Pakistan will gain nothing from engineering a Taliban victory in Afghanistan. Indeed, Pakistan's fortunes will decline. The Chinese will colonize Pakistan as the price for saving Pakistan from itself.
Pakistan admits that more Chinese will be working and living in Pakistan over the next four years. By 2025 Pakistan expects to host as many as five million Chinese. This is being celebrated by the government as Chinese confidence in doing business in Pakistan. Many Pakistanis and even more Afghans are considerably less enthusiastic. ...
By 2018 Pakistan had serious money problems and sources of foreign aid and loans were drying up, in part because Pakistan was internationally recognized as a supporter of Islamic terrorism.
Pakistan hopes it has a place in China's belt and road trade and security project. The Chinese will do the jobs China doesn't trust Pakistanis to do. So local benefits through jobs will be limited.
Instead, select local Pakistani rulers will gain money through corruption while future generations will have to pay the debt that the current Pakistani rulers are accepting in Pakistan's name.
America has few reasons to support Pakistan. Only fighting in Afghanistan made it possible for America to hold its nose and financially support Pakistan. Given Pakistan's attitude and record, it is overdue for a downgrade in its status.
Losing in Afghanistan is bad for America. It should be even worse for Pakistan now that America has no need to secure lines of supply to American and NATO forces in Afghanistan. Congratulations to Pakistan for their Afghanistan "victory", eh?
So Pakistan is grasping at Chinese straws:
In the end, China will have the money and the assets that are built while Pakistan will have the jihadis and poverty that mix so well. And nukes, of course.
