Pakistan’s approach to Afghanistan has traditionally placed particular emphasis on Pashtun political and religious networks, shaped by geography, history and longstanding cross-border ties. But the realities of today’s Afghanistan call for a broader strategy—one that engages Tajiks, Hazaras, Uzbeks and other communities alongside Pashtuns. Pakistan would benefit from developing principled relationships with Tajiks, Hazaras, Uzbeks, and other communities that together represent a substantial part of Afghanistan’s population and political life.
Such engagement should not be directed against Pashtuns, nor should it seek to divide Afghanistan along ethnic lines. Pakistan should maintain constructive relations with all Afghan communities. The goal must be balance: a stable and inclusive Afghanistan in which no single armed movement or ethnic constituency monopolises power.
Many Tajiks, Hazaras, and Uzbeks view Pakistan as an important neighbour with legitimate concerns about sovereignty, border security, trade, and economic development. We recognise the Durand Line as the international border between Afghanistan and Pakistan. We also believe that neither country should permit its territory to be used by armed groups seeking to attack the other. Respect for these principles can provide the foundation for a new and more reliable partnership.
Pakistan’s security challenges make a broader Afghan policy especially urgent. The banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan and other terrorist groups have exploited instability across the border. Reliance on a single Afghan faction has not produced lasting security. Pakistan needs relationships with communities that reject cross-border militancy and favour functioning state institutions, civil society, education, and regional commerce.
Tajiks, Hazaras, and Uzbeks, who together make up most of Afghanistan’s population, can be valuable partners in this effort. Many political and civic figures from these communities support a moderate interpretation of Islam, constitutional government, and the peaceful participation of women and minorities in public life. Their constituencies have repeatedly suffered at the hands of extremist organisations. They therefore share Pakistan’s interest in preventing Afghanistan from becoming a sanctuary for transnational terrorist groups.
There is also a deep cultural basis for cooperation. Persian-speaking communities in Afghanistan often understand Pakistan through the poetry and thought of Allama Muhammad Iqbal. Iqbal wrote extensively in Persian and belongs to the shared intellectual heritage of the wider region. His poetry speaks across modern borders about dignity, spiritual renewal, and human possibility.
Pakistanis, in turn, have a deep affection for the great Persian poets Mawlana Jalaluddin Rumi and Hafez. Rumi, whose life and legacy are closely associated with Balkh and the wider Persian cultural world, has influenced Pakistan’s spiritual, literary, and intellectual traditions. Hafez is likewise admired for poetry that combines love, wisdom, and mystical reflection.
Together with Iqbal, these poets form a shared literary vocabulary through which Pakistanis and Persian-speaking Afghans can recognise one another. This cultural bridge has never been fully used in diplomacy.
Music has created another powerful connection. Over several generations, many Persian-speaking Afghan singers and musicians have studied in Pakistan, learned from Pakistani teachers, or followed musical traditions associated with Lahore. Afghan artists have drawn inspiration from Pakistan’s classical music, ghazal singing, and qawwali while adapting these influences to Persian poetry and Afghanistan’s own musical heritage.
These artistic exchanges have helped ordinary people understand one another beyond politics. Pakistan can build upon this shared tradition through concerts, cultural festivals, music scholarships, and collaboration between Afghan and Pakistani artists.
Sufi traditions offer another point of connection. From Lahore and Multan to Balkh, Ghazni, Herat, and Badakhshan, reverence for Sufi poets and saints has shaped religious and cultural life for centuries. Most Muslims in both Pakistan and Afghanistan follow the Hanafi school of Sunni Islam, while Afghanistan’s Shia Hazara community has its own important religious heritage. These differences need not prevent cooperation. The region’s traditions of coexistence can support a common rejection of sectarian hatred and violent extremism.
Economic interests reinforce the case. Afghanistan’s northern and central regions connect Pakistan to markets and transportation routes leading toward Central Asia. Greater engagement with local leaders, business people, civil society organisations, and diaspora communities could expand trade while reducing Pakistan’s dependence on a narrow set of intermediaries. Scholarships, cultural exchanges, media partnerships, and legal commercial links would build influence more effectively than secretive or purely security-driven relationships.
A wider policy would also strengthen Pakistan’s credibility. Many non-Pashtun Afghans have long believed that Islamabad listens to only one part of their country. Whether every accusation is fair or not, that perception carries political consequences.
Direct engagement can reduce mistrust and show that Pakistan supports Afghanistan’s people rather than any one faction. It would also help Pakistan understand local developments from a wider range of sources rather than information filtered through a single movement.
This approach should include several practical steps. Pakistan can open sustained dialogue with representative Tajik, Hazara, Uzbek, Pashtun, and other political and civic leaders; expand educational opportunities for young Afghans; support independent media and civil society; facilitate lawful trade; and insist that any future Afghan political settlement include meaningful representation for all communities. Security cooperation should be transparent, lawful, and focused on preventing terrorism rather than manipulating ethnic rivalries.
An inclusive Afghan policy is not charity. It is strategic realism. A neighbouring country ruled through exclusion and coercion will remain unstable, generate refugee flows, and provide opportunities for extremist networks.
A pluralistic Afghanistan, by contrast, is more likely to respect its borders, restrain terrorists, and participate in regional economic development.
History, faith, languages, culture, and geography connect Pakistan and Afghanistan. Those connections extend far beyond one ethnic group or political organisation. By building respectful partnerships with Tajiks, Hazaras, Uzbeks, Pashtuns, and all other communities, Pakistan can help create a more stable neighbour and advance its own security, prosperity, and regional standing.
