With the invasion of Soviet forces in Afghanistan in December 1979, the last front of the Cold War was opened. Being the closest neighbour of Afghanistan, Pakistan suddenly became very important in the war against the communist Soviet Union. Pakistanćs intelligence agency (ISI) and the American Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) jointly planned the war strategy which culminated with success when Soviet forces left Afghanistan in 1989. The article argues that during this war, the ISI and the CIA, with the support of Saudi Arabia pumped Islamic extremists from the entire world for the success of the Afghan jihad. The paper argues that mustering global support in the name of religion from the entire Muslim world eventually led to the birth of global jihad. Pakistan played a very important role in these developments. While analysing the Afghan war, Pakistanćs involvement and the birth of Al-Qaeda and the Taliban, the paper traces developments from 1979 to 2001 when Al-Qaeda finally hit the USA on 9/11. The paper argues that the current global Muslim extremism is very much rooted in the Afghan war of 1979 supported by Pakistan,Saudi Arabia and the USA.
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