Chapter 2 Continues...

Moreover, India’s constant military expansion and its soaring economic growth has further widened the disparity between the two states,
4 intensifying the apprehensions about India.
Balancing the Indian threat has been at the core of Pakistan’s foreign policy since 1947. This has been sought by invoking external alliances—namely with the US—and building up its arsenal, including nuclear arsenal. Extending support for secessionist movements and militants in Kashmir with the aim of dismembering Indian control over the state or, at least, making Indian control of the state extremely costly has been a critical aspect of Pakistan’s India policy. Over the years, the policy of supporting militancy or terror groups within India has expanded beyond Kashmir to target other parts of the country as well. This, ironically, had been Pakistan’s grievance against Afghanistan as well. Similarly, Pakistan constantly seeks to balance Indian power and influence in the region, especially in Afghanistan, as it’s felt that living under an ‘Indian hegemonic order’ can seriously endanger Pakistan's sovereignty, interests and security. It has often been argued that at the heart of Pakistan’s objectives for involvement in the affairs of Afghanistan is disallowing India to play a greater role in the region.
India’s strong relationship with Afghanistan, and its people, has fuelled the spectre of encirclement in the minds of Pakistani generals. India’s strong ties with Afghanistan are in sharp contrast to the hostile Afghanistan-Pakistan relations and have done much to add to Pakistan’s insecurity. There is a perception in Pakistan that Afghanistan’s support for the Pashtunistan issue has been in connivance with India and the roots of Pashtunistan lay in India’s attempts to encircle and eventually break up Pakistan, but it is difficult to ascertain how widely this is believed. Afghanistan was, thus, seen as only playing into Indian hands.
5-Afghanistan’s demand for Pashtunistan in December 1947 was made at the same time that the Indian Army in Kashmir was advancing towards the Pakistan border. In Pakistan this was seen as one country providing the ‘diversion’ and the other delivering ‘the blow’.

To be continued...