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March 16-31, 2007
India-Pakistan-Afghanistan:

Caught in a web of hostilities and tension

The first meeting of the joint “anti-terror” mechanism set up by India and Pakistan at the end of last year was held in early March. Both sides used the occasion to indirectly trade accusations of the involvement of the other side in fomenting trouble in their own countries. The oneupmanship was clearly evident despite the talk of cooperation. The Indian delegation provided a “sketch” of a Pakistani they claimed could have been involved in the Samjhauta Express blast. Pakistan provided India with “evidence” of Indian involvement in the ongoing agitation in Balochistan. Pakistan has repeatedly said that Indian consulates in Afghanistan, especially Kandahar and Herat, are responsible for channeling funds and equipment to opposition forces in Balochistan.

On March 6, a bloody clash in the Wana area of Waziristan, on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, left 19 dead. This was one of the worst incidents in the continuing saga of violence in the area in the last couple of years. The source of the problem is the US-led occupation of Afghanistan and its drive to crush the resistance of Afghan freedom-fighters. Ever since their invasion of Afghanistan, the US and its allies have been insisting that the Pakistan government flush out Afghan freedom fighters and their local supporters in this sensitive border region. The Pakistani state has been complying with the US demands. Apart from direct military campaigns against people in this area, the intelligence agencies of the US and Pakistan have also been fomenting internecine warfare, as was the case in the recent incident.

Meanwhile, NATO has this month launched its largest ever offensive in Afghanistan. A US senior army officer was quoted as saying that the US army has the right to pursue its enemies across the border into Pakistan. The American imperialist pronouncements about their right of “hot pursuit” have aroused considerable resentment among Pakistanis.

What all these developments in recent days show is that this region continues to be embroiled in conflict and tensions. The greatest danger comes from the US and NATO's direct occupation of Afghanistan. Both the Indian and Pakistani states are becoming ever more closely tied up with the US hegemonic designs in this region. They are actively cooperating with the US military and intelligence forces. At the same time, they continue to fight and bicker with each other, which suits the US imperialists' hegemonic plans very well. The people of this region can never rely on these states to advance the cause of peace and freedom. Real peace in the region can come about only when the peoples of India, Pakistan and Afghanistan expel the armed forces of US and other imperialist powers from this region. This demands uncompromising struggle against the ruling classes of India and Pakistan who act as the vehicle for foreign imperialist stranglehold and encirclement of the countries of the region.

 
 
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