ABSTRACT

The analysis in this chapter focusses on the trilateral relationship among Pakistan, China and Afghanistan. The importance of this case study in the context of this book is that the relationship between Pakistan and Afghanistan represents a potent example of the pre-eminence of Pakistan’s security establishment over national security policy, including under civilian governments both in the 1990s and in the post 2008 period. Pakistan’s Afghan policy has been retained as a ‘reserved domain’ by the Pakistani military; in this context, China’s role has implicitly enabled the Pakistani army to maintain its grip on this crucial issue-area.