Unprecedented tension between Taliban and Pakistan

Tensions between the Afghan Taliban and Pakistani officials have heightened after the recent attack in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province that left 23 Pakistani soldiers dead. The attack involved suicide bombings from Afghanistan, targeted Pakistani forces in Dera Ismail Khan neighborhood of PK.

Soon after the attack, the Tehreek-e-Jihad Pakistan, TJP, a group reportedly known as prominent branch of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) had claimed responsibility for the attack, a statement caused anger among the Pakistani officials and called on the Afghan Taliban to stop harboring these groups inside their country.

Though, the Taliban has often claimed that they will not let any group to use Afghanistan soil against any other countries, but this narrative flattens when Qari Shakir, a resident of the Musa Qala district of Helmand province and member of the Afghan Taliban carried out suicide bombing. The bomber Shakir also appeared in a video clip, openly admitting to do suicide bombing.

This was when the Pakistani foreign ministry didn’t bear this open statement by an Afghan Taliban bomber and immediately summoned the Taliban ambassador in Islamabad. In the behind the door meeting, Pakistani authorities asked the ambassador to take action against the TTP group in Afghanistan and arrested their leaders.

A Pakistani soldier at the bombing site that killed his 23 comrades in the bombing. (AP)

In response, the Taliban have said they detained 13 members of the TTP. However, the arrest exposed the lie of the Taliban about TTP members that are not inside Afghanistan. If the TTP fighters are not in Afghanistan, who are the 13 TTP members? Pakistan asked Talian to hand these militants to them and also asked Taliban to strongly condemn the incident and launch a thorough investigation in the bombing.

Pakistan should stop blaming others for its own failure

Khawaja Muhammad Asif, Pakistan’s former defense minister had called Afghanistan as the origin of the terrorism. Asif said in response to the Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid, who said that “attributing every issue to another country is not a solution.” Mujahid had directly said that Pakistan should look after its internal affairs and don’t blame other countries for their own failure.

Meanwhile, John Achakzai, minister of information of Balochistan State, also labeled Afghanistan a “terrorism place” and suggested Washington carry drone attacks to target Islamic State (IS) militants and al-Qaeda members inside Afghanistan.

This was while General Asim Munir, the Chief of Staff of the Pakistan Army had visited the US and held talks with Lloyd Austin, US Defense Minister, and US officials.

Taliban not taking Pakistan seriously

A very simple question is why the Taliban is not paying heed to Pakistan’s request to start a crackdown against TTP. The first thing that we get is maybe the Taliban wants something in return. What that could be. Anything special. The critical issue for the Taliban is their recognition. So far, no country, including Pakistan which is very close to the Taliban, did not recognize their regime. This could be the first thing that the Taliban are up to.

Taliban somehow wants Pakistan to officially recognize their government and then the Taliban will launch an operation against TTP. This could be one scenario that the Taliban are not willing to take any action against the TTP. Honestly, the Taliban are right in their wish. Islamabad has been a prominent Taliban supporter and now Islamabad is not recognizing them. This is really hurtful to have such a dual policy from a friend.

Pakistan yet to recognize Taliban government while it did in 1996  

It is a logical question from the Taliban side as to why Pakistan is not recognizing their government while Islamabad had recognized their Emirate between 1996-2001, followed by two other countries, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Why this time Pakistan is not willing for a unilateral recognition of the Taliban. Though a number of its officials in international platforms are lobbying for the Taliban, that is not enough.

Taliban is smart and has been playing games with Pakistan by using the TTP as a tool. Taliban knows that if Pakistan officially recognized their government, it would make the way easy for other countries to follow Islamabad’s footstep.

Taliban not happy over Pakistan-US ties

Meanwhile, the Taliban has a lot of observations over Pakistan and US ties. The Taliban believes that Pakistan will help US anything Washington wants and even if it’s against the Taliban current government. It has been alleged that Pakistan has provided its airspace to the US. The allegation was turned right when a US drone strike killed Ayman al-Zawahiri, the leader of al-Qaeda in downtown Kabul, the Afghan capital city. The Taliban Defense Minister, Mullah Yaqoob Mujahid had said that US drones are violating Afghanistan’s airspace through Pakistan. He also called the airstrike a clear violation of Doha agreement between Taliban and US. Another Taliban official, Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai, Taliban Political Deputy of Foreign Affairs also accused Pakistan of receiving millions of dollars in exchange for the US using its airspace.

Taliban rage over expulsion of Afghan refugees from Pakistan

Pakistani authorities have unexpectedly decided to deport millions of Afghan refugees, including those who were born in Pakistan and lived there for decades. The Taliban had repeatedly called on Islamabad to stop the process of deportation, but it fell down to the deaf ears. The mass deportation caused the Taliban to further support the TTP instead of working Islamabad against the group.

Refugees arrive in trucks at the Pakistan-Afghanistan crossing point.

This was out of expectation for Islamabad and that’s why its interim Prime Minister had said that Pakatan’s interest is first and said that deportation of Afghan refugees will be continued.

Islamabad has been trying to use refugees as a tool against the Taliban while Taliban using TTP, but between them the poor Afghan refugees are the victims.

Apparently, Pakistan has only one serious issue with the Taliban – the harboring of the TTP leadership and fighters. Pakistan has never opposed the Taliban Emirate, even when the Talian stop girls from schools and women from workplaces. Islamabad called this restriction as an internal matter of Afghanistan and said they will not interfere in this regard. When the entered Kabul in 15 August 2021, following the withdrawal of US troops, Pakistan ex-spy chief visited Kabul and was very happy.

Pakistan’s chief of army’s flop US trip

Frustrating from the Taliban, the Pakistan Army Chief Asim Munir visited US in order to explain the situation and encourage Washington to convince the Taliban to arrested TTP leaders. Munir will also call for a military campaign against TTP members and also try to justify the deportation of Afghan refugees. The Pakistani general knows that the Taliban still receives financial support from the US and Washington could play an important role in this area.

But this is not an easy decision because the Taliban will oppose them, and the US is also very careful with the Taliban. The regional countries have been maintaining good ties with the Taliban and the US doesn’t want to spoil its relation with Kabul at any condition. Seemingly, Munir’s visit to the US would be a big flop.