This is apropos an exclusive Business Recorder news item “Afghan Taliban ask Pakistan to hold talks with TTP?” carried by the newspaper yesterday. According to it, Tehreek-e-Taliban Afghanistan (TTA) leadership has asked Pakistan to hold dialogue with the proscribed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).

This is, no doubt, a profound development in relation to the evolving Afghan situation. For some reasons, however, this story cannot be described as bizarre or far-fetched. Consider: Taliban have taken control of over 85 percent of Afghan territory. Their principal enemy after the exit of all combat troops from Afghanistan is the Ashraf Ghani-led government in Kabul. They appear to expend all of their energies towards efforts aimed at toppling the Afghan government and defeating Afghan armed forces. From Taliban’s perspective, perhaps the fall of government in Kabul appears to have taken priority over any other matter, including Pakistan’s legitimate concerns about TTP.

Hanif Khan (Peshawar)

Copyright Business Recorder, 2021