Discussion: Should Pakistan occupy Wakhan corridor?

[Slim]

The Wakhan Corridor is a narrow strip of territory in Afghanistan, extending to China and separating Tajikistan from Pakistan. Wakhan region is more close to Pakistan than Afghanistan’s main land. Its a long corridor between Pakistan and Tajikistan and looking at map it seems like it should be part of Pakistan.

Pakistan can forcefully capture Wakhan corridor. It has all the military capabilities to defeat Afghanistan and capture it. If proper mobilization is done near Afghan boarder in North, Pak Army can capture it withing 72 hours.

OR

It can strike a deal with the Afghan Talibans while giving them military help in return when they form the government.

Wakhan corridor will be the real strategic depth.

What do you guys think?

 

[Cypher]

Yes they should just forcefully capture it.
It'll be a cake walk for them

 

[Napa]

What do you guys think?

I think with your sort of <i>strategic</i> thinking, Pakistan is destined for the next thousand years to have textiles and soccer balls as its major industries.

 

[Slim]

I think with your sort of <i>strategic</i> thinking, Pakistan is destined for the next thousand years to have textiles and soccer balls as its major industries.

Why are you getting so salty about it? Its just a discussion for kicks.

Both sides of the argument have merit to them. I am currently only talking from one side.

 

[Cypher]

I think with your sort of <i>strategic</i> thinking, Pakistan is destined for the next thousand years to have textiles and soccer balls as its major industries.

It's a good question by the OP.
Why are you getting salty for no reason lol?

 

[Napa]

Why are you getting so salty about it? Its just a discussion for kicks.

Both sides of the argument have merit to them. I am currently only talking from one side.

My point is that if you try to acquire Wakhan, it will distract from the real economic issues facing Pakistan while bringing no benefits.

What is the benefit of a border with Tajikistan, which unbelievably has a per cap PPP GDP less than half of India's and almost half of Pakistan's too?

https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ti.html

 

[gani999]

My point is that if you try to acquire Wakhan, it will distract from the real economic issues facing Pakistan while bringing no benefits.

Benefit or no benefit, why should any country try and capture the territory of any other?
Medieval thinking at its best!

 

[Syed1]

Benefit or no benefit, why should any country try and capture the territory of any other?
Medieval thinking at its best!

Oh really? So same rules do not apply on India for illegally occupying a land and people who do not want anything to do with India in Kashmir?

 

[Napa]

Benefit or no benefit, why should any country try and capture the territory of any other?
Medieval thinking at its best!

Precisely! Thinking of occupying useless land is medieval thinking. It takes away from real issues that need attention, the most important one being what needs to be done to make conditions suitable for the development of modern industries.

 

[MenInG]

Very bad idea. Time to reduce conflict instead of increasing more pressure on our armed forces.

 

[kk1992]

Wakhan corridor will be the real strategic depth.

How?

China is building silk road which Pakistan will be able to take every advantage.

Waste of resource to sent Army. Pakistani army is already occupied defending against aggressor on two fronts, India and Afghanistan.

 

[AdamM97]

Pakistan already has access to Central Asia through Kashgar, China. So occupying Wakhan Corridor is of no significance to Pakistan.

Also, it will legitimize future Indian aggression in Kashmir since Pakistan will be breaking international law after forcefully occupying Afghan territory.

 

[The Viper]

Terrible idea.

You don't want to illegally occupy lands that do not belong to you.

 

[KingKhanXi]

I never read a more valid reason than a 'looking at a map, it should be part of Pakistan' lmao

 

[ElRaja]

so much headache for such little benefit. little known resources, sparse population, not particularly scenic and with little connection to pakistan culturally all to gain a land connection to a country that has a smaller economy than burkina faso.

no thanks!

 

[WhenSultansBowled]

Pakistan should capture all thieves and corrupt politicians.

 

[King-Misbah]

Nope! Why capture land that does not belong to you? We are not India.

 

[Bewal Express]

Not worth the hassle. We need to work towards a friendly govt in Afg

 

[PakLFC]

No we should not. Only the likes of Zaid Hamid wants Pak to get involved in endless fights. With the Afghan and Indian borders already hot we don't need more friction that may then upset Tajikistan.

 

[Pakistanian]

[MENTION=146948]Slim[/MENTION] The word you're looking for is "Annex" not "occupy". I wish Pakistani nationalists were smarter with their word selection, you guys have no idea a poor choice of words can misconstrue your message and be weaponized against you.

 

[uberkoen]

Maybe once we annex the Wakhan corridor we can look into capturing Tajikistan as well

 

[SensiblePakFan]

Nope. We should encourage china to open it up so Afghanistan's tribalism decreases through trade.

 

[cricketjoshila]

After that pakistan should annex Tajikistan and begin a campaign to annex as many central asian nations.

Then use the oil and gas resources of these countries to have a huge flourishing economy.

 

[warcry]

We need to understand the history of afghanistan first.

Now Afghanistan came into being while the Mughal Empire and the Safavid Empire were disintergrating.

It was allowed it's nominal independence as a buffer state between the Russian and British Empires. The Wakhan Strip was given to Afghanistan to ensure that the British and Russian Empires do not touch, for that would lead to border conflicts.

However, this is the 21st century, neither empire exists today. The Sun well and truely set on the British, and the Soviet Union is over.

Afghanistan no longer serves its purpose as a buffer region and is not viable as a nation with no access to the sea. Its people are forced to escape the land and seek lives elsewhere, more than perhaps any other nation, barring a few exceptions.

It would be best for the region that afghanistan get partitioned, Iran gets its lands back, which was taken from them in the Treaty of Paris 1857 and more. Tajikstan, Kyrgystan and Uzbekistan, being neighbours, all have a stake in regional peace, and all should contribute, by annexing terroritory from afghanistan and bringing in rule of law.

Pakistan of course gets the lion share, with Kabul, as far as Kandahar, and of course, Wakhan.

The Afghans/Pushtuns have never accepted the Durrand line. Their wish is to be granted and they can all be incorporated into Akhand Pakistan and reap the benefits that the pakistani pushtoons have enjoyed for years.

 

[Slim]

After that pakistan should annex Tajikistan and begin a campaign to annex as many central asian nations.

Then use the oil and gas resources of these countries to have a huge flourishing economy.

Dont think Super powa 2020 will allow us to do this though, will you, pretty please?

 

[Slim]

My point is that if you try to acquire Wakhan, it will distract from the real economic issues facing Pakistan while bringing no benefits.

What is the benefit of a border with Tajikistan, which unbelievably has a per cap PPP GDP less than half of India's and almost half of Pakistan's too?

https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ti.html

Thats true, but that opens up access to rest of Central Asia as well. Tajikistan is not hostile towards Pakistan unlike Afghanistan and this might actually help develop the region.

Precisely! Thinking of occupying useless land is medieval thinking. It takes away from real issues that need attention, the most important one being what needs to be done to make conditions suitable for the development of modern industries.

The land is useless right now but what about in 50 years?

Very bad idea. Time to reduce conflict instead of increasing more pressure on our armed forces.

Sir, although i opened this thread in jest and was purely a hypothetical one at that but considering how Afghanis still are attacking our border; i think they need to be taught a lesson.

How?

China is building silk road which Pakistan will be able to take every advantage.

Waste of resource to sent Army. Pakistani army is already occupied defending against aggressor on two fronts, India and Afghanistan.

Pakistan already has access to Central Asia through Kashgar, China. So occupying Wakhan Corridor is of no significance to Pakistan.

Also, it will legitimize future Indian aggression in Kashmir since Pakistan will be breaking international law after forcefully occupying Afghan territory.

You both make fair counter arguments.

However, i believe that its time for Pakistan to establish a safe buffer zone in Afghanistan and annex Wakhan while we are at it.

Similar to what Turkey has done.

 

[Mamoon]

Our history is littered with foreign policy blunders and this would be another feather in our cap.

There is very little to gain from this stunt but plenty to lose. For starters, it will severely weaken our moral stance on Kashmir which already doesn’t have a shred of credibility.

However, all of that is hypothetical. There is no way our Chinese masters would allow us to have a stronghold in Tajikistan.

Tajikistan is a major trading partner of China who have considerable stake in the former’s political and economic stability. It is too smart to risk their interests by facilitating our arrogance.

We might labor under the delusions that China is our friend, but again, it is too smart to not realize that if history is anything to go by, we are mercenaries and have always sold ourselves to the highest bidder. All a country has to do is wave a few billions dollars and are loyalty is their’s.

 

[Mamoon]

Oh really? So same rules do not apply on India for illegally occupying a land and people who do not want anything to do with India in Kashmir?

India’s occupation in Kashmir is immoral but not illegal.

 

[hussain.r97]

What on Earth would Pakistan gain from annexing the Wakhan Corridor? The region is backward, having borders with Tajikistan serves no purpose as it's also a very backward country, the people there aren't even crying out to be a part of Pakistan, and Pakistan would only face the ire of the international community. It would be yet another foreign policy blunder.

 

[Greenstorm]

Not only Wakhan corridor but ideally Pakistan should control most Pashtun territory in Afghanistan or create a buffer zone atleast so that we do not have to worry about western borders ever again. This will allow us to fully concentrate towards real enemy on the Eastern flank. Of course our poor economic situation does not allow for this but this strategy should definitely be considered in future.

Afghan tribesmen are not capable of running a proper functional country. Its neighbouring countries (including China) will eventually step in to annex different parts of it once America loses power in the region. Its only a matter of time.

Not surprisingly, Indians in this thread are opposing such suggestions despite knowing the fact that India itself has an airbase in Tajikistan.

 

[Greenstorm]

We need to understand the history of afghanistan first.

Now Afghanistan came into being while the Mughal Empire and the Safavid Empire were disintergrating.

It was allowed it's nominal independence as a buffer state between the Russian and British Empires. The Wakhan Strip was given to Afghanistan to ensure that the British and Russian Empires do not touch, for that would lead to border conflicts.

However, this is the 21st century, neither empire exists today. The Sun well and truely set on the British, and the Soviet Union is over.

Afghanistan no longer serves its purpose as a buffer region and is not viable as a nation with no access to the sea. Its people are forced to escape the land and seek lives elsewhere, more than perhaps any other nation, barring a few exceptions.

It would be best for the region that afghanistan get partitioned, Iran gets its lands back, which was taken from them in the Treaty of Paris 1857 and more. Tajikstan, Kyrgystan and Uzbekistan, being neighbours, all have a stake in regional peace, and all should contribute, by annexing terroritory from afghanistan and bringing in rule of law.

Pakistan of course gets the lion share, with Kabul, as far as Kandahar, and of course, Wakhan.

The Afghans/Pushtuns have never accepted the Durrand line. Their wish is to be granted and they can all be incorporated into Akhand Pakistan and reap the benefits that the pakistani pushtoons have enjoyed for years.

This. Infact, Afghan Pashtuns will not have much issue with such arrangement because they won't have to illegally migrate into Pakistan which is gradually becoming difficult due to border fencing.

 

[cricketjoshila]

Not only Wakhan corridor but ideally Pakistan should control most Pashtun territory in Afghanistan or create a buffer zone atleast so that we do not have to worry about western borders ever again. This will allow us to fully concentrate towards real enemy on the Eastern flank. Of course our poor economic situation does not allow for this but this strategy should definitely be considered in future.

Afghan tribesmen are not capable of running a proper functional country. Its neighbouring countries (including China) will eventually step in to annex different parts of it once America loses power in the region. Its only a matter of time.

Not surprisingly, Indians in this thread are opposing such suggestions despite knowing the fact that India itself has an airbase in Tajikistan.

Was the airbase opened by annnexing any territory?

 

[Major]

Wakhan corridor has been captured by Taliban. Always found the existence of this corridor very interesting. As if it stops us from having relations with Tajikistan.

However, Afghanistan is able share a border with China through this region. Now with the taliban capturing this region, China would be having more security on this side of the border

 

[Giannis]

No, although it's always been enticing since it would give Pakistan a 5th neighbor. Also the Wakhan corridor is the original homeland of Pakistan's Wakhi community - that's where they get their name from, I believe they were uprooted in the 19th or early 20th century and migrated to Gilgit-Baltistan. It's now mostly populated by Kyrgyz nomads, so demographically not a hostile area for Pakistan.

 

[Kroll]

We need to understand the history of afghanistan first.

Now Afghanistan came into being while the Mughal Empire and the Safavid Empire were disintergrating.

It was allowed it's nominal independence as a buffer state between the Russian and British Empires. The Wakhan Strip was given to Afghanistan to ensure that the British and Russian Empires do not touch, for that would lead to border conflicts.

However, this is the 21st century, neither empire exists today. The Sun well and truely set on the British, and the Soviet Union is over.

Afghanistan no longer serves its purpose as a buffer region and is not viable as a nation with no access to the sea. Its people are forced to escape the land and seek lives elsewhere, more than perhaps any other nation, barring a few exceptions.

It would be best for the region that afghanistan get partitioned, Iran gets its lands back, which was taken from them in the Treaty of Paris 1857 and more. Tajikstan, Kyrgystan and Uzbekistan, being neighbours, all have a stake in regional peace, and all should contribute, by annexing terroritory from afghanistan and bringing in rule of law.

Pakistan of course gets the lion share, with Kabul, as far as Kandahar, and of course, Wakhan.

The Afghans/Pushtuns have never accepted the Durrand line. Their wish is to be granted and they can all be incorporated into Akhand Pakistan and reap the benefits that the pakistani pushtoons have enjoyed for years.

Hilarious post, especially the latter half.

 

[Gharib Aadmi]

No Pakistan should not take one inch of land in Afghanistan. Pakistan's position is the Durand Line is the border, and by taking the Wakhan they would move away from that position.

However if Afghanistan try's to invade Pakistan again, like they did in 1960 at Bajaur then as punishment they can take some territory of Afghanistan.

For those not familiar, and for those who think Afghanistan is a victim of Pakistan read below:

The Bajaur campaign refers to an armed conflict between Afghanistan and Pakistan that took place from September 1960 to September 1961 in Bajaur, Pakistan. The conflict was initiated by Daoud Khan who sent Royal Afghan Army troops across the border into Bajaur in 1960. The Afghan army incursion was repulsed by Pakistan Army and the Pashtun Tribesmen in Pakistan.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bajaur_Campaign