Afghanistan: Breaking Away from Islamabad's Influence

A U.S. airstrike on Sept. 8 in Pakistan's tribal belt targeted the leadership of a Taliban group with ties to Islamabad. On the same day, India's ambassador to Kabul announced the completion of a road that Indian army engineers have been constructing in southwestern Afghanistan that could decrease Afghan dependency on Pakistan for access to the outside world. These two developments are cutting at the very heart of Pakistan's attempts to re-establish its influence in Afghanistan. Islamabad, whose writ over its own territory is waning, is unlikely to do much to reverse its dwindling fortunes in Afghanistan.