History is the witness: when the entire world turned its back on Afghanistan including those like India who claimed to be their friends, Pakistan was the only neighbour that did not leave them stranded. Between December 1979 and February 1989, during the Soviet invasion and occupation, an estimated 1.8 million Afghans lost their lives, including nearly 300,000 children. Throughout that period and in the decades that followed, Pakistan kept its doors open for over five million Afghan refugees. We didn’t just provide them with shelter and safety; we gave them access to education, healthcare, livelihoods and extensive humanitarian support.

Many of these refugees built deep social and economic roots in Pakistan. So much so, that when the time eventually came for them to return home, many families were visibly emotional as they bid farewell to the country that had become their second home. Beyond this humanitarian effort, Pakistan played a decisive role in supporting the Afghan resistance, which ultimately forced the (erstwhile) Soviet Union to withdraw its forces.

But what has Pakistan received in return? We have faced attacks on our security forces, a surge in terrorism on our soil backed by India, aggressive posturing, hateful rhetoric and the reality of banned terrorist groups finding safe havens across the border. The great irony is that India, which for years labelled the Taliban as terrorists, abruptly shifted its policy after the Taliban returned to power in August 2021. This new policy is clearly driven by an anti-Pakistan agenda. New........

© Pakistan Observer