In order to understand the recent happenings between Pakistan and Afghanistan as well as the very root of their relationship, it is mandatory to take a look and their past history, in fact, in the 1890s, the British drew a frontier between Afghanistan and their Indian Empire which came to be known as the Durand Line, keep in mind that this border was drawn purely for British strategic reasons, but it happened to cut through the middle of the Pashtun ethnicity, and Afghanistan, a state founded by Pashtuns in the mid-18th century, which has never accepted this border.
As soon as the British rule ended in 1947 the Afghan government refused to recognize Pakistani independence unless Pakistan tore up the Durand Line and handed its Pashtun territories to Afghanistan, which not surprisingly Pakistan wasn’t willing to do, as a result, a succession of Afghan governments continued to refuse to recognize the Durand Line as a legal frontier, to cut it short, for almost 70 years Pakistan tried either to influence or to weaken Afghanistan through a combination of economic pressure and inducements with support for rebellions within Afghanistan, and this is another reason why Pakistani supported the Afghan mujahedin against the Afghan communist state and its Soviet backers. In recent years, a common enemy of Pakistan, the Afghan Taliban, and the other main regional states appeared: ISIS, therefore Pakistan hopes that a regional coalition made by, China, Russia, and Iran will provide the needed support to the Taliban against ISIS ensuring that the Taliban themselves do not back international extremism, including an Islamist revolt in Pakistan.
That is why, as the Taliban swept across Afghanistan, Pakistan saw it as a reason to celebrate, Khan himself made a curious remark, he seemed to point to the fundamentalist Taliban as an exemplar of a kind of empowering authenticity but for the time being, in spite of this, Khan’s government has refrained from recognizing the new Taliban overlords as the legitimate government in Kabul.
The international reaction was immediate, from EU leaders to the US, there are calls for tougher international action on Pakistan. “Without Pakistan’s intelligence and military establishment’s unstinting support for the Taliban, the group would be a nuisance rather than an effective fighting force,” was written in Foreign Policy this week, it appears that western frustrations with the Pakistani connection to the Afghan Taliban may only intensify in coming weeks.
Accordingly, The United States is unlikely to soon forgive Pakistan for its decades-long enabling of the Taliban as the fact that hashtag #SanctionPakistan lit up the Twittersphere shows, as a matter of fact, without Pakistan’s shelter and support the Talibans might not be marching through the streets of Kabul right now.
Furthermore, it is imperative for Pakistan to have a Pakistan-friendly government established in Afghanistan due to India’s good relationship with former Afghan President Ashraf Ghani’s, in truth, a Taliban government could help Pakistan counter India, including by providing a haven for anti-India jihadi groups.
Pakistan is playing a risky game in supporting the Taliban but it has a precise goal, to contain Pashtun nationalism and counter India by having a Pakistan-friendly government in Afghanistan, moreover, if Afghanistan once again descends into civil war, Pakistan will have to cope with another huge flow of refugees.
Finally, Pakistan could jeopardize its relationship with China if Afghanistan becomes a haven for Muslim separatists, including disaffected Uyghurs from Xinjiang.
To complicate matters further, the Taliban maintain close ties with the Tehrik-e-Taliban (TTP), sometimes referred to as the Pakistani Taliban, eventually, the Pakistani government and the armed militant group have agreed to a one-month ceasefire while negotiations get underway to end years of bloodshed, just for reference, the US State Department designates the TTP as a “foreign terrorist organization.” therefore, blaming Pakistan for the supposed support of the Taliban, a useful tool to shift the burden of responsibility away from the colossal governance blunders of the Afghan government, but as Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan stated “the country that is going to be most affected by turmoil in Afghanistan is Pakistan”, so there is still space for a negotiated political settlement for long-term peace.
In addition, Pakistan’s Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry announced Monday a “complete ceasefire” was agreed, the announcement came with a senior AfghanTaliban delegation, led by Afghanistan Foreign Minister Mawlawi Amir Khan Muttaqi, which will travel to Pakistan on Wednesday, marking the first time an Afghan Taliban delegation will enter Pakistan as a government representative since the group took control of the country in August.
References:
Pakistani TTP ends ceasefire, future of peace talks is uncertain, available at:
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/12/10/pakistan-taliban-ceasefire-peace-talks-ttp
Pakistan’s support for the Taliban: What to know, available at:
https://www.cfr.org/article/pakistans-support-taliban-what-know
Pakistan and the Taliban’s relationship spans decades, available at:
What Pakistan stands to gain from the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, available at:
https://time.com/6091251/afghanistan-taliban-takeover-pakistan/
Pakistan government and local Taliban agree to complete ceasefire, available at:
https://edition.cnn.com/2021/11/09/asia/pakistan-taliban-government-ceasefire-intl-hnk/index.html
Taliban’s interior minister reportedly brokers temporary peace deal between Pakistan and TTp, available at:
Pakistan’s hand in the Taliban’s victory, available at:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2021/08/18/pakistan-hand-taliban-victory/
Is Pakistan fuelling a Taliban takeover, available at:
https://www.lowyinstitute.org/the-interpreter/pakistan-fuelling-taliban-takeover
By Gaia Gambaro : The European Institute for International Law and International Relations.
