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As They Ponder the Future - US-Pak Relations

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  • #16
    India faces Afghan test, as ally calls for military aid.

    New Delhi fears significant military assistance to Afghan forces could create tensions with Pakistan

    Afghan military commanders and intelligence officials have begun urging India to provide direct military assistance to the country’s fledgling armed forces following a series of skirmishes with Pakistani troops this autumn, highly placed government sources in Kabul told The Hindu.

    Key equipment sought by the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF), the sources said, include medium trucks that can carry 2.5-7 tonne cargos, bridge-laying equipment and engineering facilities. India was also asked to consider the possibility of supplying light mountain artillery, along with ordnance, and to help Afghanistan build close air-support capabilities for its troops in preparation of drastic scaling-down of western forces in 2014.

    The requests followed fierce fighting along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border that raged from July to September, in which both sides used artillery
    The fighting along Pakistan's North-West border with Afghanistan occurred because of repeated incursions by TTP groups that have taken shelter in Afghanistan, escaping the Pakistani Military operations in Swat and Bajaur. Indian military assistance in response to Afghan demands for additional resources on this particular front would, correctly IMO, be interpreted as Indian support for Afghan sanctuaries and support for the TTP.

    While the temptation to needle Pakistan in this manner is probably pretty high in India and the West, the facts are that such a move would only embolden those elements in the Afghan government that are supporting the TTP, and subsequently exacerbate the Afghan-Pakistan relationship and reduce even further any chance of Pakistan eventually cooperating with the Afghans as both sides settle down into a pattern of increasing support for insurgent groups on each side of the border. Afghan fears of a 'renewed Taliban assault on the country' would end up becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy, the India-Pakistan relationship will have regressed from even the little forward steps taken of late, and regional instability would be guaranteed to increase.
    Pakistan is not going to be a theocratic state to be ruled by priests with a divine mission - Jinnah
    https://twitter.com/AgnosticMuslim

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    • #17
      Originally posted by Deltacamelately View Post
      Here's the latest test -
      Heh, it will be interesting to see which way we go.

      For India, the Afghan military demands present a strategic dilemma, as well as the first real test of the Strategic Partnership Agreement signed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and President Hamid Karzai on October 4.
      That dilemma is the chance of increased tensions with the Paks.

      Frankly,” said Sushant Sareen, an expert at the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses in New Delhi, “I think its worth New Delhi’s while to take the risk. Pakistan says it is happy for Afghans to decide their own future. It is time to put that claim to the test.
      Premature

      President Karzai’s administration is engaged in a last-ditch effort to secure Pakistani support for the 2014 transition, by seeking its support for negotiations with Taliban leaders based in Peshawar and Quetta.
      The Pak trump card. The Paks if they want remain useful, need to show that they are indispensable for this stage.

      Mr. Karzai has even offered Pakistan a strategic partnership agreement, like that signed with India. However, Afghan government sources said, the military leadership believe Indian assistance will be critical if these efforts fail — and snowballing violence within the country leads to future skirmishes along their border with Pakistan.
      The Afghans are attempting to hedge. It would seem our direct military support is contingent based on how the Taliban negotiations get on. How long's that going to take. Meanwhile, US actions will become more clear.
      Last edited by Double Edge; 07 Dec 12,, 21:02.

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      • #18
        The fighting along Pakistan's North-West border with Afghanistan occurred because of repeated incursions by TTP groups that have taken shelter in Afghanistan, escaping the Pakistani Military operations in Swat and Bajaur. Indian military assistance in response to Afghan demands for additional resources on this particular front would, correctly IMO, be interpreted as Indian support for Afghan sanctuaries and support for the TTP.
        So it is basically Pakistan's word against Afghanistan's about who was trying to push in terrorists under the cover of artillery fire. All that we know is that using covering fire using small arms, mortars and artillery to distract Indian troops while terrorists sneak in, was the PA's SOP in Kashmir all through the 90's and 2000's.

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