By Ajay Kaul
New Delhi, Jan 4 (NVI) The year 2025 will go down in history as a major milestone in the history of Afghanistan whose Taliban regime finally saw through the façade of Islamic brotherhood that Pakistan always used to hide its cunning and criminal intentions.
The Taliban regime assertively and decisively shed patronization by Pakistan, particularly its notorious military, and chose a free, independent and pragmatic path that will bring progress and prosperity to the people of Afghanistan.
The Taliban displayed wisdom by sidelining Pakistan and opening channels of trade and commerce with a friendly and fast growing economy India and other countries like China, Russia and Iran.
The positive results have already started showing as Afghanistan’s economy is growing and expanding, with prospects of a brighter future.
Pakistan made all kinds of efforts to hurt Afghanistan and its fledgling economy, by disrupting imports from there. Pakistan tried to strangle the landlocked Afghanistan economically by closing the key transit points — Torkham & Chaman.
The Pakistani military even tried to intimidate the Taliban regime into submission by resorting to frequent air strikes inside Afghanistan.
Islamabad thought, by creating hurdles for Afghanistan’s exports and intimidating it through military means, the Taliban regime would yield and subserve its interests.
But, the Taliban regime hit back hard militarily and showed Pakistan its place by opting for improvement of relations with India, a big power and a sincere and much better partner in terms of developmental cooperation.
The sick and ugly motives of Islamabad, which tried its best to choke Afghanistan economically and unnerve it militarily, have not only failed but even boomeraged on Pakistan.
Pakistan lost billions with its imports from Afghanistan dropping by 70% and it continues to suffer.
This was confirmed by President of Lahore Chamber of Commerce Faheem ur Rehman who recently said that due to the closure of transit routes with Afghanistan, Punjab Province of Pakistan alone is suffering a monthly loss of 80 billion rupees.
Meanwhile, Afghanistan is growing. A latest World Bank report projected its economy to grow by 4.3 percent in the current financial year, which is significantly higher than 2.5 percent in the last financial year.
According to the World Bank’s ‘Afghanistan Development Update’, fiscal conditions are improving on the revenue side, with domestic tax revenues expected to rise to 17.1 percent of GDP in 2025 due to stronger enforcement and compliance measures.
The agriculture sector of the country remains resilient, achieving a record irrigated wheat harvest despite severe drought conditions, while mining and construction continue to support economic output, the report said.
The Taliban regime has launched a major drive to undertake developmental programmes, including big infrastructure projects like Metro rail and construction of industrial clusters.
For impetus to such developmental activities, the Taliban regime reached out to New Delhi with several of its Ministers travelling to India, which has promised to invest in Afghanistan in sectors like power, education, mining, health and social welfare.
An Air Freight Corridor has already been launched, connecting Afghanistan capital Kabul with New Delhi and Amritsar to boost commerce between the two countries, between which Pakistan stands as a land route barrier.
The Air Freight Corridor ensures direct and quicker mode of transportation of goods between India and Afghanistan, bypassing Pakistan which has always held the landlocked western neighbor a hostage in terms of allowing it access to the world because of its geographical location.
This corridor provides a better alternative for transportation of perishable agricultural products, particularly from Afghanistan to the vast market of India, like the famous and in-demand Afghan fresh fruits.
India has also promised to continue supporting Afghanistan’s hydropower project Salma Dam, which is also called India-Afghanistan Friendship Dam, for water management and power production.
India is also planning to invest in mining sector in Afghanistan which is believed to have huge mineral and other resources beneath the surface.
In a latest statement, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said India is going to help in the reconstruction of Afghanistan in a major way.
So, what Islamabad intended as punishment became a boon for Afghanistan.
In fact, Pakistan’s evil designs vis-a-vis Afghanistan are not new. The country, particularly its military, has never had good intentions towards Afghanistan and its people. It has always been a double-headed snake.
Even during US invasion of Afghanistan, Pakistan Army played a hugely deceitful role in lieu of dollars, double-crossing both the Afghans as well as the Americans.
But, now Pakistan stands unmasked before the people of Afghanistan, including the Taliban which the Pakistani military tried to tame, terrorise and patronize. (NVI)
