Alliance under strain: Pakistan rethinks Taliban ties after attacks
| Islamabad
Relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan have reached a new low this week following an uptick in terror attacks on Pakistani soil.聽
Two separate suicide attacks in the western cities of Hangu and Mastung claimed the lives of at least 60 people on Sept. 29, and prompted a controversial ultimatum: Pakistan鈥檚 caretaker government ordered all unauthorized immigrants, including an estimated 1.7 million Afghans, to leave the country by Nov. 1 or face forced deportation.聽
Central to the deterioration of ties between the governments is the relationship, perceived or real, between the Afghan Taliban and the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), colloquially known as the Pakistani Taliban. The militant offshoot emerged during what became known as the war on terror, which was led by the United States.
Why We Wrote This
A story focused onWhat does it take to make a friend an enemy? Pakistan 鈥� once seen as sympathetic to the Taliban 鈥� is reassessing its relationship with the neighboring regime after a series of terror attacks on its soil.
Pakistan says the TTP is using Afghanistan as a safe haven from which to launch terrorist attacks, an allegation Kabul has consistently denied.聽
Of the roughly two dozen suicide attacks carried out along the Pakistan-Afghan border since January, the majority can be attributed to Afghan citizens, says Sarfaraz Bugti, Pakistan鈥檚 caretaker interior minister.
鈥淭here is no doubt that attacks on us are coming from Afghanistan,鈥� he said at a Tuesday press conference. On Wednesday, Pakistan鈥檚 army said an Afghan sentry had opened fire at the Wesh-Chaman border crossing and killed two Pakistani citizens, including a 12-year-old child.
Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid urged Pakistan to reconsider its ultimatum. In a post on X, formerly Twitter, he called the threat of deportation unacceptable and was adamant that Afghan refugees were 鈥渘ot involved in Pakistan鈥檚 security problems.鈥�
The events represent a sharp break from Pakistan鈥檚 historically sympathetic attitude toward the Taliban, with whom they shared ideological and security interests. For years Pakistan has provided the Taliban much-needed financial and diplomatic support, and during the fall of Kabul, when the Taliban reclaimed power as Western forces retreated, then-Prime Minister Imran Khan said the group was 鈥渂reaking the chains of slavery.鈥�
But what Pakistan regards as Afghanistan鈥檚 failure to crack down on TTP activity has some seeing this relationship in a new light. Not all Pakistanis back the government鈥檚 ultimatum, but many see an urgent need for change.聽
Sayed Zulfikar Bukhari, who serves as an adviser on international affairs in the Tehreek-e-Insaf party, Pakistan鈥檚 largest, argues that the inconsistency of Pakistan鈥檚 policy toward Afghanistan has had a destabilizing effect on the region.聽
鈥淩eally and truly, we need to think about why we鈥檙e meddling in a neighboring country鈥檚 problems,鈥� he says. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think Pakistan has gained anything in terms of having a close relationship with Afghanistan.鈥�
Suspicious alliance
After the collapse of the Soviet-backed administration of Mohammad Najibullah in 1992, Afghanistan became the theater of a long civil war that only ended when the Taliban 鈥� backed by Pakistan鈥檚 powerful Inter-Services Intelligence agency 鈥� took over the country in September 1996. Then, when the Taliban refused to extradite Osama bin Laden after the Sept. 11 attacks, U.S. President George W. Bush authorized a full-fledged military campaign to remove the Taliban from power and pressured Pakistan to become a front-line state in the war on terror.聽聽
In the decades since, Pakistan has often been accused of playing both sides in the war. This infamous 鈥渄ouble game,鈥� as it has been dubbed in the American press, allegedly manifests in Pakistan鈥檚 oscillation between covert support for and military operations against the Taliban leadership. The result, experts say, is an alliance fraught with suspicion.聽
In July, the chief of Pakistan鈥檚 politically powerful army, Gen. Syed Asim Munir, reminded Afghanistan鈥檚 de facto government of its commitment to ensure that its territory would not be used as a base for foreign terror operations. He also promised an 鈥渆ffective response鈥� from Pakistan鈥檚 security forces should such attacks continue on Pakistani soil.
The recent suicide bombings in Mastung and Hangu have exacerbated tensions in what Farzana Shaikh, associate fellow at Chatham House鈥檚 Asia-Pacific program, describes as an already 鈥渦neasy鈥� alliance.
鈥淭he Afghan Taliban, while they have certainly been the beneficiaries of Pakistan鈥檚 patronage, have always deeply resented the view that they are simply creatures of the Pakistani state,鈥� Dr. Shaikh says. 鈥淲hat we find now is a very curious and some would say ironical situation where the Afghan Taliban, through their leverage on the TTP, have come to exercise the kind of control over some areas of Pakistan that would have appeared inconceivable some years ago.鈥�
Tough love
Diplomat Maleeha Lodhi, who served as Pakistan鈥檚 permanent representative to the United Nations from 2015 to 2019, says it鈥檚 not going to be easy for Pakistan to extricate itself from this alliance, partly because the security concerns that initially drew Islamabad to the Taliban have not changed.
鈥淭he Taliban鈥檚 unwillingness to act against the TTP ... has strained Pakistan-Afghan relations, but stabilizing ties with its western neighbor remains a strategic compulsion for Pakistan given its unstable border with India,鈥� she says. 鈥淭he question is what kind of tough-love policy Islamabad is prepared to pursue to persuade the Taliban to respond to its security concerns.鈥�
Experts see the crackdown on unauthorized migrants 鈥� which Mr. Bugti says is not aimed at Afghans, though most migrants in Pakistan are from Afghanistan 鈥� as one way to rattle the saber.
During the Soviet-Afghan war of the 1980s, approximately 6 million Afghan refugees moved to Iran and Pakistan in search of safety. Nearly 2 million more have fled their homeland since the Taliban retook Afghanistan in 2021, with many relocating to Pakistan.聽
Of the 4.4 million Afghans living in Pakistan today, authorities say 2.4 million have refugee status and are free to stay. Beyond ordering unauthorized migrants to voluntarily leave the country in the coming weeks, the Pakistani government has not announced any concrete proposals to repatriate the others. Given the insecurity of the Pakistan-Afghan border, it is not clear if such a policy is even feasible.
Human rights campaigners in Pakistan are cautioning against a knee-jerk reaction from the government.聽
Malaika Raza, the general secretary of the human rights wing of the Pakistan People's Party, argues that the state鈥檚 response toward asylum-seekers should be rooted in compassion.聽
鈥淎s a neighboring Muslim country, Pakistan holds a unique position to understand and empathize with the plight of Afghan refugees,鈥� she says, noting that there are people in Pakistan who have family on both sides of the porous border and could also suffer from escalating tensions.
鈥淚t is not only our moral obligation but also a reflection of our compassionate society to extend our protection and support to these vulnerable individuals,鈥� she adds.
