Pakistan has borne the brunt of Afghanistan’s unending turmoil for decades, in a war that Pakistan never initiated, through loss of human lives, economic losses and strain on its social infrastructure. The numbers are astronomical:with losses in direct and indirect economic terms well over $450 billion. Between 2001 and 2017, Pakistan lost an average of $7.7 billion a year in its economy, which accumulated up to $123.2 billion before considering the costs of its war efforts. The loss in comparison to these figures of $34 billion in US aid, all of 80 percent of which was reimbursed through the Coalition Support Fund, is negligible.

It shows that Pakistan has been an unintended victim in Afghanistan’s instability. 

It shows that Pakistan has been an unintended victim in Afghanistan’s instability. The truth is, the country’s economy became vulnerable to the side effects of an internal and external intervention conflict in Afghanistan. These financial hemorrhages have made away with money from lifesaving areas like education, health and social welfare, making the growth function paralysed. No country is able to concentrate on sustainable development and long term stability if it throws billions in the fallout of a neighbor’s conflict.

For human cost, it is equally tragic. Due to violence in Afghanistan, Pakistan has seen continuous influx of refugees and internally displaced persons that have deeply scarred Pakistan’s society. However, the refugee crisis has moved much slower than expected, overwhelming local infrastructures, public services as well as community cohesion. There is little room left for interaction between demographic and societal tensions, and resource allocation. At its simplest, it is a daily stimulus in the human crisis that equates to ignoring the tragedy of personal tragedies and the disruption of communities as it spreads farther and farther beyond the boundaries of local parties.

There has been a surge in terrorism and cross-border violence because militancy in Pakistan has gone unchecked with a large part of it fuelled by the chaos next door

A lot also points to the fact that, in some ways, Afghanistan’s chaos has stifled internal stability in Pakistan. There has been a surge in terrorism and cross-border violence because militancy in Pakistan has gone unchecked with a large part of it fuelled by the chaos next door. But migrants have taken advantage of a porous border and that overburdened security apparatuses, making Pakistan beef up its counterterrorism measures. Not only it drains the national security budget but it also creates diversion and diverts resources from the pressing need at home. Such a security predicament does not occur in a nation that is already struggling with economic and social challenges, and deepens a cycle of instability and under development.

Western support for its contributions to regional security, irrespective of cost, has been both inadequately provided and divinely misguided

The international community’s response is an added insult to injury considering the sacrifices Pakistan has made. Western support for its contributions to regional security, irrespective of cost, has been both inadequately provided and divinely misguided. Unlike Turkey, Pakistan has received only a fraction of the funds that urgently should be invested in helping it heal from the particular damage inflicted by Afghanistan’s crisis. This lack of proper compensation or recognition widens the gap of what is just and realistic and how much support is necessary in compensating for such loss, and not only will it not speed up the nation’s morale on its way of recovery, but may actually slow it down.

Without a coordinated effort to fix Afghanistan’s instability at its root cause and help rebuild Pakistan, the whole region continues to be at risk of another war 

Afghanistan’s instability has wider repercussions, not just within Pakistan’s own borders but across the region and beyond into the wider geopolitical security, that  are extremely serious. In that, the chaos becomes fertile ground for extremist ideas, both for proliferation of violence and radicalization. There are clear consequences: without a coordinated effort to fix Afghanistan’s instability at its root cause and help rebuild Pakistan, the whole region continues to be at risk of another war and fragmentation.

A new national policy scheme should be committed to sustainable aims, that target economic assistance, and a complete plan to cope with the aftermath of Afghanistan’s crisis

Pakistan bears too large a burden for a country of its size and the balance must be its long overdue recognition by policymakers and international stakeholders. It is essential that a new national policy scheme should be committed to sustainable aims, that target economic assistance, and a complete plan to cope with the aftermath of Afghanistan’s crisis be implemented. Simply acknowledging and rectifying this long standing imbalance of gains and sacrifices and moving Pakistan towards a more stable and prosperous future is one in which Pakistan’s sacrifices are met with genuine support so that a broken cycle of instability is put behind us.

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author. They do not represent the views, beliefs, or policies of the Stratheia.