Imran Khan Brings a Paradigm Shift in Afghanistan Policy

Imran Khan has reaffirmed his stance on the presence of the United States (US) in Afghanistan as he has discarded the idea of providing military bases for any adventure inside its neighboring country.

In an opinion piece in Washington Post by Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan published on June 21, he reiterated that his country was willing to partner with the US on the issue of Afghanistan.

But, he refused to provide military bases to America as he thinks that it would elongate conflict in the region.

“Our countries have the same interest in that long-suffering country: a political settlement, stability, economic development and the denial of any haven for terrorists”, he opined.

In his article, the premier confessed that Pakistan made a mistake as it sided with parties in Afghanistan who had been at daggers drawn with each other.

However, “we have learned from the experience”, he wrote.

Imran Khan took strong exception against military takeover in Afghanistan as he believes it would plunge the country into another civil war.

“If Pakistan were to agree to host U.S. bases, from which to bomb Afghanistan, and an Afghan civil war ensued, Pakistan would be targeted for revenge by terrorists again”, he wrote.

He pushed the inclusion of the Taliban in any government to come into shape in Afghanistan following the withdrawal of US troops in September.

“As the Taliban cannot win over the whole of the country, and yet must be included in any government for it to succeed”, he wrote in his piece.

It is to be noted that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan had vehemently and persistently opposed military action for the resolution of the Afghan conflict.

Now that he is at the helm, he has reiterated his long-standing position on the matter by clearly rejecting the idea of overseeing Afghanistan by the US military through bases in its neighboring countries.

The modification in Pakistan’s stance is a paradigm shift in its Afghan policy as adopted by the previous governments.

An article published in the Washington Post dating back to May 2, 2011, by Pakistan’s former President Asif Ali Zardari shows how the neighbor of war-torn Afghanistan has taken a leap of faith.

The former president’s article was written right after an ambush of US troops in Abbottabad to kill Al-Qaeda Chief Osama Bin Laden.

“Although the events of Sunday were not a joint operation, a decade of cooperation and partnership between the United States and Pakistan led up to the elimination of Osama bin Laden as a continuing threat to the civilized world”, he wrote.

Zardari had reminded the global powers that Pakistan had lost its security personnel as well as hundreds of innocent civilians by being part of the war on terror.

However, the incumbent prime minister doesn’t want to be part of others’ war as he believes that it would once again push Pakistan towards instability which it has suffered during the past two decades.

Zardari admitted that the war on terrorism is as much Pakistan’s war as it is America’s, however, Imran Khan believes that it was never his country’s war and assisting the US was a historical blunder for which Pakistan paid a heavy price.