Taliban has once again captured Afghanistan, and this time it was surprisingly easier than before. Shunning all intelligence inputs and theories, the Taliban was able to blitz through Afghanistan, and we have seen how Afghan National Defence and Security Forces crumble without putting any credible fight.
Province after province, the Taliban was able to capture the territories and ultimately took over Kabul many days ahead of the CIA’s predictions. Most of the people in Intelligence and Diplomatic establishments believe that the Taliban’s victory could not have come without active assistance from Pakistan, and that hypothesis has some credible and strong fundamental reasons.
Pakistan had a long relationship with the Taliban, from birthing it in 1994, supporting it to take over Afghanistan in 1996, to providing shelter to Taliban Mijahids and Leaders past 9/11 USA invasion, that too in the name of “War on Terror”.
How Pakistan nurtured the Taliban?
Well, it is a known truth that it was the Pakistani Army and ISI, which founded the Taliban, by supporting the radical Afghanistani groups, who were believers of the Deobandi Faction.
It all started when the Soviets invaded Afghanistan, and its arch-rival USA adopted a strategy to drive away Soviets out of Afghanistan completely. Initially, the USA sends its troops on the ground, but later they changed the strategy and involved the Pakistani Government and Army to finish up their job. It was the USA that provided funding of billions of USD to the Pakistani Government, and also provided them advanced weapons to hit the Red Army.
In 1986, President Reagan decided to supply Stinger anti-aircraft missiles to the mujahidin via the Pakistani Army and ISI, thereby breaking the embargo on “Made-in-America” arms. The CIA was coordinating the purchase of deadly weapons and also providing initial training, but it was the ISI, which was controlling the logistics and distribution of all these weapons inside Afghanistan.
It was the Pakistani ISI and Army, which established relationships with the Radical Islamist groups. Upon the weapons’ arrival at the Islamabad airport or port of Karachi, the ISI used to transport them to the depots near Quetta or Rawalpindi, and then inside Afghanistan crossing the Durand line.
Pakistani Army and ISI devised a long-term strategy to nurture the radical Islamism and fractiousness of the mujahidin, which will be ultimately used against its arch-rival India. Finally, in 1994, the Taliban was formed with the active support of both the Pakistani Army and ISI.
Pakistan’s Double Game
Pakistan used the Taliban as its weapon to support radical Islamists rather than the nationalist rule in neighboring Afghanistan. Upon realizing the geostrategic importance of the Taliban, Pakistan started using it to get massive funding from the USA, and at the same time providing its active support, this is famously called Pakistan’s Double Game.
Though the Pakistani establishment always denied any active relationship with the Taliban. However, it was proved in many instances that it is Pakistan that was duping the USA all this while and supporting the Taliban expansion. As early as October 1994, the local Afghani mujahidin warlords intercepted a convoy containing arms, where senior ISI commanders were escorting the Taliban leaders.
ISI and Pakistani Army provided the constant flow of jihadi recruits to the Taliban. They set up many jihadi training centers at the outskirts of Kabul, they operated training camps for the Harakat ul-Mujahidin, which is known for waging a separatist campaign against India. It was members of Harakat ul-Mujahidin that hijacked an Air India flight from Nepal to Kandahar in December 1999. ISI and Pakistani Army established Afghanistan as a useful base to train pro-Pakistani militants and terrorists, but also to give them field experience.
Several USA spies and administrators have exposed this Double Game of Pakistan in the past. We are sharing a video of a former Afghan Spy, a US bureaucrat, and the US Military revealing Pakistan’s dirty role behind the rise of the Taliban.
How Pakistani establishment helped Taliban in the recent takeover
The world is in shock that how the Taliban was able to capture Afghanistan so swiftly. Well, there were a couple of reasons for the same, the biggest one was the demoralization among the Afghanistani Forces due to the hasty withdrawal of the USA’s troops. Another reason is the active support of the Pakistani Army’s special forces and ISI, who were guiding the Taliban to recapture all the territories. This has been mentioned on the record by the Afghan Vice President Amrullah Saleh and other members of the Ashraf Ghani government.
It was Pakistan, that has been providing the Taliban shelter on its territory even as the world expected it to put pressure on the Taliban to negotiate a political power-sharing deal Afghan Government. It was Pakistan, which provided safe havens to the Taliban leadership even after the USA’s famous “war on terror” in 2001. The USA was very well aware of this, but it kept quiet as it needed Pakistan for its logistical and military requirements.
The political leadership of the Taliban was given a safe haven in Quetta, whereas the ISI and Pakistani Army used South and North Waziristan to push Talibani terrorists inside Afghanistani territory. Pakistani Army maintained good relations with Terrorist groups such as Haqqani Network and Al-Qaeda, who also provided adequate support to Talibani Terrorists in their recent conquest of Afghanistan.
Pakistan is delighted with the Taliban’s Afghan Victory
The Pakistani establishment is delighted with the Taliban victory, and it is expecting an important role in Afghanistan’s new dispensation. Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan said Monday that Afghanistan had “broken the shackles of slavery”. Many retired and serving generals are exultant that Pakistan will finally have “friends” in the driving seat in Kabul, and have expressed admiration openly for the Taliban.
Well, there is no doubt that the Pakistani establishment is portraying that they acted smart and indeed won a war against Soviets and now Americans, via their proxy Taliban. However, the truth is, Pakistan has nurtured a Frankenstein Monster, who is uncontrollable as well. Today it may help Pakistan to achieve its strategic objectives, but the day is not far when the same Taliban will attack them to fulfill their aspirations.
Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan is one such example, which is a faction of the Afghan Taliban, but it is extremely against the Pakistani establishment and Army, and they want to establish their rule in Waziristan and other areas around the Durand line. so, we have no inhibition to admit that today Pakistan may consider it as their victory, but the day is not far when they will start facing the ugly face of the monster they have nurtured all this while.
The manner in which Taliban has capatured Afaganisthan, shows deeper & well organised war strategy; which can only be formulated by d expert military organization