Pakistan Seeks Influence in Afghanistan Through Taliban: Khattak

The Taliban have so far not commented about the place of Baradar’s meeting with wounded members of the group.

Afrasiab Khattak, a former Pakistani senator and analyst of regional affairs, says Pakistan pursues its interests in Afghanistan through the Taliban and that the group’s approach towards the peace process has remained unchanged as it still favors violence in the country.

“They want dominance in Afghanistan under the pretext of strategic depth and they have pursued this policy. They see the Taliban as a tool for themselves,” Khattak said in an interview with TOLOnews this week.

“We can say that their (the Taliban’s) approach has changed if they stop violence and say that they will feel the people’s pain,” Khattak said.

When asked about the purpose of the establishment of the Pashtun Tahaffuz Movement, Khattak said the movement emerged because of the political repression that the Pakistani government imposed on Pashtuns.

This comes as the Taliban deputy political leader Abdul Ghani Baradar visited Pakistan last week shortly after the peace negotiators paused their talks for 23 days two hold consultations with their leaders about issues around the next round of talks that are expected to begin on Jan. 5, 2021.

A video released on social media showed Baradar among a group of people, apparently the Taliban members, in Karachi, Pakistan, where he said that all decisions about the peace process are being finalized in consultation with the Taliban’s leadership and the Taliban’s cleric council in Pakistan.

Baradar said the Taliban’s leadership exists in Pakistan.

The Taliban have so far not commented about the place of Baradar’s meeting with wounded members of the group.

The Afghan Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Friday reacted to Baradar’s video in Pakistan and said the presence of the Taliban leaders and their fighters in Pakistan is a “clear violation of Afghanistan’s national sovereignty,”

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a statement said the presence of the Taliban leaders and their members will continue the ongoing crisis and instability in the region and it will challenge the efforts to ensure lasting peace in Afghanistan.

The ministry called on Pakistan to prevent insurgents from using its territory against Afghanistan, adding that closing the safe havens of insurgents and terrorists is pivotal for a peaceful end to the crisis in Afghanistan.

“In the view of an increase in violence, the Taliban does not have any intention for peace. They are still abiding by their old ideology,” said political analyst Sayed Ali Reza Mahmoudi.

“This will be a good point if we talk about positive things so that our country is rebuilt and to resolve the issues we face today,” said Sayed Akbar Agha, a former Taliban commander.