What is Pakistan doing in Kabul? Explained
Pakistan is campaigning zealously for an “inclusive” government in Afghanistan. From Prime Minister Imran Khan to Foreign Minister Shah Muhammad Qureshi and the always reticent army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa, every Pakistani leader has been pitching for a broad-based government under the auspices of the Taliban, which has taken over a war-ravaged country. Which was nothing more than a bloodless fight.
Still, the Pakistani chorus faces as much skepticism as disbelief. This is mainly because the world has come to see the Taliban and its allies as proxies of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) – the eyes and ears of the Pakistani military in a divided insurgency landscape.
The way the ISI chief has blown up Kabul to bring peace among Taliban groups jockeying for positions in the new system has tarnished the Taliban’s carefully crafted image. This has deprived him of the room he had nurtured in denying ties with Pakistan.
Furthermore, it is seen as a ploy to ensure critical slots for ISI proxies like Haqqani for an inclusive government, both within and outside Pakistan. But the delay in the formation of Kabul’s new power structure has drawn heavyweights like Farhatullah Babar.
The veteran politician from Peshawar said, “Afghanistan’s victors have yet to form a government despite the announcement to make it last Friday. Internal power struggle between Haqqani, Mullah Baradar is likely cause. Haqqani is happy with some visitors to Kabul. should be.” , which is the gateway to Pakistan’s Talibanized tribal area, tweeted on 4 September. The visitor from Kabul he was referring to was ISI chief Lt Gen Faiz Hameed.
Read also | Pak’s ISI chief arrives in Kabul as Taliban struggle to form government acceptable to international community
An Afghan activist, and human rights campaigner, Zarifa Ghafri took a dig at Mullah Baradar himself in a cheeky tweet. “Does Mullah bhai remember (know); he was in a Pakistani jail? And this man (ISI chief) who was received in Kabul today was mainly responsible for it? Does he remember that Pakistani soldier Carrying him in the form of a beast with everyone. Those chains (from) place to place?”
The tweet was loaded all the way. It shows the gap between today and tomorrow in Pakistan-Afghan relations. For those not a beginner in Afghan politics, Ghaffari has survived three assassination attempts. She became the mayor of Maidan City, the capital of Wardak province, in 2019 at a time when there were not many female politicians around. Zarifa was selected as a Woman of International Courage by the US Secretary of State in 2020.
According to “news” circulating in the Afghan capital, the Pakistani embassy is issuing directions from Islamabad/Rawalpindi to Kabul “on an hourly basis”. In so many words, the Pakistani Embassy has become a postman for the leadership of Pakistan and the Taliban.
Hameed’s Air Dash is a clear gift that the remote control has failed to deliver the desired results. Clearly, Gen Bajwa at his in-camera security briefing acknowledged a lot to the lawmakers who were keen to deal with the situation, as per a front-page report on Karachi daily Dawn.
Above all else, the Pakistani objective is to have effective control over Kabul airport and perhaps even Afghan airspace. It is reported that the Turks, a friend of the Taliban, are currently managing the Kabul airport. But this is not considered sufficient by Pakistan which wants to investigate the fleeing foreign nationals as it would open the possibility of harassing among others Indian nationals who are still in Afghanistan.
It is unclear what Pakistan means by “border management” – one of the agenda items on Hameed’s visit to Kabul. Afghanistan and Pakistan have an almost open border that has existed for decades. But there is also a long-running border dispute between the two Islamic “brothers”.
Taliban 1.0 did not accept the boundary of the Durand Line drawn by the British, which is seen as an obstacle to the movement of Pashtuns on both sides of the border. Taliban 2.0 sticks to the same for the relief of Afghans. The Taliban are Pashtun, although they are not known to follow the Pashtun code of conduct.
From media reports, it is clear that Pakistan is directing the Taliban on how it should deal with “pending requests” to evacuate foreign nationals. It is almost certain that these “requests” pertain to citizens of the countries of the West, and perhaps Indians. Since the Kabul airport is not fully operational, the evacuation will have to be done through Pakistan.
This is what is enabling Pakistan to achieve its Kabul proxy big dreams of achieving global recognition. Islamabad may pressure affected countries to legitimize Taliban 2.0, becoming a key factor in the departure of foreign nationals trapped amid the chaos in Kabul.
Clearly, Western countries would not welcome the idea of recognizing the new Afghan regime only on the recommendation of Pakistan. The 1.0 recognition for the Taliban came from only three countries. And now by letting their embassies in Kabul operate, Russia and China may have signaled their tacit recognition, but the rest of the world is in wait-and-watch mode. It is waiting to be seen if Taliban 2.0 resists being chained up by a neighbor who made such a ruckus at American “fetters” in Afghanistan!
Read also | Taliban again postpones formation of Afghan government, second time after capturing Kabul
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