... the CIA because of the less pronounced autonomist claims as compared to Balochistan. In the end, the Afghan issue is interconnected with that of Balochistan and Pakistan, which explains its importance in the eyes of the great powers, then the USSR, China and the United States.
Carter Boone:
What Does NATO Withdrawal from Afghanistan Mean for Regional Actors?
This also explains why India is concerned about Afghanistan. Apart from the desire to strengthen its regional presence as China does, a conflict on Pakistan’s doorstep destabilizes the region since it strengthens ...
... stability and influence going forward.
In 2019
, Beijing held talks on the Afghan peace process with the Taliban seeking to establish ties with the group it had previously opposed. China is seeking to play an active role in the economic reconstruction of Afghanistan following the NATO withdrawal. The country’s flagship Belt and Road Initiative and China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) are significant investments that require regional stability to flourish. China has dangled the prospect of greater Afghan involvement in the CPEC as an incentive to maintain stability in Afghanistan where it has ...
... Besides, Uzbekistan has recently constructed a 75 km-long railroad from the border town of Hairatan to the Northern Afghan capital Mazar-i-Sharif, which is supposed to be actively used by NATO forces pulling out of Afghanistan.
In the near term, while NATO troops are leaving Afghanistan, Central Asian countries along with Russia and China will have to elaborate a strategy of resilience to political and ideological expansion of terrorism and religious extremism in order to maintain security in the region, taking into account potential increase of the Taliban and their allies’ role ...