Grabbing of power by the Taliban in Afghanistan may have brought a sense of gratification to the powerful army-intelligence nexus of Pakistan but it has created rippling effects for which Islamabad might be ill-prepared as it has also damaged the latter’s relationship with the West emerging as a Frankenstein which will turn on its creator sooner than later.
The Afghan interim regime has offered a sense of immediate comfort and satisfaction to Pakistan, It must be mentioned here that the current government led by the Taliban is populated with individuals (and entities) that are known to have the explicit backing of the Pakistani deep state, The Jakarta Post reported.
According to a report published by the International Crisis Group, “the Taliban, in fact, at least initially appeared in some ways to be dictating Pakistan’s policy choices – forcing Islamabad to concede to at least some demands on cross-border movement and pressuring it to reach a negotiated settlement with the Pakistani Taliban”.
However, the Taliban’s return to power has not proven to be drastically different from its previous avatar, especially in terms of the policies and practices it follows.
The enforced regulations on women to dress a certain way and the ban on schooling for young girls are heavily criticized by international communities.
“What we are witnessing today in Afghanistan is a crisis of catastrophic proportions. Everyone in the country is affected by the current crises, but the situation for women and girls is particularly concerning as their rights and access to opportunities have become increasingly challenged,” said Deborah Lyons, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative (SRSG) for Afghanistan, in a statement earlier.
The Taliban’s ascent has thrown up challenges for Pakistan, including the potential of further damaging the latter’s relationship with the West, claimed a report by the International Crisis Group, 2022.
The Haqqani Network, for instance, is understood to be a critical middleman within the larger movement of the Taliban, which works to keep the balance in favor of Pakistani interests. It comes as no surprise then that the leader of the network, Sirajuddin Haqqani, has made his way into the Taliban’s government as the minister of interior. The Jakarta Post reported.
Moreover, the Taliban’s return to power as an Islamist force is expected to have dangerous spill-over effects that Pakistan can ill-afford.
Dealing with a constitutional crisis of its own, the Pakistani deep state now finds itself at the crossroads of a geopolitical crisis as Pakistan and Afghanistan didn’t have peaceful and development-oriented collaboration previously as well.
Pakistan recently carried out the airstrikes in Eastern Afghanistan which has killed several civilians including women and children.
Taliban took control of Afghanistan in August after the US-backed democratically elected collapsed. Since then, the Taliban have imposed restrictions on women and girls, banning most of the former from working.