Oct 23, 2014
By: Hekmatullah Azamy, Research Analyst

Afghanistan, India and Pakistan have a history of hostility that threatened regional security and hindered economic integration in the region. The hostility is chiefly due to territorial disputes – a carryover from the colonial British era. These disputes not only led to inter-state wars but also use of proxies against each other. India and Pakistan fought three wars over Kashmir while Pakistan’s continued interference through its Islamist proxies in Afghanistan has been to keep the Durand Line issue at bay and in the meantime turn Afghanistan into its “strategic depth” against India.  However, during last 13 years, it was seen that these proxies instead of serving the interests of their patrons largely constituted an enemy posing threat to all of them. The three countries are now facing the threat of Islamist militancy that has to be tackled collectively and sincerely. This requires a comprehensive approach and a serious regional commitment, which can only be achieved if the three countries put their rivalries behind and work out the way forward.

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