Pakistan has ditched the Taliban by reversing its stand from seeking recognition from the international community in favour of the ruling regime in Afghanistan to claiming that the world’s patience has run out for it.
Post the takeover of Afghanistan by Taliban in August last year, Pakistan had then asserted that it will seek international recognition for the new regime in Kabul. Following this, the Taliban has been seeking help from Pakistan for winning international recognition for its regime in Kabul.
But Pakistan is staring at an existential crisis and is not in a position to extend help to the Taliban. This led Islamabad to change its stand and assert that it will recognise only if the world community recognises the Taliban. “Pakistan’s reversal of stand on the issue of garnering support to the Taliban in seeking recognition from the global community is tantamount to a diplomatic volte-face,” a counter-terrorism and geopolitical analyst said.
The ties between the Taliban and the Pakistan army have also soured during the last over one year in the wake of claims and counter-claims along the Durand Line which is not recognized by the Taliban. However, Pakistan has been seeking to encroach the areas till the Durand Line which it claims as the boundary between the two countries.
Reports have suggested there have been bloody skirmishes between the two sides with Taliban even fatally firing at the Pakistan army personnel.
Besides this, the Afghans settled in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa region face humiliation at the hands of the Pakistan army personnel who man border gates at unsettled border between two countries.
Some agitated Afghans seeking to cross over through the border gates have even resorted to killing Pakistan army personnel. However, in a face saving measure, the Pakistan army has not confirmed such developments.
For record, Pakistan has said it will not recognize the Taliban government without a consensus on issue globally. On November 18, Pakistan Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said at a Press conference in Islamabad, "As far as recognizing them [Taliban] is concerned, Pakistan does not want to act alone and prefers this process (of consultation) and follow international consensus."
In a balancing act, Zardari, however, emphasized that Pak government backs sustained international engagement with Taliban to help prevent a humanitarian disaster in Afghanistan.
Zardari also exhorted Taliban to fulfill its commitments to Afghans and world to fight international terrorism and respect human rights of all Afghans, including grant of access to education to women.