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Sajjadi A Q. The Policy of Strategic Depth: A Serious Challenge to Political Relations Between Pakistan and Afghanistan. SRQPIS 2026; 2 (3) :1-20
URL: http://srqpis.knu.edu.af/article-1-96-en.html

The issue of Pakistan’s strategic depth in Afghanistan has long been considered a central and fundamental topic in this country’s foreign policy toward Afghanistan. Pakistan’s regional foreign policy is based on three main pillars: weakening India, acting as a proxy for the United States, and achieving strategic depth in Afghanistan. Among these, security concerns vis-à-vis India constitute the primary issue, while long-term strategic alignment with the United States and the search for strategic depth in Afghanistan serve as tools for securing Pakistan’s regional foreign policy interests and objectives.
Why is Pakistan seeking strategic depth in Afghanistan? (Main question)
A threat-oriented perception of India and concerns about separatism among ethnic groups are the two main factors that drive Pakistan’s military establishment toward pursuing a policy of strategic depth in Afghanistan. (Hypothesis)
This paper, drawing on the analytical propositions of constructivist theory and relying on library-based data, analyzes the issue and seeks to confirm the proposed hypothesis by referring to the mindset and perceptions of Pakistani politicians and military generals. The findings of this research show that differing interpretations of the concept of strategic depth among Pakistani military officials have caused Pakistan’s foreign policy toward Afghanistan to fluctuate—from attempting to establish a puppet government in Kabul to supporting a government aligned with Pakistan on the issue of India and other regional matters. Ultimately, the pursuit of strategic depth in Afghanistan has placed Pakistan’s foreign policy toward Afghanistan in a Hobbesian and hostile condition and remains one of the serious challenges facing Pakistan in its relations with Afghanistan.