The Af-Pak Policy and its Regional Implications

‘The paper mainly focuses on Af-Pak Policy and its regional implications from Indian perspectives. As Durand line is the backbone of the Af-Pak policy, and US's and NATO's intention to increase the troops across the border put multilayered complexity to the problem. The historic background of Durand line is analysed in this paper as the line served as model construct for the global as well as regional political entity. Due to the prevailing complexities in Afghanistan the desired goals are primarily multilayered and role of Pakistan is most critical. The major impact of Af-Pak policy is the ethno territorial ripples it creates for Afghanistan and Pakistan. One consequence of this dynamics is the Pashtunistan issue. Second most important argument of this paper is to put emphasis on a regional alliance involving the countries like China, Iran, India and Russia because almost all of these countries have suffered from terrorism in varying degrees. For the success of the Af-Pak policy, the paper argues the cooperative efforts in the region with the simultaneous move to win the confidence of the people to establish a stable elected government. For the Indian foreign policy perspectives, one of the basic concerns of India has been the security and stability of this region because the ripples of terrorism which started from Durand line affects not only the whole region but also the India's war against terrorism. Thus, India needs to offer confidence to the US about its commitment to Af-Pak policy and its role as a supportive and stabilizing power in the region.