January 06, 2023

Pakistan’s tacit endorsement of the Taliban is backfiring

topic:	Political violence
located:	Afghanistan, Pakistan
editor:	Shadi Khan Saif

Once a close ally of the Taliban, Pakistan is now a leading critic of the group after it has become the target of the terrorism that has swept through its neighbouring country. Following a recent series of attacks tied to the Pakistani Taliban (TTP), Pakistan’s National Security Council convened a high-profile meeting and issued a statement warning that there will be “zero tolerance for terrorism in Pakistan” and that militants will be dealt with using the “full force of the state.”

Responding to this, the Taliban in Kabul issued a counter-statement urging Pakistan to avoid “baseless and provocative statements” about terrorists operating from Afghanistan.

Within a year of the Taliban rule in Kabul, the array of Islamist groups operating in Pakistan have ramped up their mission to take power and have committed armed attacks on the country’s overstretched military. These back-to-back deadly assaults have understandably puzzled the ruling elite in Islamabad that wished and hoped to keep the militants engaged elsewhere in the region - certainly not inside Pakistan.

Without being cynical, history is testimony to the fact that this dual policy of endorsing hatred and fundamentalism in Afghanistan and in other countries of the region has culminated in repercussions for Pakistan on a number of occasions. Ironically, there seems to be no reflexive understanding of the phenomenon among Pakistan’s civil and military elite, or perhaps there is an ignorance of the lives and property lost to this terrorism in the past.

Now, as Pakistan’s powerful army points its finger at the Taliban in Kabul for allegedly harbouring the TTP,  multiple deadly assaults, allegedly by the group, have been carried out  inside Pakistan. The agenda of such attacks and allegations are unclear, since the TTP was in close consultation with the Pakistani army for peace negotiations hosted by the Taliban in Kabul.   

Terrorism anywhere is absolutely unacceptable in all forms - instead of espousing this opinion, the Pakistani ruling elite has placed itself in a tricky situation since its support for the Taliban is now backfiring. It would only make matters worse if the Pakistani military attempted to address the issue with the use of force, which would only engender more terrorist assaults on its civilians.

Both countries have suffered immensely in the past two decades from this issue. Pakistan’s ruling elite has miserably failed to address the demands of the rapidly growing population while also compromising regional peace for its own strategic interests.

Both countries must learn that the use of force will not lead to any solutions - only further casualties. In clear contrast to the Taliban, Pakistan has a more stable governmental institution in place to promote harmony and peace on the national level, which could prevent terrorist groups from exploiting the regional instability caused by the ruling elite’s oppression of the peoples’ rights.

Photo by Levi Meir Clancy

Call to Action

Defend the safety and human rights of Afghan women and children

Support now