339 Carlos Setas Relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan and the peace process with the afhgan taliban After the definitive fall of the communist regime in Kabul in 1992, Pakistani hopes of achieving a friendly regime in Afghanistan were dashed. Civil war immediately broke out between different Mujahideen groups and left the country in a state of disarray that, though it did facilitate the establishment of training camps to bolster the jihad in Kashmir, did little to advance Pakistan’s aspirations in Central Asia. This is why, when the obscure Taliban movement emerged in the area surrounding Kandahar in 1994, Islamabad backed this new group in the hope of obtaining a certain level of stability its neighbouring country. When the Taliban finally occupied Kabul in 1996, Pakistan was one of the few countries to recognise the regime, along with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Towards the end of the 1990s, despite the ongoing fighting in Afghanistan with the Northern Alliance, supported by India and Iran, Pakistan finally achieved its aim of “strategic depth” in Afghanistan. The Taliban regime owed its rise to power to Pakistani support and largely depended on Islamabad. Nonetheless, the Taliban did not abandon the traditional Afghan claim to Pakistani tribal areas, nor did they recognise the Durand Line, proving not to be the docile ally that Islamabad had hoped for.12 4. Changes triggered by 9/11 Pakistani joy at its foreign policy success did not last long. In the wake of the attacks of 11 September 2001 in New York and in Washington, General Musharraf, who had held power since 1999, was forced to make a U-turn concerning the foreign policy of his country. The US pressure that was brought to bear led Musharraf to break off relations with the Taliban regime and join the coalition led by the US as part of its “war against terror”. Pakistan afforded information and logistical support to the US to help overthrow a regime that, only a few years before, it had helped to install in Afghanistan. Subsequent to the fall of the Taliban regime, President Musharraf (1999-2008) declared his unconditional support for the new Afghan government led by Hamid Karzai. The Pakistani government that formed following the elections of 2008 has showed its readiness to continue with policies supporting Afghanistan and the US in their efforts to tackle terrorism.13 Nevertheless, since 2001, an exchange of accusations has taken place between both the Musharraf government and the Pakistan People’s Party government and Hamid Karzai’s government in Afghanistan concerning the 12 HUSSAIN, Zahid, Frontline Pakistan, New York, Columbia University Press, 2007, p. 30. 13 SINNO, Abdulkader H. and RAIS, Rasul Bakhsh, “Post-September 11 Afghanistan-Pakistan Relations: Prospects for Counter-insurgency Cooperation”, The National Bureau of Asian Research, NBR Analysis, Volume 19, No. 5, December 2008, p. 10.
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