To understand the interesting relationship between the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), also known as Pakistani Taliban, and the Afghan Taliban, one must peep into history to see how the linkages developed and why the Afghan Taliban are not responding in equal measure to Pakistan’s repeated appeals to take conclusive action against the TTP. Pakistan regards the TTP as a retrograde armed […]

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has urged the world to rally behind Afghanistan’s nascent Taliban government for preserving the progress made by the war-ravaged country over the past two decades and preventing it from turning into a safe haven for terrorists. Speaking at the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly via video link, Mr Khan said: “There is […]

Be realistic. Show patience. Engage. And above all, don’t isolate. Those are the pillars of an approach emerging in Pakistan to deal with the fledgling government that is suddenly running the country next door once again — Afghanistan’s resurgent, often-volatile Taliban. Pakistan’s government is proposing that the international community develop a road map that leads to diplomatic recognition of the […]

As the dust settles on the Taliban’s reconquest of Afghanistan, regional neighbors are adjusting their policies to take the new geostrategic reality into account. Among these countries are the self-proclaimed “iron brothers”—China and Pakistan. The good news for Beijing and Islamabad is that their respective policies on Taliban-run Afghanistan broadly align. But one particularly touchy and important area of policy—countering […]

Hundreds of trucks lined the winding, mountainous road leading to Torkhum, the Pakistan-Afghan border crossing on Thursday. Pakistani officials say that is because exports to Afghanistan have dwindled in the days after the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) take over. But some truck drivers were upbeat because they said the vegetable and fruit season in Afghanistan had helped increase exports […]

Pakistan’s Inter-Services Public Relations director general, Major General Babar Iftikhar said Islamabad is satisfied with the assurances by the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) that they will not allow any group to use Afghan territory to carry out terrorist activities against any country, including Pakistan. In an interview with Urdu News, Iftikhar said: “The Taliban (IEA) have reiterated on several […]

Pakistan or any other country has no right to ask the Taliban for establishing an ‘inclusive’ government in Afghanistan, the movement says. Last week, Prime Minister Imran Khan tweeted he had launched talks with the Taliban on the creation of a broad-based government, On Monday, a Pakistani newspaper quoted Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid as saying he was collecting information about […]

Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan said the best way forward for peace and stability in Afghanistan is to engage with the Islamic Emirate and “incentivize” them on issues such as women’s rights and inclusive government. Speaking to CNN from Islamabad on Wednesday, Khan spoke about enduring what he perceived as a “terrible” relationship with the United States that has been […]

A number of people have reacted to a report in a Pakistani newspaper that said business deals in Afghanistan should be based on Pakistani rupees, stressing that no one should use the Pakistani currency and those using it should be punished. Daily Jang, a Pakistani newspaper in a report quoted the country’s finance minister, ShawkatTareen as saying that Afghanistan faced […]

Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Wednesday night in response to the Taliban’s announcement of an interim government that Islamabad hopes the new political dispensation will ensure coordinated efforts for peace, security and stability in Afghanistan. According to a statement issued by the ministry, a foreign affairs spokesman said: “We continue to closely follow the evolving situation in Afghanistan.” “We […]