death of Pakistan's people.

Atleast give Pakistan the legitimacy to stop such trade with which their own people don't find themselves safe.

Rest assured the border guards and the people of Islamic Republic of Pakistan that any thing and everything which pass by your borders are meant and sent in a view of the good seek.
 
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The reporter clearly doesn't know the ground realities, Afghanistan can trade with central asian republics as well as Iran, even though it will be more expensive, Pakistan has simply closed the border because the incompetent and hostile Afghan government is sponsoring terrorism against Pakistan at the behest of India. When the west barks and says do more to curb terrorism, now when the border is closed, the west is crying, absolute sheer duplicity, just today Daesh has claimed the attack at hospital in Kabul was carried out by them, unfortunately the border needs to stay closed to keep all the terrorists out.
 
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What a one sided and propagandist article. Pakistan has every right to defend itself against Indian terrorism by RAW in collusion with NDS. You need to take off your Indian glasses and look at Pakistan with an open mind. I am not sure why do you hate Pakistan so much. You should prepend every article you write about Pakistan with “An Indian perspective…..”

The author of this article is a paid Indian agent who is writing complete nonsense.Pakistan is being attacked by IS,how can it support IS?. India and Afghanistan are providing sanctuaries to terrorists in Afghanistan.The terrorists are attacking Pakistan security forces at the border from Afghanistan.The border should remain closed unless Afghanistan takes action against IS and other terrorists based in Afghanistan
 
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Forbes has really gone downmarket in the last few years. Are they desperate to get writers or something? This is was amateur.
 
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It was really a fun read. :lol:
Democratic Afghanistan--Corrupt Pak-China Alliance--Pakistan's one way porous border so open the border gates and bla bla bla.:omghaha::omghaha: The writer is literally too stupid to insult.
 
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