Kabul, Afghanistan: Time has frozen in Afghanistan, where people are still living in caves, the public has no access to basic civic facilities such as healthcare, education and clean drinking water, and girls are not allowed to receive education and have only one role, which is to please the male gender of society. Time has also frozen in Afghanistan if someone talks about the role of Afghanistan in spreading terrorism globally.
Afghanistan was attacked by US-allied forces after the 9/11 tragedy to cleanse the land of terrorists, but nothing has changed even after 20 years of US-backed rule. Like Mullah Omar, the first Ameer of the Afghan Taliban, Mullah Haibatullah Akhundzada is not only harbouring terrorists but is also not shy about accepting it practically.
According to available information, ‘countries friendly to Kabul’ recently contacted Mullah Haibatullah Akhundzada and suggested to him that the Afghan Taliban should avoid overexposing the reality that al-Qaeda has a strong presence in Afghanistan under the protection of the Afghan government. They also suggested that the Taliban should avoid releasing any information about the presence of Hamza bin Laden, the son of Osama bin Laden, in Afghanistan because it would create problems not only for the Afghan Taliban but also for the United States, which, on September 14, 2019, announced that Hamza had been killed in a U.S. counterterrorism operation. However, his latest video, released on September 10, 2026, has raised questions not only against the Taliban but also against the White House.
This demand to keep the presence of the Laden family in Afghanistan secret was rejected by Mullah Haibatullah Akhundzada, who, according to available information, told ‘friendly countries’ that the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan houses everybody it (the Taliban regime) considers to be on the ‘right path’. According to available information, it was also conveyed to friendly countries that this is the reason the Afghan Taliban would continue to host TTP because it had been providing support at the ground and operational levels in the past, and TTP’s support made the success of the Taliban possible in August 2021.
Informed circles in Kabul claim that ‘Kabul-friendly countries’ also raised the issue of a letter from Mullah Haibatullah Akhundzada circulating in the media, which indicates that TTP and BLA are directly funded by him. Such instances are complicating the situation for ‘Kabul-friendly countries’ to talk with Pakistan to resolve issues with Afghanistan through dialogue. Circles said that Mullah Haibatullah’s response was loud and clear: he would continue to help those who are against Pakistan.
Circles in Kabul claim that Mullah Haibatullah has already directed his followers to launch attacks against Pakistan wherever and whenever possible, closing all doors to talks and using terrorism as diplomatic leverage. Circles believe that Mullah Haibatullah believes that the more the Taliban bleed Pakistan, the more opportunities they will get for negotiations with Pakistan.
It is pertinent to mention that the Afghan Taliban uses terrorism as a diplomatic tool against countries that do not listen to their demands, and most of the time they are successful in their modus operandi.
Islamabad Office adds:
When contacted for comment, a former diplomat said that there is no doubt that the Afghan Taliban had been using terrorism as diplomatic leverage and compelling countries to negotiate, but Pakistan is a different country and it would not succumb to the tactics of the Afghan Taliban. Rather, it would bleed the Afghan Taliban more than they can imagine because the Afghan Taliban now have no backyard for running and hiding as they had during the War on Terror and the Afghan-Russo War.
“They would not have places to hide with their families, manage healthcare for their families in hospitals, and they do not have the billions of USD worth of smuggling networks that they had been running to meet their family requirements. I am sure bordering Central Asian countries, Iran or China would not host the Afghan Taliban’s families and friends as Pakistan had been. It would be the first experience for the Afghan Taliban to understand that a landlocked country must have good relations with neighbouring countries and must behave as a state.”, said the former diplomat.
When asked to comment on Afghanistan-India engagement, the former diplomat said that India, having no borders with Afghanistan, cannot help the Afghan Taliban as Pakistan had been doing, and air traffic is the only possibility through which India could transfer weapons, equipment and war consultants through commercial flights. Pakistan must keep this point in mind and manage the situation amicably because, since 2006, Pakistan had been dealing with the nexus of TTP and had eroded it completely by 2018, but one wrong decision by a former government took Pakistan back to square one by inviting TTP terrorists back to Pakistan.
“This time, I hope nobody takes such a stupid decision in the future, and the seductive narrative of ‘friendship’ no longer works in the future.”, concluded the former diplomat.
