Pakistan and the Afghan Taliban are currently fierce adversaries, celebrating each other's military losses. Afghan Taliban supporters, TTP, are seizing Pakistani army posts, while Pakistan's military retreats. How did the Afghan Taliban, once aided by Pakistan's ISI in its war against America, become a sworn enemy of Pakistan?
Despite losing every war, Pakistani generals paraded their medals. However, it is the TTP, the terrorist group, ridiculing their efforts. In Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, TTP fighters celebrate on what is now their turf. The proud Pakistani army's base at Salarzai in Bajaur has been disgraced by having the TTP's flag raised high, casting a humiliating shadow over Pakistan's sprawling military.
The TTP is a Pakistani extremist group that fought alongside the Afghan Taliban to expel American forces from Afghanistan for years, with ongoing support from the Pakistani army. However, the TTP has now turned into a perilous threat to them. On December 28, the Afghan Taliban launched heavy attacks on Pakistani border areas. Collaborating with TTP, they reportedly killed 19 Pakistani soldiers. The strike shook Pakistan's government, with spokeswoman Mumtaz Zahra Baloch admitting the years of Taliban support had backfired into a crisis.
Pakistan Provokes Afghan Taliban with December 24 Airstrike
The December 24 airstrike incensed Afghan Taliban when Pakistan targeted Afghanistan, killing mostly women and children in their reports. The Taliban foreign minister reminded Pakistan of the dire consequences earlier suffered by the British, Soviets, and Americans for such aggressions.
Afghan Taliban Avenges Pakistani Airstrike
On December 28, the Afghan Taliban retaliated against the Pakistani airstrike. Afghan soldiers returning from the attack received heroes’ welcomes back home. The jubilant celebrations spread across the region. Little did Pakistan anticipate that their former allies would one day celebrate the deaths of its soldiers. The Afghan Taliban also refused to act against TTP on their land, further vexing Pakistan. Earlier retaliations saw Pakistani missions like the TTP-led attack resulting in the losses of their own personnel and igniting the order for the airstrike—a move now thoroughly reevaluated with Taliban troops massing along the border.
How Relations Reached the Brink of War
A stretch of 2,640 kilometers marks the Afghanistan-Pakistan border, known as the Durand Line—established in 1893 under a British-Afghan agreement. Yet, the Taliban refuse its legitimacy, considering it merely imaginary, leading to recurrent clashes. The presence of U.S. forces in Afghanistan had previously muted such tensions. During that era, Pakistan provided crucial support to the Afghan Taliban. Yet, how did these relations sour to a state of warfare? The story unfolds from September 2021. Faiz Hameed, then Chief of ISI, traveled to Kabul to celebrate a presumed Pakistani triumph following America's withdrawal after two decades. Seen savoring tea in a five-star Kabul hotel, Hameed assured foreign journalists of a prosperous era. Pakistan, naive in their aspirations, anticipated steering Afghan Taliban at their discretion. But the indomitable Afghan spirit that never embraced subjugation found it impossible to bow down to Pakistan.
Afghanistan's Unyielding Stance Towards Pakistan
By February 2023, amid deteriorating circumstances, ISI Chief Nadeem Anjum and Pakistan’s Defense Minister Khwaja Asif visited Kabul, only to be bluntly dismissed. Afghanistan declared they would no longer heed Pakistan, a bitter pill for the generals of Rawalpindi. Conversely, India took a considerate stance towards the Taliban. In 2022, Indian Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar affirmed Afghanistan's right to self-determination. While India dispatched essential wheat, medicines, and other aid to the Afghan Taliban, the relationship between the Pakistani military, Afghan Taliban, and TTP deteriorated further.
