Dude that doesn't sound very good ! If Kabul isn't under Taliban control & there is a Taliban presence elsewhere then we've got another civil war in the coming just like there was one at the end of the so-called Afghan Jihad. Our cities will get flooded again by the refugees, the Northern Alliance (or whatever their present day successors are...lets call it Kabul) & the Taliban embroiled in a civil war that tears the very country apart & our Tribal Areas are naturally not immune to that for the element of Pashtun Nationalism will be injected in it once more due to the, alleged, lopsidedness of ANA's composition.
That just comes with being a part of this neighbourhood. We've had to live with it before (Thrice) but this time, the locals will be very apprehensive towards an Afghan Immigration. During the Soviet Occupation and American Bombings, there was a feeling of great sympathy for the Afghan but since the Afghans hijacked the locals and used them. The element of Pushtun Nationalism will therefore be rare, this time around.
We're going to have a serious problem on our side anyhow ! I can't help but wonder if it is in exact anticipation of that possibility - nay, an inevitability, that we've been pushing for a peace settlement for so long & ever so ardently !
Peace with the Taliban is like trying to catch smoke, it just won't happen. The Taliban have no policy or code that they are bound by, their goals change as opportunity presents itself.
We can't afford a repeat of the late '80s & early '90s ! Especially when the Taliban aren't exactly friendly to us anymore.
They never really were, our people are just forgetful.
1) They refused to accept Durand Line as an International Border.
2) Attacked Markets in Orakzai and Khyber.
3) Threatened to target "Kaffiron kay Adday" in Pakistan.
4) Almost Invaded Chitral after Northern Alliance fighters
And much more, this was all pre-9/11. They were an allied government but not friendly by any definition.
Or another way to look at it could be that Pakistan is banking on the Afghan Taliban & the ANA to go at each other for a couple of years & provide us a much needed breather to re-collect ourselves & then chart a course of action that would bring some semblance of peace to the area.
It is in our best interest for the newly established set up to continue and prosper. A happy Afghanistan means that drugs, militants and weapons stay on their side of the border and we get to keep our cattle and wheat.
Pakistan could be in for the long haul. They broke the peace treaty in attempt to expand. No doubt as you already know they want to overthrow the Pakistani govt. and will keep on trying.
Agreed. Like I said, there guys are opportunists.
So the suicide attacks against tribal leaders who are pro-govt. is not scaring them?
Death is an ever present part of Tribal Society, death is not what scares the common tribal. Absolute power and control over him does.
