For those following the news lately in the U.S. at least, there has been a dearth of reporting on Afghanistan for months and maybe even years. This past week, with so much drama enacted in Washington DC over Iraq, even Iraq news from Iraq was sidelined in favor of who-voted-what and why in the air-conditioned halls of Congress. After reading these reports and listening to C-Span, I started to wonder if Afghanistan would ever become a primary focus in the news, and halls of legislature, again.
Those who follow this blog know that it occasionally reports upon Afghanistan affairs and has links to blogs which specialize in the country's affairs and the war being conducted there. For a good long time, the conduct, goals, and capabilities of Pakistan has been a large factor in Afghanistan's current history, and Pakistan's affairs are increasingly difficult to separate out of . NGOs such as the International Crisis Group and the Council of Foreign Affairs are more aware of these nuances than most U.S. news agencies; and so are many of the blogs which study Afghanistan so carefully.
But it's also important to look at Pakistan's influence beyond Afghanistan. Pakistan has increased its investment in Central Asia, and have become a part of bilateral trade and investment with Central Asian states. Both India and Pakistan are coming forward as burgeoning major factors in Central Asia's trade: in other words, south Asia is a small but growing trade that later will become a major factor in Central Asian political economy. Last of all, Pakistan has very strong connections with China, and China's goals in Central Asia, particularly for Xinjiang province and for Afghanistan's stability, are also carried out in Pakistan as well.
Pakistan has long wanted to access to the Shanghai Cooperation Organization , and will attend the August meetings of the SCO an observing state. As Pakistan becomes increasingly involved with SCO affairs, we can expect China to include the state in its expansion of economic and military cooperation with the other nations we traditionally or conveniently consider Central Asian.
Here are some short backgrounders on Pakistan:
International Crisis Group, with links to more detailed reports
State Department Background notes, updated May 2007
CIA Fact Book, Pakistan
Pakistan's Bid for SCO membership at CaCIanalyst, 2006
See also:
NATO page for International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan
