LAOZI'S PHILOSOPHY: ITS COMPARISON WITH WESTERN THOUGHTS AND APPLICATION ON PAKISTAN-AFGHANISTAN RELATIONS.

The complex Pakistan-Afghanistan relations always engage policymakers on both sides of the border. Their concerns towards each other have been changing the socio-political environment intermittently due to internal and external dynamics coupled with historical legacies. This study, therefore, covers the post-independence period, the Soviet Union's communist influence in Afghanistan, the rise of the Taliban, and the post-9/11 era. It employs Lao Tzu's philosophy which advocates the overarching features of domestic politics, global governance, and statecraft to address the prevailing intricacies in Pakistan and Afghanistan foreign policies. It discusses vital concepts and approaches of softness, normalness, and actionless action at the individual, state, and system levels while carving out institutionalized foreign policy orientations between the two neighbours. The paper also considers the western thought of realism paradigm through which peace in the region remained elusive. It deliberates upon Lao Tzu's philosophy which lays down the foundation of the political order in a natural, peaceful and balanced way. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]