The internal situation in Afghanistan and the geopolitics that envelop it have taken a turn for the worse in the last few months. This casts a dark shadow over the prospects for peace and stability in the northwestern parts of the subcontinent. While the remnants of the Al-Qaida and the Taliban mount bold attacks in many parts of Afghanistan, the international coalition looks dispirited. Five years ago the United States recognised the horrible consequences of neglecting Afghanistan after using it as the theatre for the final confrontation with the Soviet Union in the 1980s, and vowed to deploy all necessary resources for the nation’s reconstruction. Yet, the world today looks clueless about how to manage the situation in Afghanistan.

The US knows that the source of Afghanistan’s many problems lies across the border in Pakistan. That the Pakistan army is playing both sides of the street — of pretending to hunt Al-Qaida while it nurtures the Taliban — is no longer news. What is news, and bad news at that, is that the US seems paralysed by its belief that the Pakistan army is the principal instrument for stability on the Pak-Afghan border. Its latest deal with the Taliban in Waziristan only confirms that Islamabad is merely waiting for the US and Western troops to leave Afghanistan in the not-too-distant future.

As the Hamid Karzai government turns nervous in the face of the inconstancy of the Western allies and the persistent support to its enemies by Pakistan, India must take greater responsibility for the security of Afghanistan. Although it has been a major contributor of economic assistance to Afghanistan, India has been reluctant to match that effort in the security domain. Before initiating a new package of security assistance to Afghanistan, however, New Delhi should offer Islamabad a framework for trilateral regional cooperation with Kabul to deal with the long-term challenges of peace and security in this region. In making such an offer this week to President Pervez Musharraf, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh would leave the onus on Pakistan to choose between the costs of trying to unilaterally extend its own influence in Afghanistan and promoting stability through regional security cooperation.