New Delhi: Former Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf on Saturday warned India against trying to create an anti-Islamabad Afghanistan and underlined that both India and Pakistan “should stop proxy war” in the violence-torn country.
“Afghanistan is Pakistan’s western frontier. It’s our sensitivity,” Musharraf said at the Hindustan Times summit.
He, however, sought to dispel the widely-held notion that Pakistan regarded Afghanistan as its strategic depth.
“We (Pakistan) need to install a Pakistan-dominated government in Kabul. Afghanistan’s army, military and government are dominated by Panjshiris,” he said.
Musharraf accused the then Soviet Union, India and Afghanistan for colluding for decades to create instability in Afghanistan and to create greater Balochistan.
In the run-up to the withdrawal of international troops from Afghanistan in 2014, Musharraf had a word of warning for India.
“If there is a proxy war or an attempt to create an anti-Pakistan Afghanistan, we have a right to create a pro-Pakistan Afghanistan,” he said. “We need to cooperate and adopt a non-confrontationist stance for peace in Afghanistan,” he stressed.
Musharraf underlined that India and Pakistan “should avoid a proxy conflict in Afghanistan”.
“Let Afghanistan decides its own course. Neither India nor Pakistan should interfere.” He said.
He outlined three possible scenarios in Afghanistan: (One) 1989 when warlords were fighting each other (Two) 1996 when Taliban government was pitted against the Northern Alliance (Three) Status quo after 2014 when international troops leave after having enough personnel and funships to ensure security of Afghanistan.
India has invested over $2 billion in a host of reconstruction projects in Afghanistan, which has been resented by Pakistan’s powerful military establishment which wants to control Kabul post 2014. (IANS)
