As It Looks East, Pak Faces Trouble On Western Front

Pakistan's western border is being disputed by the Afghan Taliban, which has reached out to India. This loss of strategic depth makes our neighbour vulnerable to manipulation

- LT GEN SYED ATA HASNAIN (RETD)

For some time now, India's eastern front has drawn the major part of the country's strategic focus, especially after the dramatic meltdown in Bangladesh on and after August 5, 2024. Yet, a lot has been happening on India's immediate west too—in Pakistan and Afghanistan—that merits attention, especially because, with several interlinked issues, there is hardly any clear geographical divide in India's strategic interests on either side.

A convergence of four challenges has considerably strained Pakistan's strategic situation: the continuing internal political instability, severe economic challenges that constrain effective governance including national security, deteriorating security condition involving militant activities, particularly by the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), and the fraying relationship with Afghanistan that complicates Pakistan's western border security and diminishes its influence in Kabul.

Pakistan has faced considerable political turmoil, particularly following the ouster of former PM Imran Khan in April 2022, which deepened polarization within the country. The nature of Pakistan's politics borders on a virtual war between parties, with the army playing the kingmaker. From mid-2022 to date, we have witnessed an unrelenting campaign to exclude the most popular personality in the Pakistan political scene despite the democratic support he obtained.

Imran was equally at fault in triggering fractious radical politics, which also intensely involved the army. To keep him out of reckoning for leadership, he was sentenced to 14 years in prison on corruption charges along with his wife, Bushra Bibi, who received a seven-year sentence. Imran's party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), which has announced plans to appeal the verdict, is also being targeted by the army and the coalition in power to make it politically irrelevant.