The Taliban insist they have severed ties with extremist groups, but the evidence tells otherwise.<\/p>\n
Recently, special envoys from Pakistan, China, Russia, and Iran met in Dushanbe<\/a> to discuss avenues for pragmatic engagement with the Taliban. They focused on facilitating humanitarian relief and fostering regional stability, with envoys calling the discussions results-oriented and constructive. Nevertheless, Pakistan\u2019s patience is wearing thin with increasing terrorist attacks on its territory.<\/p>\n Dangerous connections<\/p>\n The Taliban insist it has severed ties with extremist groups, but the evidence tells otherwise. Al-Qaeda\u2019s longstanding links to the Taliban date back to the 1990s, while the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), a group closely related to the Afghan Taliban, continues to use Afghan soil to stage cross-border attacks<\/a>.<\/p>\n Afghanistan has been excluded from the United Nations General Assembly for a third consecutive year (Richard Koek\/MinBZ\/Flickr)<\/p>\n For Pakistan, these ties are more than a diplomatic nuisance. Islamabad has repeatedly warned that TTP sanctuaries in Afghanistan destabilise its internal security, undermining years of counter-terrorism progress. With relations between the two neighbouring countries already strained, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif<\/a> has now sent a clear message to Afghanistan: choose between Pakistan and the TTP. This came after an increasing number of deadly clashes between Pakistan’s security forces and the TTP in northwest Pakistan.<\/p>\n Governance in freefall<\/p>\n Beneath the geopolitics lies a stark reality: the Taliban have failed to govern responsibly. Afghanistan\u2019s economy has collapsed, corruption thrives, and the narcotics trade has morphed from opium into methamphetamine production<\/a> with the UN Office on Drugs and Crime warning that Afghanistan is emerging<\/a> as a global narcotics hub. The toxic mix of extremism, narcotics and rights abuses in Afghanistan is no longer just a regional concern; it is becoming a global crisis.<\/p>\n Pragmatic diplomacy<\/p>\n China has become an increasingly active player in Afghanistan, pressing the Taliban to step up counter-terrorism cooperation. Foreign Minister Wang Yi\u2019s visit<\/a> to Kabul in August pledged stronger economic and strategic support, while raising the prospect of joint patrols along the narrow Wakhan Corridor. Later, Kabul hosted<\/a> a trilateral conference with China and Pakistan, where counter-terrorism shared space on the agenda with trade and economic integration. However, these diplomatic efforts apparently failed, with Beijing\u2019s frustration<\/a> rising over Kabul’s reluctance to take decisive actions against the terror groups originating from its soil.<\/p>\n While the West ties its engagement to progress on human rights and counter-terrorism, Russia and Central Asia have chosen pragmatism.<\/p>\n The United States, while no longer militarily present, is also recalibrating its role. The appointment of Don Brown as Charg\u00e9 d\u2019Affaires signals Washington\u2019s intent to remain engaged through economic diplomacy and intelligence cooperation. Yet without a credible partner in Kabul, America\u2019s over-the-horizon counter-terrorism strategy faces limits. Media reports<\/a> indicate Washington has been quietly pushing to retake Bagram Air Base from the Taliban, citing several reasons including to surveil China, whose border is only 800 kilometres away, gain access to rare earth minerals, establish a counter-terrorism node to target ISIS, and possibly reopen a diplomatic facility.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n