Taliban lesson for Islamabad

The air strikes carried out by Pakistan within Afghanistan reflect the unprecedented strains between the security establishment in Rawalpindi and the Taliban regime in Kabul. Pakistan said its combat jets struck four locations, allegedly camps of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) in Pak­tika province, though the Taliban said most of the dead and wounded were women and children. Tuesday’s strikes, which killed at least 46 people, have been described by the Taliban as a challenge to Afghanistan’s sovereignty. The Taliban’s foreign ministry summoned a senior Pakistani diplomat to protest the attacks, carried out at a time when Pakistan’s special envoy for Afghanistan was visiting Kabul to resume diplomatic interactions halted a year ago — over the same reason, terrorism.

When the Taliban took over Afghanistan just three years ago, some in Pakistan’s political circles openly celebrated, and then premier Imran Khan claimed that the Afghan people had “broken the shackles of slavery”. But things soon went south, with the Taliban apparently intent on striking an independent path and moving away from an image of being overly dependent on Pakistan’s military, which has supported the group for decades. A visible manifestation of this shift was the Taliban’s refusal to crack down on the TTP, which renewed its operations in northwest Pakistan after being emboldened by the changes in Kabul. For members of Pakistan’s military establishment, which pushed the doctrine of “strategic depth” in Afghanistan for several decades as a counterbalance to India, this was the ultimate comeuppance. Afghanistan and Pakistan have a disputed border that has witnessed clashes in recent years. However, this round of tensions is focused more on the Taliban and its strategies — Pakistan claims the TTP benefits from safe havens provided by the Afghan Taliban.

The lesson here is simple: Fundamentalism bites back. The Taliban were raised by Pakistani politicians and generals as an instrument to destabilise Afghanistan. This spawned an ecosystem of fundamentalism and terror that has since engulfed Pakistan and threatened to destabilise parts of South Asia. With the Taliban seeking to build ties with other countries, including India, the latest developments can trigger more violence. Both sides need to step back. For Pakistan, this is a moment to reflect on its record of nurturing militants and course correct, while the Taliban need to deliver on their commitments to root out terror groups from Afghan soil.

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