Assalamualaikum - Why mending Pakistan–Taliban ties won’t be easy
Assalamualaikum. A quick take: both sides know continued fighting will hurt them, and they really need a way back to peace, insha’Allah.
When the Taliban returned to Kabul in August 2021, many in Pakistan’s leadership hoped for a friendly neighbour. The idea was simple: a Taliban-led Afghanistan would be less of a security threat and more of an ally. After all, for decades elements inside Pakistan’s military and intelligence had links with the Afghan Taliban.
That long history produced mixed policies. Pakistan officially cooperated with the US-backed Afghan governments after 2001, yet at the same time there was tolerance - even quiet support at times - for a Taliban comeback that was organised partly from inside Pakistani borders. That contradiction has now been exposed, especially after Pakistan’s air force struck targets in Afghanistan this week.
What’s gone wrong isn’t just one violent incident. There’s a gap in expectations and a lack of respect between the two sides that makes reviving their old relationship hard.
Pakistan’s Afghan policy is mainly shaped by the army and the ISI, and the military has a big say in how civilian leaders act on these issues. Since the Taliban took Kabul, Pakistan has seen a sharp rise in deadly attacks inside its borders - thousands of deaths in recent years, with an especially heavy toll in the first three quarters of 2025.
Islamabad blames most of this on the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), whose leaders are now based in Afghanistan. Many TTP fighters come from the tribal belt along the Afghan border. Pakistan had hoped that with a friendly Taliban government in Kabul, TTP leaders would move away - some did return home, but violence did not really drop. The TTP wants local application of Islamic law in the tribal areas and restoration of their former semi-autonomous status, which Pakistan rejects.
So for Pakistan this isn’t just a security headache - it’s a full-blown national crisis layered on top of a weak economy, tensions with India, rising domestic political unrest, and recurring natural disasters.
From the Taliban side, leaders argue the TTP is Pakistan’s problem to solve. In 2022, the Taliban briefly helped mediate talks between the TTP and Pakistan’s army in Kabul, and a short ceasefire followed. But the talks fell apart.
The Taliban government faces its own harsh realities: heavy sanctions, diplomatic isolation, and a collapsing economy and public services. Millions of Afghans are struggling with food shortages and failing health and education systems. A prolonged fight with Pakistan will only make things worse for ordinary Afghan families.
Right now both sides seem dug in. Even after temporary ceasefires, neither wants to appear weak by backing down. Pakistani officials have started calling the Taliban a “regime” and demand a more inclusive government in Kabul, warning they will act if the Taliban won’t curb the TTP. Pakistan also feels it has the stronger military hand and believes its past support for millions of Afghan refugees should count for goodwill.
The Taliban, for their part, see themselves as triumphant fighters and are unlikely to accept heavy pressure from a neighbour. Their leaders have pushed back on Pakistani accusations, and there’s now an information battle on both sides. The Taliban even claim that militants like ISIL/ISKP find shelter in Pakistan’s borderlands, with some elements inside Pakistan giving them space - allegations that raise the stakes further.
Practical issues keep making the situation worse. Afghanistan is landlocked and relies a lot on routes through Pakistan for trade. With crossings closed or tense, traders and ordinary people on both sides lose out. The Taliban also lack modern air-defence systems, radars, or advanced weaponry to deter Pakistani drones or jets.
There are other risks too. The TTP and Taliban share deep ties - ideological, social and organisational - so forcing a clean break between them will be difficult. If the Taliban’s top religious leader were to openly call for action against Pakistan, that could stir unrest inside Pakistan as well, because many religious students and clerics in Pakistan hold him in religious esteem.
Pakistan also sometimes frames its fight with the TTP as part of a larger rivalry with India and has even accused external backing for the TTP, though clear evidence is scarce. Any wide Pakistani military campaign into Afghanistan could strengthen popular support for the Taliban among Afghans, even if many people are already unhappy with Taliban rule.
So what’s the way forward? There’s a real need for honest mediation by trusted Muslim countries - nations like Qatar and Saudi Arabia, which both sides have used before, seem best placed to help. There are signs this can work: Taliban officials have said they paused retaliatory action after Qatar and Saudi mediation in the past.
But mediation only helps if leaders on both sides truly want peace. They must soberly weigh the cost of continued fighting: lives lost, economies broken, and more suffering for families who already have too much to bear.
Geography and history tie Pakistanis and Afghans together; that interdependence should be used as a reason to cooperate, not fight. Pakistani policymakers need a balanced, non-hostile approach to Afghanistan that isn’t driven by India rivalry. Afghan leaders must also work to build better relations with Pakistan.
May Allah guide both countries toward a just and lasting peace, and spare the people more hardship. It won’t be easy, and it won’t happen overnight, but peace brings far better outcomes than another round of war, insha’Allah.
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