The Frontier Policy

Authors

  • Saeeda Area Study Centre, University of Peshawar
  • Muhammad Waqas
  • Khalil ur Rehman

Keywords:

frontier-policy, three-fold frontier, great-game, new-frontier policy, new-great game, British legacy.

Abstract

Historically, for a millennium the invaders of Hindustan would start from Central Asia, secure the Afghan Plateau as a strategic base and roll into Peshawar Valley through Khyber Pass, then cross the Indus River—and via Punjab—they would then wheel north into North India to establish empires. A secure Afghan Plateau was critical for the throne in Delhi. The start and end points of the invasion route were held safe for operational, administrative and economic reasons. The frontier of the empire was kept secure and stable through a strategy that historians call ‘Mughal Era Frontier Policy’. This arrangement worked for centuries. Then the British disembarked on the southern coast of Hindustan, initially at Surat and Madras, and finally at Bengal. The Battle of Plassey proved decisive. Consequently, the British strategy tiptoed towards Delhi, as also the spread of the East India Company. The invasion route was reversed, as opposed to the historical north-western route of the Mughal era. After securing Delhi in 1804, besides defeating Ranjit Singh and the crushing of 1857 uprising, British took serious administrative and strategic measures to implement the ‘Frontier Policy’. The policy in its essence was a ‘three-fold frontier’ with Czarist Russia as an adversary across the Amu River. Pakistan, on its creation, inherited the ‘Frontier Policy’ of British India and became a member of SEATO and CENTO, whereby Americans had a base at Badabher. The later Pak-US involvement in Afghanistan against the occupation of the former Soviet Union and the post-9/11 War on Terror partnership were also in the context of Frontier Policy. The war has since transitioned from the War on Terror to the great power competition between China/Russia and America. Pakistan too has moved from the Frontier Policy to a New Frontier Policy. Russia is no more an adversary across the Amu River. In the process, Pakistan and Russia have forged a new strategic partnership. A transactional relationship is not an alternative for a strategic partnership, especially in an era of great-power competition. The die is cast despite the cosmetic and unreal reset. 

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Published

2021-03-25