From Bilateralism to Cold War Conflict Pakistan’s Engagement with State and Non-State Actors on its Afghan Frontier, 1947-1989 Submitted in fulfilment of the D.Phil in History October 2013 Ahmad M. Siddiqi ACKUSt. Antony’s College ACKU Abstract From Bilateralism to Cold War Conflict: Pakistan’s Engagement with State and Non-State Actors on its Afghan Frontier, 1947-1989 Ahmad M. Siddiqi St. Antony‟s College D.Phil, Faculty of History Trinity Term 2013 The purpose of this thesis is to assess Pakistan‟s relationship with Afghanistan before and after the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979. I argue that the nature of the relationship was transformed by the region becoming the centre of Cold War conflict, and show how Pakistan‟s role affected the development of the mujahidin insurgency against Soviet occupation. My inquiry begins by assessing the historical determinants of the relationship, arising from the colonial legacy and local ACKUinterpretations of the contested spheres of legitimacy proffered by state, tribe and Islam. I then map the trajectory of the relationship from Pakistan‟s independence in 1947, showing how the retreat of great power rivalry following British withdrawal from the subcontinent allowed for the framing of the relationship in primarily bilateral terms. The ascendance of bilateral factors opened greater possibilities for accommodation than had previously existed, though the relationship struggled to free itself of inherited colonial disputes, represented by the Pashtunistan issue. The most promising attempt to resolve the dispute came to an end with the communist coup and subsequent Soviet invasion, which subsumed bilateral concerns under the framework of Cold War confrontation. Viewing the invasion as a major threat, Pakistan pursued negotiations for Soviet withdrawal, aligned itself with the US and gave clandestine support to the mujahidin insurgency. External support enhanced mujahidin military viability while exacerbating weaknesses in political organization and ideology. Soviet withdrawal in 1989 left an unresolved conflict. Faced with state collapse and turmoil across the border, heightened security concerns following loss of US support, and intensified links among non-state actors on both sides of the frontier, the Pakistan government drew on its recently gained experience of working through non-state actors to attempt to maintain its influence in Afghanistan. There would be no return to the relatively stable state-state ties prevailing before 1979. ACKU Table of Contents Acknowledgements .................................................................................................................... ii Note on Transliteration ............................................................................................................. vii Introduction: Between Bilateralism and Great Power Rivalry ................................................... 1 1. The Colonial Legacy: State, Tribe and Islam ....................................................................... 17 2. Pakistan-Afghanistan Relations, 1947-79 ............................................................................ 71 I. Early Discussions and Parameters of Engagement ........................................................... 73 II. Alternating Crises and Accommodation ........................................................................ 120 3. Early Responses to the Soviet Invasion ............................................................................. 153 4. Political Organization in the Jihad ..................................................................................... 204 5. Ideology in the Jihad .......................................................................................................... 269 6. Pakistan-US Relations: The Search for Security ................................................................ 307 7. Conclusion: The Soviet Withdrawal .................................................................................. 343 Appendix: On Sources and Methodology .............................................................................. 356 Bibliography ................................................................................................ACKU........................... 369 i Acknowledgements A work of this magnitude would not be possible without the contributions of many. Undoubtedly, all my teachers, family, friends and mentors down the years have affected my intellectual development in one way or another, and so can claim some credit (or blame) for this dissertation. Listing everyone, however, may not be the most practical or even a possible approach. So let me begin by begging your indulgence if your name does not appear in the following pages. Your role is not diminished by my failure to mention it, and there is after all some virtue in being an unsung hero. But allow me to mention as many of those who have contributed most directly to this project as I can. First and foremost, my supervisor, Rob Johnson, was a constant source of advice, feedback and encouragement from my first submission of the research proposal to my final defence of the thesis. Rob gave me the freedomACKU to form my own ideas and write in my own fashion, so long as I could defend what I said. He provided insightful critical feedback on several chapters. He was especially understanding of my need to spend considerable time in Pakistan with my family and was content to let me determine the optimal balance. He deserves a very large measure of the credit for this thesis. ii Faisal Devji provided invaluable critical feedback during my Transfer of Status and Confirmation of Status. Yet his generosity extended well beyond the call of duty. He was always available to converse with, whether in person or on email. By the end of my period at Oxford, he had given feedback on the whole of the thesis, and provided critical logistic support at several junctures. In the final months before submission, he stepped in as a secondary supervisor to help see the project through to its conclusion. Rasul Baksh Rais took an interest in my thesis from the outset and gave insightful feedback on several chapters. He also generously arranged an office space for me at LUMS, provided interview contacts and gave me a wealth of material collected in the course of his research on Afghanistan. Judith Brown‟s early guidance at my Transfer of Status interview was critical: my final chapter outline is not very dissimilar from that which I developed with her advice. Francis Robinson and Ronald Nettler provided valuable input on Islamic thought and the Islamist movements. Ayesha Jalal commented on my literature review and gave useful advice on historical research in Pakistan. An insightful conversation with Ishtiaq Ahmad helped clarify some of my conclusions, andACKU he generously shared with me a wide range of documents and books that he had acquired. Chapter Four of this thesis in particular owes a great deal to Thomas Wide, who helped me find the mujahidin publications and AIC documents at SOAS, and Will Clegg, who gave me copies of the Orkand Corporation reports. Issam Ahmed gave me a number of useful contacts for interviews. Conversations with Akbar Ahmed, Shuja Nawaz and Todd Greentree were also very useful. iii My interviewees were extremely generous with their time and their insights. Many helped in a number of ways besides answering my questions. Often, they put me in contact with additional people to interview; some shared books or documents. Fida Yunas gifted me an entire set of all the books he had written on Afghanistan. I have listed most of their names in the bibliography; the wishes of those who preferred to remain anonymous have been respected. Without their contribution, there would have been far too many gaps and unanswered questions in this thesis. Here, I must also thank Loren John, who transcribed many of the interviews for me. Hassan Javid deserves credit for bringing the National Documentation Centre (NDC) in Islamabad to my attention, as well for his advice on conducting research there. Saeed Khuram and the staff at the NDC were incredibly helpful in accessing the material that formed the core of Chapter Two of this thesis. Here I must also thank Iftikhar, Hanif and Ejaz for driving me to my meetings in Islamabad – Ejaz also in Lahore. Chapter Six owes a great deal to Seth Anziska, through whom I first found out about the archives of the Ronald Reagan PresidentialACKU Library, and to Kelly Barton and the archivists who helped me during my research visit there. Mircea Munteanu and the Woodrow Wilson International Centre for Scholars were an invaluable source for accessing Soviet and East European documents, as well as some of the Carter-era US documents. iv Sarfraz Khan and the University of Peshawar Area Studies Centre (Russia, China & Central Asia) provided invaluable source material during my stay in Peshawar. Syed Irfan Ashraf has my gratitude for the interviews he arranged, his advice and his companionship during that visit. Nur Akbar drove me to my meetings and was kind enough to insist on driving me all the way back to Islamabad, while Tariq Durrani was a generous host. My travel to Kabul was made possible through the great hospitality of Ashraf Ghani, who arranged for my stay, provided a car and driver, and put the resources of his office at my disposal in arranging interviews. I must thank Mukhtarullah and Mirwais for their kind help in all of the above, and Samir for his companionship as my driver