The Regional Situation in South and Central Asia in the Context of the Afghanistan Issue

This article attempts a comprehensive account of the various actors—including both regional and global powers—their motivations and the intricacies of the interactions between them in Afghanistan. Given that the democratic governments have put particular emphasis on human rights and political freedoms, there would be some implications for the dictatorships or tyrant-regimes in Central Asia. The desire of the US to push the Russians out and minimise the Chinese presence in the region could not be entirely ruled out as a factor in the increasing importance of India in the US strategy, their agreement on nuclear cooperation pointed to some changes in the US’ South Asia strategy. The stand taken by the governments in the Central Asian states, particularly Kazakhstan and also Uzbekistan (which had recently withdrawn from the EU and North Atlantic Treaty Organisation) was especially significant. The author pointed out that the US deployment in Afghanistan was very extensive, with the largest number of troops in the south and east; the US was also the largest aid giver. Pakistan is far from stable and India–Pakistan ties are problematic, as also Pakistan–Afghanistan relations. The Pak–Taliban linkages have been corroborated from various sources but there are some disagreements between the US and the UK on the ways and methods of dealing with the situation, the latter favouring negotiations. All these factors will have to be thoroughly analysed in reconciling the different forces and promoting peace in Afghanistan.