The death of Lali Mama Nurzai and the waning grip of Pakistan’s ISI

The mysterious elimination of Haji Lali Mama Nurzai, longtime operative of Pakistan’s Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) and architect of jihadist training networks, marks more than the end of a single militant’s career. It is a symbol of Pakistan’s shrinking influence over Afghanistan, and of the Taliban’s deliberate pivot toward a pragmatic foreign policy that increasingly sidelines Islamabad in favor of broader international engagement, particularly with India.

Pakistan’s use of proxies and the end of an era

For decades, Pakistan’s intelligence services cultivated figures like Nurzai to sustain proxy wars in Kashmir and Afghanistan. He was instrumental in building suicide training camps, madrassas, and guerrilla networks that served ISI’s strategic objectives. Yet his death, officially attributed to a heart attack but widely understood as a covert operation, reveals the ruthless recalibration underway inside Pakistan’s intelligence community: former assets who grow too close to Kabul are expendable.

The Taliban’s pragmatic turn

Since their return to power in 2021, the Taliban have sought to shed the image of being Pakistan’s client. Ministers in Kabul now emphasize diplomacy, legitimacy, and international recognition. Their outreach to India, once unthinkable is emblematic of this shift. By engaging New Delhi, the Taliban signal that they are no longer bound to Pakistan’s narrative of perpetual hostility toward India. Instead, they present themselves as pragmatic intermediaries, capable of dialogue and partnership beyond Islamabad’s orbit.

This recalibration undermines Pakistan’s leverage. ISI may still hold files on Taliban leaders’ properties, finances, and personal scandals, but Kabul’s ministers increasingly view such coercion as outdated. Nurzai’s attempt to secure protection from the Taliban government, offering to mobilize his networks against Pakistan, underscores how tribal power brokers now see Afghanistan, not Pakistan, as the safer sanctuary and more promising political partner.

India’s emerging narrative

India has long argued that Pakistan’s reliance on jihadist proxies destabilizes the region. The Nurzai case validates this narrative: Pakistan nurtured him for years, only to eliminate him when his loyalties shifted. Meanwhile, the Taliban’s willingness to engage India demonstrates that New Delhi’s consistent emphasis on diplomacy, development, and regional stability is gaining traction, even among former adversaries.

For India, this is an opportunity to expand influence in Afghanistan through pragmatic partnerships, infrastructure investment, and diplomatic recognition. By contrast, Pakistan’s narrative of control through coercion and proxy warfare appears increasingly hollow.

Conclusion

The death of Lali Mama Nurzai is not just the silencing of a militant operative, it is the silencing of Pakistan’s claim to permanent dominance over Afghanistan’s future. As the Taliban chart a new course, their engagement with India reflects a broader realignment in South Asia. Pakistan’s intelligence networks may continue their shadow games, but the strategic tide is turning toward pragmatism, diplomacy, and India’s vision of regional stability.

Ajmal Sohail is a graduate in terrorism and extremism studies from both Leiden University in the Netherlands and Maryland University in the United States. He works in the meantime as an intelligence analyst and Counter-terrorism expert. He is the co-founder and co-president of the Counter Narco-Terrorism Alliance Germany, directing its intelligence and counter-terrorism portfolios.