Abstract
The paper analyses the way in which Afghanistan’s long-drawn conflicts, fuelled by successive US interventions has impacted and spilled over into India’s security calculus particularly Jammu & Kashmir. The paper locates Afghanistan as the “graveyard of empires,” where foreign involvement turned into persistent instability that allowed transnational jihadist networks to prosper. The resurgence of the Taliban, Al-Qaeda’s perseverance and ISIS-K further transmuted Afghanistan as a nerve centre for terrorist insurgence sliding into Kashmir under Pakistan’s tactical patronage.
The US-led intervention destabilized the region and led to a chain of unintended consequences whose aftermath India is still living with. Cross-border terrorism, drug smuggling from the Golden Crescent and infiltration of foreign terrorists into Kashmir are amongst them. From the battlefields of Afghanistan to the valleys of Kashmir, it follows this trajectory, emphasising that India’s security challenges are strategically enmeshed in global obligations. Therefore, it highlights India’s need for altering its security position by balancing counterterrorism practices with regional diplomacy as the instability in Afghanistan seems inseparable from Kashmir.
