ABSTRACT
The relationship between Pakistan and Afghanistan has always been a troubled one, and it lies close to the heart of the foreign policy challenges that key actors of the international community face in Southwest Asia. This chapter traces the specific influences of the period between 1978 and 1992 when, following the communist coup in Afghanistan of April 1978, Pakistan functioned as both a generous host to millions of Afghan refugees, and as an operating base for Sunni elements of the Afghan Mujahideen. It examines the manipulatory politics of the Pakistan military in the period between the collapse of the communist regime in April 1992 and the overthrow of the Taliban regime in November 2001. The chapter explores the complexity of the post-2001 relationship between Afghanistan and Pakistan, and examines some of the risks of Talibanisation which have arisen in Pakistan as a result of these processes.
