Viva, Pakistan. The country cannot win a war against eternal enemy India, but it has staked its survival to best two superpowers in Afghanistan, first the Soviets and now the Americans.

It’s all part of an ambition to first wrest control of Kashmir from “Hindu” India, and then to wrest India from the Hindus themselves.

Jinnah formed Pakistan ostensibly as a sanctuary for the subcontinent’s Muslims. What he left unsaid was that Pakistan was being created with one sole obsession, and that was to place the crescent on Delhi’s Red Fort. From where our beloved prime ministers have addressed the nation for nearly three-quarters of a century.

The Americans are leaving Afghanistan finally but not in the precipitous manner in which they fled Vietnam, where their embassy personnel in Saigon had to be evacuated by helicopter. That exit symbolized utter and humiliating defeat, but the withdrawal from Afghanistan might be no less.

The Americans are leaving behind a few thousand troops in highly-fortified super bases inside Afghanistan, wherein they will no doubt lead the high life and enjoy pork chops, as they do in the Green Zone in Baghdad, so that they can feel at home even in a Muslim country.

From the super bases, the Americans are supposed to keep a watchful eye over the Taliban. But what over two hundred thousand Nato troops (which included American troops) could not do for over a decade, can one expect a few thousand to do, especially now when the Taliban will control Kabul as well as the rest of the country. If I were an American soldier, I would stay put in my super base.

Cast aside will be the “democratically” elected Afghan government. India has given the Afghan government over $3 billion in aid and infrastructure, including building a fine parliament building for it. India is only now thinking of creating a new parliament building for itself, such is the love it has for the Afghan government. Now the Taliban will get to use the parliament building built by the Indians, as also countless roads and other infrastructure.

Prime Minister Imran Khan of Pakistan is already warning of “spoilers” of the American-Taliban peace deal. By spoilers, he obviously means India. Pakistan is the architect of this deal and loves it. India hates it.

For two decades Pakistan has played a double game in Afghanistan. It stayed in bed with the Taliban, occasionally getting up to flirt with the Americans. Most of the Taliban leadership is in Pakistan and has been so for twenty years. The Taliban used Pakistan as a staging ground to launch attacks against the Americans in Afghanistan and then retreat into the safe haven of Pakistan where the Americans could not get to them.

The Pakistanis had become masters at this strategy, having employed the exact same approach against the Soviets. Eventually, the Soviets capitulated. The Pakistanis knew that eventually the Americans too would capitulate. And they did.

Now the Pakistanis are getting into pole position to launch the second jihad in Kashmir. By consolidating Kashmir into itself, India is trying to buttress itself against this jihad. Let’s see if it succeeds.

Khan loses no opportunity to castigate India and PM Modi every day. He seems completely obsessed with India. In his cricketing days, he was known as an attacking player. His boss, Pakistani army chief Bajwa, has just given himself another three years as king of Pakistan to accomplish the second jihad in Kashmir.

It’s all coming to a head finally, almost 20 years after 9/11 and over 30 years after the first jihad was launched by Pakistan in Kashmir in 1989. India must brace itself. For that India has to stay united as one. But as Chetan Bhagat says, it’s only Hindu Muslim Hindu Muslim Hindu Muslim here. Hotheads on both sides will take our beloved freedoms away.