The Afghan dynamics.

The Afghan population comprises of different ethnic groups which include Pashtuns, Tajiks, Uzbeks, Hazaras and Turkomans. Ahmad Shah Abdali founded the Afghan empire which stretched from Mashad to Oxus River and Indus River in the South East. With the decline of the Afghan empire and in view of the increasing Russian threat, British India decided to demarcate the boundary between them and Russia. The border agreement was signed in 1893 when the two parties reached an agreement. This agreement led to the creation of the Wakhan Corridor as a buffer.

The successive Afghan governments referred to the boundary as 'Durand Line' and refused to recognize it on the pretext that it has divided Pashtuns. Even today, the Afghan Taliban does not recognize the border as legitimate. There are more Pashtuns in Pakistan than in Afghanistan. There are 35 million Pashtuns in Pakistan, whereas in Afghanistan Pashtuns are about 15 million.

The banned Tehrik Taliban Pakistan (TTP) which is now operating from Afghanistan was formed in 2007. They fled to Afghanistan when the Pakistan military successfully eliminated their hideouts and 4000 square kilometers of area was cleared from terrorists in KP. The recent attacks across KP has rung alarm bells across Pakistan which has also exposed our security loopholes. The Afghan Taliban government has released many TTP and Al-Qaeda terrorists from prisons and they are now threat not only to Pakistan but to the West as well. More recently, inside Afghanistan, reportedly the TTP has reunified with some of its break away factions which is the reason why there is increase in terrorist attacks inside Pakistan. In 2018, RAW facilitated the Baloch separatist groups in Afghanistan to form the Baloch Raji Ajio Sangar (BRAS) which included, the Baloch Liberation Front (BLF), the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) and the Baloch Republicans Guard (BRG). The Baloch groups have also established an alliance with some negligible Sindhi groups to create an impact.

Another group which is gaining its lost strength after Afghan Taliban came to power is Al-Qaeda in Indian Sub-continent (AQIS). They celebrated the Taliban victory with whom they have an alliance since the 90s. Another militant outfit which has been raised in Afghanistan by hostile agencies is Islamic State (Khorasan), IS (K). They have sizeable strength comprising mostly of...