A foreign military withdrawal, a looming civil war, a potential influx of refugees and a rhetoric of scapegoating neighbouring countries; sounds familiar, right? No, we’re not talking about Najibullah’s Afghanistan but the one supposedly led by Ashraf Ghani under whose watch the much-touted Afghan Peace Process has essentially collapsed regardless of the schematics. While the United States and its allies havealmost packed upand sought to leave the Afghans on their own largely as per President Joe Biden’s recent policy statement, the quagmire is about to enter a critical stage that could redefine the region’s course. The Afghan Taliban now claim to control over 85% of the country, and several towns and cities are falling rapidly in their domain. On the other hand, India has swiftly airlifted some 50 diplomats and staff members from certain consulates back to New Delhi which coincideswith the steps taken byTurkey and Russia who have also closed downone oftheir regional diplomatic stations. Whereas, Pakistan’s commitment to peace in the region is steadfastly strong but has its own limitations given the involvement of multiple stakeholders. DG ISPR Major General Babar Iftikhar’s latest interview with a private channel provides us a glimpse of how Islamabad plans to remain neutral and focus on an Afghan-led political settlement rather than an endless cycle of military conflict. Since December 2015, there had been consistent efforts to steer the peace process towards an amicable outcome yet spoilers and hawks prevailed overtime. President Trump’s deal with the Taliban under Islamabad and Doha’s watch last yearwas the closest Afghanistan could achieve peace since it paved way for a promising interim setup where no one political entity could dominate. But the ground reality remains that it was autopian dream as neither the Americans nor the Taliban were willing to back out from their shortsighted interests. Thus, leaving a new generation of Afghans and Pakistanis bear the brunt of their follies. Islamabad’s legitimate concerns should not be taken lightly as it has every right to defend its territorial integrity owing to a hostile regime in Kabul that is two-faced with multiple factions of the Taliban roaming around. For the past 20 years, the US gained nothing from this senseless war that only resulted bloodshed and bodybags.Over $2.2 trillion werewasted away in this conflictwhose direct impact was on Pakistan which suffered heavily in terms of the economy and casualties. Yet Washington is unhappy and still insists on the infamous ‘do more’ mantra. By paying peanuts to Pakistan, the US thinks Islamabad could do its bidding and be bought. The fact is that Washington was in for a rude awakening as the new leadership in Pakistan is unlike any other it has dealt with before. Hence, sustaining peace is the only way that matters for Islamabad but that remains uncertain thanks to those who brought the region to this point. *