00:00I think that the Pakistani leadership, particularly the field marshal Asul Munir,
00:07I think he really prioritizes Pakistan's role in the mediation in the Middle East.
00:16It's a way for them to build a relationship with all important regional players.
00:22Also, of course, to curry favor with the US.
00:27I think it is of the utmost geostrategic importance for Pakistan that it should be effective in playing that role.
00:34In any way in which they think that the Afghan conflict impedes that role,
00:40they'll find a way of basically backpedaling on Afghanistan so that they can focus on the role in the Middle
00:46East.
00:47So the conflict between Afghanistan's Taliban and Pakistan started on the 26th of February,
00:55a couple of days before the launch of the latest US-Israeli conflict with Iran.
01:04But then it's not over, it's not resolved, but it's proceeding at a much lower intensity than we might have
01:14anticipated.
01:15I think one of the reasons is that Pakistan is deliberately not escalating so that it doesn't get in the
01:22way of what they're trying to do in the Middle East.
01:23But in the long run, probably what it does is it wins Pakistan credit so that when they're ready to
01:32focus on sorting out their Afghanistan problem,
01:35they'll be counting on the support of regional powers in the Middle East,
01:41as well as the US, to give Pakistan somewhat of a carte blanche for what they have to do to
01:46sort out their issue with the Taliban.
01:50PM
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