On the surface, one winner in the peace deal the U.S. signed with the Taliban is Pakistan, which has been a longtime supporter of the Islamist group that may now be in a position to regain at least a share of power in the Afghan government. The deal, however, also poses long-term risks for Pakistan.
On the surface, one winner in the peace deal the United States signed with the Taliban on Saturday is Afghanistan’s neighbor Pakistan, which has been a longtime supporter of the Islamist group that may now be in a position to regain at least a share of power in the Afghan government. But the deal also poses long-term risks to Pakistan, whose intelligence service has spent years empowering militants that may no longer be under its control, according to analysts and former military officials.
The deal also requires the Taliban to begin negotiations with the Afghan government on March 10. Those talks might result in a power-sharing deal that gives the Taliban, which is dominated by ethnic Pashtuns, a significant role in a coalition government in Kabul. But if the Taliban and the government of Ashraf Ghani fail to reach an agreement, which seems increasingly likely, the U.S. military withdrawal will only serve to enhance the Taliban’s battlefield position.
The ISI must now face the potential consequences of its decision to continue supporting the Taliban in the years following the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. Retired Army Col. Tom Lynch of NDU’s Institute for National Strategic Studies said that the U.S. military withdrawal without defeating the Taliban gives Pakistan an “I told you so” moment, because it has proven Pakistan’s argument to the United States, which Lynch summarized as, “You can’t succeed in Afghanistan independent of us, because we manage, if not actually control, the militant framework in that country.
“Pakistan, particularly ISI, has successfully run a not-so-covert covert action program for almost the last two decades to provide assistance and sanctuary to the Taliban,” said Jones. “It’s actually an amazing feat, to allow sanctuary and provide assistance to the same group that is killing American soldiers, and to keep diplomatic relations” with the United States.
The catalyst for the ISI’s decision to continue its support of the Taliban appears to have been the Pakistani government’s realization around 2004 that the U.S. government was developing increasingly close ties to India, which had begun to invest in Afghanistan, according to Abbas. From that point, “Pakistani military intelligence revived or expanded their support for the Afghan Taliban,” he said.
However, Lynch and Abbas agree that, in the case of the Haqqani Network, a militant group that is now part of the Taliban, the ISI exercised a much tighter degree of control, particularly when it came to attacks against Indian targets in Afghanistan.
Norge Siste Nytt, Norge Overskrifter
Similar News:Du kan også lese nyheter som ligner på denne som vi har samlet inn fra andre nyhetskilder.
US seeks UN backing for Taliban peace deal to end Afghan warThe United States seeks U.N. Security Council backing for the ambitious peace deal it signed with the Taliban aimed at ending America’s longest war and bringing U.S. troops home from Afghanistan.
Les mer »
U.S. Launches 'Defensive Strike' At Taliban As Fragile Afghan Peace Deal TeetersThe strike followed President Trump's call with the Taliban, during which he says they agreed 'we don't want violence.' Still, the group has led a wave of attacks since signing the landmark deal.
Les mer »
Afghan female mayor, 26, calls on Trump administration to ensure Taliban talks protect womenAt 26 years old, Zarifa Ghafari is one of Afghanistan's youngest mayors. Ghafari was one of 12 women honored by the Trump administration with the International Women of Courage award, an annual ceremony started by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in 2007. When elected in 2019, she faced Taliban
Les mer »
Gunmen kill at least 27 at memorial for Afghan Shiite leaderKABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Gunmen killed at least 27 people and wounded 29 more in Afghanistan's capital on Friday at a remembrance ceremony for a minority Shiite leader, officials...
Les mer »
Gunmen kill at least 27 at memorial for Afghan Shiite leaderKABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Gunmen killed at least 27 people and wounded at least 55 others in Afghanistan's capital on Friday at a remembrance ceremony for a minority Shiite leader,...
Les mer »