Editing Soviet–Afghan War (section)

=== 1960s–1970s: Proxy war ===
{{See also|Afghanistan–Pakistan relations}}
[[File:Afghanistan-Pakistan - northern border. LOC 2010594050.jpg|thumb|The Afghanistan–Pakistan border]]
In 1954, the United States began selling arms to its ally Pakistan, while refusing an Afghan request to buy arms, out of fear that the Afghans would use the weapons against Pakistan.<ref name="Rubin, Barnett R. 1995. p. 65" /> As a consequence, Afghanistan, though officially neutral in the Cold War, drew closer to India and the Soviet Union, which were willing to sell them weapons.<ref name="Rubin, Barnett R. 1995. p. 65" /> In 1962, China defeated India in a [[Sino-Indian War|border war]], and as a result, China formed an alliance with Pakistan against their common enemy, India, pushing Afghanistan even closer to India and the Soviet Union.

In 1960 and 1961, the Afghan Army, on the orders of Daoud Khan following his policy of [[Pashtun irredentism]], made two unsuccessful incursions into Pakistan's [[Bajaur District]]. In both cases, the Afghan army was [[rout]]ed, suffering heavy casualties.<ref name="TP">{{cite book|last=Tomsen|first=Peter |title=The Wars of Afghanistan:Messianic Terrorism, Tribal Conflict, and the Failures of Great Powers |date=2013|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=86w4DgAAQBAJ|publisher=Hachette |isbn=978-1-61039-412-3}}{{page needed|date=December 2019}}</ref> In response, Pakistan closed its consulate in Afghanistan and blocked all trade routes through the Pakistan–Afghanistan border. This damaged Afghanistan's economy and Daoud's regime was pushed towards closer alliance with the Soviet Union for trade. However, these stopgap measures were not enough to compensate the loss suffered by Afghanistan's economy because of the border closure. As a result of continued resentment against Daoud's autocratic rule, close ties with the Soviet Union and economic downturn, Daoud Khan was forced to resign by the King of Afghanistan, [[Mohammed Zahir Shah]]. Following his resignation, the crisis between Pakistan and Afghanistan was resolved and Pakistan re-opened the trade routes.<ref name="TP" /> After the removal of Daoud Khan, the King installed a new prime minister and started creating a balance in Afghanistan's relation with the West and the Soviet Union,<ref name="TP" /> which angered the Soviet Union.<ref name="unhappy">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=y20MTE0C9kwC |title=A Brief History of Afghanistan|publisher=Infobase Publishing, 2007|pages=129, 132–133 |last1=Wahab|first1=Shaista|last2=Youngerman|first2=Barry|isbn=978-1-4381-0819-3|year=2007}}</ref>