ABSTRACT
Analysis concerning the Mumbai attacks and Pakistan’s irreconcilable presence in India’s West would be incomplete until the West’s war on terror in Afghanistan and its contributory trail, escalatory catalyst and sprinkling impact on India’s security situation is scrutinized. Although an offi cial patron of terrorists and one of the cradles of terrorism, Pakistan is a frontline player in the West’s war on terror. It has been intrinsically involved in the affairs of Afghanistan since 9/11; it barely cared when the frontiers of the war on terror stretched beyond Durand Line, and reacted mutely even when the war reached deep inside the country’s garrison town of Abbottabad. The country’s leverage on Afghanistan is unquestionable and because of its infl uence, its army and ISI are playing with both sides of the war on terror with magical dexterity. Nevertheless, the sheer length of the war, which has dragged beyond 12 years at the time of writing, has been troubling Pakistan as it is taxing to afford a long double game. If Pakistani army and ISI continue to play a double game, the leverage will diminish more and more and fi nally it will have no or minimal power on Afghanistan.1
