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Rising tensions along the Durand Line, as well as the Afghan Taliban’s backing for the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), have reportedly caused rifts in the Afghan Taliban’s Pakistani alliance. According to media sources, Afghanistan’s Taliban dictatorship successfully downsized its representation at the recent Organization of Islamic Countries (OIC) conference in Islamabad by sending only a foreign ministry official. Initially, their acting foreign minister, Amir Khan Muttaqi, was scheduled to attend the conference.
The exchange of fire between Taliban militants and Pakistani border guards at various points along the Durand Line in Chaman and Spin Boldak districts, according to a storey in the European Times, comes at a time when tensions along the Durand Line have been on the increase.
The Taliban refuses to accept the Durand Line as the official border between Afghanistan and Pakistan, which was established by the British during World War II.
Taliban troops are said to have recently stationed artillery units in the Kunar region of Afghanistan’s Asmar and Nari areas, apparently to counter Pakistani border forces.
The Afghan Taliban’s backing for the TTP, which has resulted in the terror group’s revival in Pakistan, has also contributed to the deterioration of ties.
Two Pakistani soldiers were killed only two days ago in border confrontations with the TTP in the Khyber Pakhtunwala province, according to the report.
Meanwhile, since the Taliban took control of Kabul in August of last year, the frequency of terror attacks in Pakistan has increased dramatically.
According to the Islamabad-based Pak Institute for Peace Studies, terror events surged by 42% in 2021 compared to the previous year, with the most of them coming in the last months of the year following the Taliban’s seizure of Kabul (PIPS).
According to the article, the Taliban’s Kandahar wing, commanded by Mullah Baradar, the son of founder Mullah Omar, resent Pakistan’s role as a middleman between various nations with vested interests in Kabul. It further stated that an insecure Imran Khan administration, which is facing a no-confidence motion, makes Islamabad’s situation much more difficult, with the likelihood of a new military-backed weak government in the middle of full-fledged militancy.
Despite pumping billions of dollars into the Taliban and sheltering them for over three decades, Pakistan’s desire for strategic depth through control of Afghanistan remains a mirage, according to the report.
