THE ASIAN INDEPENDENT UK
Bal Ram Sampla
Geopolitics
The Doha Accord, also known as the “Agreement for Bringing Peace to Afghanistan”, was signed on February 29, 2020, between the United States and the Taliban in Doha, Qatar.
This landmark agreement aimed to facilitate the withdrawal of U.S. troops and initiate peace negotiations between the Taliban and the Afghan government, with the broader goal of ending the long-standing conflict in Afghanistan.
When Pakistan agreed to the Doha Accord alongside Afghanistan and the US, it promised to stop all cross-border military attacks and respect Afghanistan’s sovereignty.
However, Pakistan failed to mention a critical detail at the time: it had secretly granted permission to an outside power, understood to be the US, to operate drone bases on its soil for strikes inside Afghanistan. This key fact was kept hidden during the negotiations, showing a lack of transparency and good faith.
Despite the agreement’s clear commitment to cease military operations across the border, Pakistan has repeatedly violated these terms. It has launched airstrikes and military actions inside Afghanistan, actions that directly breach the Doha Accord’s provisions against using violence to resolve disputes.
Pakistan justifies these strikes by accusing Afghanistan of harboring militant groups like the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), but its secret complicity with foreign drone strikes undermines its position.
This secret arrangement and continued cross-border strikes reveal Pakistan’s duplicity and deceit. Pakistan signed the Accord to appear cooperative while simultaneously undermining peace efforts by supporting foreign drone operations and conducting its own military campaigns. These actions have led to a breakdown in trust, halted peace talks, and ongoing conflict, showing that Pakistan’s commitments were not made in earnest.
In summary, Pakistan violated the Doha Accord it signed by hiding the existence of foreign military drone bases on its land and by continuing cross-border attacks in defiance of the agreement, acting in bad faith and causing a collapse of the fragile peace process.
References
1.https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/pakistan-afghanistan-peace-talks-fail-amid-us-drone-dispute-diplomatic-meltdown-in-istanbul-9533115?
2.A foreign country using Pakistan soil to hit Afghanistan with drones? https://www.indiatoday.in/world/story/pakistan-afghanistan-war-ceasefire-talks-islamabad-admits-foreign-country-involvement-drone-tpp-ceasefire-2809466-2025-10-28?utm_source=washare&utm_medium=socialicons&utm_campaign=shareurltracking
3.https://aje.io/z2ckg0
4.https://www.tehrantimes.com/news/519753/Diplomatic-meltdown-marks-Kabul-Islamabad-dialogue?
5.https://www.dailysabah.com/opinion/op-ed/lost-accord-collapse-of-pakistan-afghanistan-peace-hopes?
