William Dalrymple on the future of Afghanistan

The Afghanistan conflict can only be resolved if Pakistan and Indian intervene constructively, the historian Willian Dalrymple writes in the daily The Guardian: "The stage is now open for a deal whereby India could agree to minimise its presence in Afghanistan - which it could accept as Pakistan's sphere of influence - in return for Pakistan withdrawing its longstanding sponsorship of the Kashmir jihad, which it could accept as India's domain. To satisfy Nato, an undertaking by Pakistan to drive al-Qaida from the region would also need to be included. Such a deal would certainly be difficult to sell domestically. There would be strong resistance by the many hawks in both India and Pakistan. Yet such an understanding would be the best and possibly only hope for a regional peace that might allow Afghans, Kashmiris, Pakistanis and Indians some chance of a stable future and to concentrate on the regional issues that really matter - feeding and educating the largest undernourished population in the world."

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