The two-decade war ended in 2021 when the United States withdrew its forces from Afghanistan. Taliban’s victory in Afghanistan could end up creating serious blowback for Pakistan and Islamabad was worried about the repercussions that can emerge in the wake of withdrawal. Some of the aftermaths of withdrawal was predicted to be dangerous and violent. Pakistan, the sixth most populous country in the world with a growing nuclear weapons arsenal supported the political solution. Pak-Afghan’s broader regional shifts and geopolitical dynamics created space to contain and manage the sovereignty and security-related concerns that can interfere with bilateral ties.
Pakistan Army began establishing rehabilitation centers in the Swat Valley in the late 2000s as an effort to deradicalize former Taliban fighters and other militants and reintegrate them into their communities.
Read more: TTP leader Omar Khalid Khorasani killed in Afghanistan
Understanding the matter better
Bilateral relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan are like a web of interrelated regional security and political dynamics. With the withdrawal of US and NATO troops from Afghanistan they left behind a feeble, fragile, and embattled Afghan government under President Ashraf Ghani to manage an unstable political environment. Sequel to hasty withdrawal, the evacuation process allowed the landing of 266 international flights in Pakistan from Kabul. Assistance in transit of 13,737 foreign Nationals belonging to 31 countries from Kabul; in addition, facilitated gr transit of 5,09,168 persons still continues on a reduced scale.
Estimated problem is that Tahreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) elements presently hiding in Afghanistan might sneak into Pakistan under the garb of refugees. The refugee influx would further complicate the identity politics in the country where parties like the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM), would oppose any action to restrict the inflow of refugees from Afghanistan. PTM might take this opportunity to use the issue of Pashtun Afghan refugees to reinvigorate their political base with ethnonationalism in Pakistan by critically targeting the Pakistani military’s role in the War on Terror across the border, which has ravaged Pashtun areas in Pakistan and Afghanistan.
The Afghan border fencing is an effort to protect the people on both sides as well as to regulate trade. Since the security of the people is the top priority of the Pakistan Army. DG ISPR in a press conference on January 5, 2022, said that “The fence on the Pak-Afghan border is needed to regulate security, border crossing and trade. The purpose of this is not to divide the people, but to protect them. The Pak-Afghan border fencing was 94% complete, We are totally focused, and under the western border management regime, the work will be completed in some time.’’
Pakistan Army has played a cardinal role in Post US Withdrawal Management in Afghanistan, by playing an important role in the signing of the Doha agreement and beefing up security on Western Border. In the interest of regional security, Pakistan has always professed negotiated political settlement in Afghanistan which is acceptable for the locals. It was an effective counter mechanism to prevent the use of Afghanistan’s land against neighboring countries and led the diplomatic prong to facilitate humanitarian support and a positive interface with the global community.
Read more: Challenges for Taliban Regime: Revival of ISKP in Afghanistan
Pakistan has nearly completed the fencing of the 2,600 km long Afghan border which was aimed to stop unchecked cross-border movement which fanned both terrorism and smuggling. 94% of the fencing has been completed along the Western Border. In 2009, a program was introduced Pakistan Army to de-radicalize and remove the psychological burden of surrendered individuals, so as to make them useful members of society. 2670 individuals have been successfully reintegrated in the society in last 5 years (5372 since 2009). The success of the programme is evident from the fact that Pakistan has one of the lowest recidivism rates worldwide; 3 recidivism cases reported to date (0.6%).
In order to ensure security and consequent prosperity of Border regions along PAB and PIB, a comprehensive Western Zone Management module was conceived in 2018; implementation is underway. Main cardinals of the strategy included improvement in Border survey & counter mechanism, FATA Merger, Progress is given below:
Fencing
• PAB – 95% (2161 Kms fenced out of 2268 Kms).
• PIB – 81% (872 Kms fenced out of 1080 Kms).
• Fence Maintainance Regime formulated.
Border Forts
• PAB – 79% (654 Kms fenced out of 843 Kms).
• PIB – 18% (48 Kms fenced out of 225 Kms).
Border Terminals (BTs)
• 5 x BorderTerminals development; Chaman, Tank, Angor Adda, Ghulam Khan & Kharlachi.
• 2 x additional crossing points i.e Arandu (Chitral) & Bin Shahi (Dir) are being opened for facilitation of divided tribes residing on both sides of the Border.
• Ident, Verification & Alert Sys (IVAS) are being installations for facilitation of pedestrian movements across exiting points.
• State of the art ITTMS (International Transit Trade Management System) facility completed at Chaman & Turkhum Bt.
Read more: The reality of Afghanistan’s peaceful future
Pakistan and Afghanistan can build the scaffolding for improved regional connectivity, economic development, and governance by engaging in bilateral dialogue, leveraging cross-border Pashtun ties, acknowledging core issues, and generating momentum through CBMs. The pak-Afghan relationship is crucial to ensure long-term peace in both the countries and the wider region. It will also benefit the well-being of the citizens of Pakistan and Afghanistan.
The writer has done MPhil in Peace and Conflict Studies from National Defence University.  The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Global Village Space.