The War On Terror In Afghanistan And Pakistan's Security Policy Change - Motivation, Impact And Assessment

After the September 11 attack, the George W. Bush administration launched the war on terrorism in Afghanistan to destroy the Taliban and to eliminate the al Qaeda network, which altered international society and international relations fundamentally. The security regime and geo-political environment of South and Central Asia has changed sharply. Pakistan became the frontline state of the war on terrorism. Pakistan's diplomacy and domestic politics suffered overall challenges and its security environment has changed momentously.Since independence in 1947, Pakistan always views India as its most serious threat. After the cold war, America thought higher of India than Pakistan. During 1991 and 2001, Pakistan's security policy primarily included balancing India's security threat, enhancing strategic relations with China, supporting overall Afghanistan's Taliban regime and improving relations with Muslim states.After "9-11" incident, Pakistan's security policy changed heavily. Musharraf administration broke relations with Taliban, joined the international coalition against terrorism led by America, Improved peaceful dialogue with India and launched anti-terrorism action in Afghanistan and Pakistan's border tribe areas.The dynamics of changes of Pakistan's security lie in three aspects: America's pressure, geo-politics and political culture, particularly strategic culture, and domestic political institutions. Pakistan's post 9/11 decision to reverse its support for the Taliban regime in Afghanistan and more generally support the United States in the global war on terrorism influence Pakistan's internal security sharply. In the future Pakistan will continue its cooperation with America and Afghanistan on anti-terrorism.