Pakistan-Taliban bilateral relations turning hostile over Durand Line, TTP
Feb 10, 2022
Washington [US], February 10 : Bilateral relations between Pakistan and Taliban are turning hostile over the issue of Durand Line and cross-border "terror activities" of groups like the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) against Islamabad.
The Washington-based group Global Strat View said that there are signs of growing uneasiness among the Afghan population and the interim Taliban cabinet over Pakistan's high-handedness.
The TTP claimed responsibility for a recent attack launched from Afghanistan, which killed five Pakistani soldiers. Pakistan's National Security Advisor, Moeed Yusuf, warned the Taliban government that Islamabad would strike inside Afghanistan unless the TTP stops cross-border attacks.
Moreover, the Taliban has not accepted the Durand Line as the 'official' boundary between Afghanistan and Pakistan. There have been frequent skirmishes between Taliban and Pak security forces along the border after the fall of Kabul in August 2021.
Pakistan has tried to downplay border altercations as "local-level issues." However, the Taliban defence ministry spokesman Enayatullah Khwarazmi stated that the Taliban forces had stopped the Pakistani military from erecting an "illegal" border fence along with the eastern Nangarhar province in Afghanistan, reported Global Strat View.
Several videos of the local Taliban commanders threatening Pakistani border forces have surfaced on social media websites, questioning Islamabad's attempts to downplay the matter.
Although Pakistan continues to back its proxy ally in Afghanistan, the Taliban's military takeover and subsequent diplomatic and economic isolation have led to some perceiving it as a burden rather than an asset for Islamabad in the long term.
With the inability of Islamabad to convince the other nations to recognize the Taliban regime and lift sanctions, frustration is also mounting in Kabul over Pakistan's convening power, reported Global Strat View.
Pakistan fears that the Taliban's inaction against anti-Pakistan militants in Afghanistan could prove fatal to the country's internal security and may also fuel the fire to secessionist sentiments among the Pashtun population.
Meanwhile, all the unresolved issues such as the border fencing, reconciliation process with TTP, and alleged cross-border terror attacks against Pakistan is negatively impacting the relationship between Pakistan and Afghanistan.
