India, Pakistan, Fighting 'Proxy Cold War' in Afghanistan

[FarCenter]

Monday's suicide bombing in the Afghan capital Kabul was the deadliest since the 2001 ouster of the Taliban. German commentators fear it could fan regional tensions between Pakistan and India, which are fighting a kind of proxy Cold War in Afghanistan.

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German media commentators write that Afghanistan has become the scene of a proxy war between its neighbors India and Pakistan, and that the growing divisions are thwarting the fight against the Taliban and terrorism.

The center-left Süddeutsche Zeitung writes:

"The murder is senseless but the target was chosen with forethought. India isn't just a major friend of the Afghan government of President Hamid Karzai, and India isn't only a generous sponsor of the country's reconstruction. Above all, India is the arch-enemy of Pakistan in the dispute over Kashmir. This attack is a particularly bad omen for Afghanistan."

"Now, in the seventh year of the war on terror, the blood trails of terrorism are crossing each other in Afghanistan of all places. It's about Kabul and Kashmir, and is directed against the West and against India. And, to complete the chaos, the target is also Pakistan's secular government. The day before the Kabul attack there was one in Pakistan's capital Islamabad which followed the same pattern. The extremists apparently feel safe enough to strike from several sides. To stop them the West, the Afghan and Pakistani governments must work together. But the violence isn't leading to more unity, only to more division."

The conservative Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung writes:

"India and Pakistan are waging a cold proxy war against each other in Afghanistan. Pakistan has been eyeing India's involvement in Afghanistan with suspicion for a long time. India's good relations with the Afghan government have sparked Pakistani fears of being surrounded. Contacts between Kabul and Islamabad are anything but warm: Recently Karzai threatened to pursue the Taliban beyond the border with Pakistan if Islamabad doesn't take up the chase. Before that the Afghan government accused Pakistan's secret service ISI of being behind the attack on the military parade at the end of April which was aimed at assassinating Karzai.

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http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,564579,00.html