Discarding the ‘strategic depth’ doctrine
Finally, the civilian and military leadership of Pakistan has taken the wise step to discard the decades-old doctrine of ‘strategic depth’ by adopting the policy of non-interference into the affairs of its neighbour – Afghanistan.
Foreign policy is the cornerstone of success of any government. Failure in the foreign policy of any state may prove to be disastrous. Former US President John F. Kennedy once said, “Domestic policy can only defeat us; foreign policy can kill us”.
The major shift in the Afghan policy is the cornerstone of Pakistan’s new policy. This is another shift following the policy shift after 9/11, which remains the biggest change in the country’s policy ever seen.
This shift also means that Pakistan has trashed its policy of ‘good and bad’ Taliban. This change in the mindset of the country’s establishment is not only gigantic but has also surprised many experts. Some critics are still sceptical of the changed policy, however successive operations launched against Taliban sanctuaries have proved the government’s resolve. This change in policy would greatly help Pakistan and Afghanistan to make the region terrorism-free.
This shift however has helped the leadership of Pakistan, China and Afghanistan to come on one page for weeding out the menace of terror from the entire region. Chinese President Xi Jinping is the catalyst for this policy shift as the Chinese leadership is aiming at expanding its outreach to the South Asia region.
While China is thriving in modern technology, infrastructure development and economic progress, its neighbourhood is home to unprecedented poverty, illiteracy and under-development. China aims at expanding its economic outreach to the rest of the world through Pakistan-Afghanistan economic route. For this gigantic task, it’s imperative to stabilise both Pakistan and Afghanistan.
The credit of this sea-change in the country’s strategic policies goes to Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Raheel Sharif who, soon after taking over the reins of the most powerful institution of the country, launched a rethinking process and reset the direction of the foreign policy
Moreover, the Chinese government is deeply concerned about the rise in the incidents of terrorism in its biggest province, Xinjiang, which is close to the Pakistani border. The dream of making the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor a success cannot materialise until terrorism is uprooted from the region.
The credit of this sea-change in the country’s strategic policies goes to Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Raheel Sharif who, soon after taking over the reins of the most powerful institution of the country, launched a rethinking process and reset the direction of the foreign policy. While visiting Afghanistan, the army chief also assured the civil and military leadership of Afghanistan and ISAF to go after terrorists once and for all.
China-Pakistan proximity is no secret for the world but the new equation developed between Pakistan and Afghanistan is new by all means. The first wise step taken by Pakistan was adapting the policy of ‘non-interference’ into recent Afghan elections, which paved the way for trust-building between the two.
This goodwill gesture was reciprocated by Afghan President Dr Ashraf Ghani who visited Islamabad after his trips to Saudi Arabia and China. It was also for the first time in the history of both the neighbouring countries that the Afghan president, after landing at the Chaklala Airport, directly went to the General Headquarters (GHQ) and held a detailed meeting with General Raheel.
Since Pakistan’s ‘deep state’ – the army establishment – has always been blamed for harbouring terrorism, it was General Raheel himself who assured Dr Ghani that Pakistan had changed its Afghan policy and it no more believed in ‘strategic depth’. He further assured Dr Ghani that Pakistan’s territory would not be allowed to be used against Afghanistan.
Later, the meeting between Dr Ghani and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif also proved productive as the premier said that he wanted a write a new chapter in the history of Pak-Afghan relations. Dr Ghani responded that he wanted to write a new book of pleasant relations between the brotherly states rather than writing a chapter. When Nawaz Sharif told Dr Ghani that no non-state actor would be allowed to launch attacks inside Afghanistan, the Afghan president assured the same in return.
The meeting between Dr Ghani and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif also proved productive as the premier said that he wanted a write a new chapter in the history of Pak-Afghan relations. Dr Ghani responded that he wanted to write a new book of pleasant relations between the brotherly states
Later, the successful visit to the US by General Raheel also paved the way for closer coordination between Afghanistan, ISAF forces and Pakistan. However, the bloodbath of minor schoolchildren in Army Public School Peshawar by heartless terrorists proved to be the first test case for this new relationship. The day following the terrorist attack, General Raheel visited Kabul and produced the hard evidence that Afghan soil was used in the attack. The Afghan president assured the visiting general of swift action against Pakistani Taliban hiding inside Afghanistan.
In an unprecedented gesture, Afghan forces coupled with ISAF forces responded to the Pakistani request, launching a grand operation against TTP and its affiliates active on Afghan soil. The joint visit by Afghan army chief General Sher Mohammad Karimi and ISAF chief General John Campbell was another goodwill gesture from the Afghan and coalition side, who shared with General Raheel the details of their joint operation against TTP.
In another major breakthrough the same week, the intelligence chiefs of both countries, DG-ISI General Rizwan Akhtar and chief of National Directorate of Security (NDS) Rahmatullah Nabil, held a meeting for intelligence sharing. In another unprecedented move, the corps commander Quetta Lt Gen Nasir Khan Janjua held a meeting with his counterpart, the corpse commander Jalalabad in Afghanistan and important information was shared.
The security establishments of both Pakistan and Afghanistan have never held such detailed meetings before. Commenting on the change Afghan policy, noted expert Senator Mushahid Hussain Syed said that the civil and military leadership of Pakistan have agreed to discard the ‘strategic depth doctrine’ of the past.
