China, Pakistan, India jockey for position in Afghanistan’s new Great Game

The Russian and British empires battled over Afghanistan in the 19th century, and the United States and the Soviet Union in the 20th. As the Taliban takes over in the strategic, landlocked nation, the new Great Game has Pakistan in control, with its ally China looking to cement its grip on the region.

Pakistan has deep ties with the Taliban and has been accused of supporting the Islamist group as it battled the US-backed government in Kabul – charges denied by Islamabad. When the Taliban captured Kabul last week, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan said Afghans had broken the “shackles of slavery”.

As the Taliban holds discussions to decide on its government model, media reports have said some Pakistani officials are involved.

A Foreign Office spokesperson in Islamabad said Pakistan wanted an inclusive political settlement in Afghanistan that ensured peace and stability in the region but added the “key role remains with the Afghans”.

China, with no previous involvement in Afghanistan but a strong alliance with Pakistan, has held out an olive branch https://www.reuters.com/world/china/taliban-advances-china-lays-groundwo… to the Taliban, enticed by the country’s mineral wealth https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/what-are-afghanistans-untappe…, including its large reserves of lithium, a key component for electric vehicles. China is also looking at the prospect of extra security for its narrow land route through the Karakoram mountains into Pakistan.

And then there is India – Pakistan’s old enemy, which has been locked in a military standoff with China along their disputed border for more than a year. India was a key supporter of the ousted regime in Kabul and as both Pakistan and China become key players in a Taliban-ruled Afghanistan, New Delhi’s nervousness in increasing.

China however says its main aim in reaching out to the Taliban is to protect its western Xinjiang region from anti-Beijing East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM) militants, who could seek sanctuary within Afghanistan.

“While Pakistan might be thinking of leveraging on Afghanistan against India, this is not necessarily the case for China,” said Zhang Li, a professor of South Asian studies at Sichuan University.