Of brothers and friends- India-Afganistan relation

Although Afghan President Hamid Karzai stated that the Strategic Partnership Agreement between Afghanistan and India will not affect ties with Pakistan, it is clear that this has already started being perceived with suspicion.

The dynamics of the region, the tension between the two neighbours and the US-led war on terror could possibly lead to further obstacles aggravated by this pact.

Karzai said that Pakistan is a “twin brother” and India is a “great friend”. He also said that he doesn’t expect this relationship to go beyond Afghanistan and India. However, there remains too much distrust between the “twin brothers” to actually believe various statements issued by each other’s offices.

Can Pakistan continue to focus on working mutually with Afghanistan to battle militancy as opposed to investing itself further in the realm of mistrust?

Although this agreement between Pakistan’s two neighbours is nothing new, will it cause further tension in its own relationship with these nations?

Most of all, will this agreement with India really have no impact on the Pak-Afghan relationship?