THIS is with reference to the report `Taliban see India as `significant regional partner`` (Jan 10). The meeting between Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri and Afghanistan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi in Dubai has all but indicated the direction in which the region seems to be moving.

The official statement released by the Taliban, as reported in the media, said that in line with `Afghanistan`s balanced and economy-focussed foreign policy`, the country aims at strengthening `political and economic ties with India as a significant regional and economic partner`.

This stabbing of the proverbial dagger in the back by the Taliban, nurtured and supported for well over four decades, may be strange and painful for Pakistan, but it is a bitter reality that needs to be taken care of.

Truly, Pakistan`s relationship with Afghanistan is now back to where it was in 1947 when the landlocked country was the only one to oppose our entry into the United Nations. Besides, it had refused to accept the Durand Line as the international border between the two countries.

Moreover, Afghanistan is also actively considering trade with India through Iranian Chabahar port, bypassing Gwadar.

Where do we stand now after pampering Afghanistan for all these decades? The Afghan Taliban are now providing safe haven to the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) terrorists, who are carrying out attacks in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Balochistan. Pakistan, practically, is in a state of war.

There are also reports that the American Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) is funding the Taliban in Afghanistan, and India`s Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) is in close coordination with the CIA in planning and conducting terrorist attacks inside Pakistan through theirproxy TTP. Such reports cannot be and should not be ignore d lightly.

After the recent meeting between Indian and Taliban officials, things may get worse for Pakistan. There are apprebensions that ethnic and sectarian violence may be perpetrated in other cities like we are witnessing in Kurram.

This is a highly volatile situation for Pakistan, wherein Iran, Afghanistan and India may be conducting joint operations against the country. It is time for planners in Pakistan to rethink their strategy, and tackle the emerging situation through both diplomatic and defence strategies.

Muhammad Shahbaz Lahore