Acting Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi is expected to reach Pakistan today on his maiden visit following after accepting an invitation extend by his Pakistani counterpart during the latter’s visit to Kabul last month. While Pakistan has not formally recognized the Taliban government, there is a palpable eagerness to do so shown by Prime Minister Imran Khan and his government, restrained only through international pressure. Mr Muttaqi’svisit is therefore very meaningful and important as regularizing such bilateral interactions is another small step towards recognition of the new Afghan political setup as legitimate. That the Afghan Taliban have successfully brokered negotiations between Pakistan and the Tehreek e Taliban Pakistan (TTP) to reach a ceasefire agreement displays that both countries are not only actively involved in dialogue but are willing to help each other on security related matters as well. Pakistan has seen a significant uptick in terrorism after the USA’s abrupt and ill-planned exit from Afghanistan allowed the Taliban to advance towards Kabul and take control. This has carried with it a spillover effect into regional countries and Pakistan has so far been the worst affected due to its geography as evidenced by the significant uptick in terrorist activity against security forces in North and South Waziristan and Balochistan.
While Pakistan has the resources and relative economic stability to fight back against such violence, Afghanistan does not, and is also struggling to cope with rising food insecurity and a streak of terror attacks, mostly attributable to Islamic State Khorasan Province (IS-K), that has targeted members of the new Taliban government, Shia Muslims and Sikhs and schools. The group’s contention is that the Taliban ‘abandoned Jihad’ making the ‘apostles’, making it lawful to kill then under their extreme and jaundiced interpretation of Islam. Apart from the security challenges, more than half of Afghanistan will be faced with a crisis level of food insecurity during the coming winters. Pakistan and Afghanistan face a variety of difficult and dangerous problems and it therefore only makes sense that they develop and maintain a mutually beneficial relationship that is based on trust. Pakistan must however make sure that it is also on the right side of history during this major regional transition, and asks the Taliban to make good on their promises of inclusiveness and progressive governing, before overcommitting unconditional help. It would not be in the country’s best economic and diplomatic interests to do so.
