The Graveyard of Empires: Human Cost of War in Afghanistan (Published)
Afghanistan is a land that is infamously difficult to administer. Empire after empire, countries after countries have tried to conquer the nation but have failed to do so. The USA withdrawal resulted in their names joining the long list of those who came before them. With that, it finally draws the curtains on the 20 years of war in the country that spanned over 4 USA presidencies. The war began with the US and its allies invading Afghanistan post the 9/11 attack on US soil by bombing Afghanistan under “Operation Enduring Freedom.” What followed was the struggle to rebuild Afghanistan, Taliban insurgency in the region, the USA surge, the subsequent drawdown of troops to the ultimate peace process. This paper analyses the human cost of the war. It further discusses the policy changes that are needed to ensure a comprehensive understanding of this issue. Various academic literature, articles, opinion pieces and various other sources are used as secondary sources.
Citation: Apoorva Iyer (2021) The Graveyard of Empires: Human Cost of War In Afghanistan, International Journal of International Relations, Media and Mass Communication Studies, Vol.7, No.3, pp.1-25
Keywords: Afghanistan, Taliban, USA, War
Major Threats to Pakistan from Afghanistan (Published)
Pakistan and Afghanistan share same culture, religion and history, but the main issue of fight between them is Durand Line. The rise in the terrorist attacks has destroyed friendly relations between them. After the Cold war, Afghanistan became a serious threat to Pakistan and when the USA attacked Afghanistan for swiping away the Taliban regime, this threat increased many times. After the incident of 9/11, the NATO forces forced Pakistan to become their ally in the War. Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) became home of militants because of the low security of the Pak –Afghan border which resulted in increased militancy in Khyber Pakhtunkhawa(KP).The increase in the terrorist attacks in the region has not only raised the death ratio but also damaged the infrastructure and economy of FATA and KP particularly.At the end of 2014, the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan did not completely suppress Afghanistan’s Taliban. It also encouraged Pakistan Taliban to control the Pakistan government in the same way. Pakistan should establish a friendly relationship with Afghanistan. This is not only conducive to the stability of the internal situation in Pakistan, but also to the improvement of bilateral relations with India. As a result, it will be easy to visit the Central Asian republic, and China will be more conducive to Pakistan in this respect.