Countries in the world maintain their relations based on the protection of their national interests. Many nations, despite having strained and contentious relationships with their neighbours, still prioritize their own interests.
Pakistan pursues its foreign policy towards Afghanistan, India, and Iran in a hostile context. Similarly, Iran maintains complicated relations with its Arab neighbours. In Central Asia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan are at odds with each other, while Turkmenistan positions itself somewhat aloof from both, believing that this policy is in its favour.
Afghanistan has had both cold and warm relations with all its neighbours for over a century. In the second half of the 19th century, it was embroiled in hostilities with the British and British India; often, its foreign policy was influenced by them. After the creation of Pakistan, tensions arose with Islamabad, while in the south; Iran has continually challenged Afghanistan’s policies regarding water resources and has sought to expand its influence.
Additionally, in the north, the Soviet Union concealed its intentions under the guise of friendship for decades, ultimately revealing its true nature. As a result of its invasion, Afghanistan was devastated for decades, leading to a collapse of its foreign relations.
During the Soviet occupation, Afghanistan’s relations with Moscow were warm, while it stood in opposition to the Western bloc. However, after the Soviet defeat, Afghanistan was left isolated, and neighbouring countries seized the opportunity to start their destructive games, fighting Afghan factions street by street.
Very little research has been done on this chapter of contemporary Afghan diplomacy, as the three Central Asian neighbours had just gained their independence and were preoccupied with their own issues, while Tehran and Islamabad were engaged in their own competitions in Kabul.
By the late 1990s, with the rise of the Taliban, Afghanistan was completely isolated. The internationally recognized government at the time (led by Burhanuddin Rabbani) retained only five percent of the territory, while the group controlling 95 percent was not recognized by anyone except Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. Internal conflict persisted, with one neighbour recognizing one side and others recognizing the opposite.
After 2001, an international coalition led by the United States invaded Afghanistan. With their extensive political and military influence, Afghanistan established unprecedented relations with the international community and announced its foreign policy regarding its neighbours, the region, and the world.
Although for twenty years, Afghanistan’s foreign political relations were clarified within the framework of a modern constitution, its interactions with southern and western neighbours remained both cold and warm. In contrast, northern neighbours were more cautious and began to warm their relations with Kabul after the second half of the republic, which continue to this day.
The main questions are: During which period did Afghanistan maintain strong and stable political relations with its neighbours? What was the nature of Afghanistan’s foreign policy towards Pakistan? And what kind of diplomacy has Afghanistan adopted towards Iran and Central Asia?
We discussed these topics with Dr. Abdul Ghafoor Lewal, who served as Afghanistan’s ambassador to Iran in the last years of the republic, and prior to that, was the deputy for border and tribal affairs and head of Afghanistan’s Center for Regional Studies.
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