Pak rethinks Taliban ties, reopens channels to Afghan opposition

ISI explores links with anti-Taliban groups as Kabul’s India outreach worries Islamabad.

- ABHINANDAN MISHRA

Afghanistan's Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi in New Delhi on 12 October. ANI

Fresh intelligence and regional diplomatic inputs confirm Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) is exploring operational engagement with non-Taliban Afghan entities, as Islamabad reassesses its rapidly deteriorating relationship with the Taliban regime and weighs options toreshape the political balance in Kabul.

Multiple sources familiar with regional security developments say Pakistan is no longer viewing the Taliban asa dependable strategic partner and is increasingly concerned by Kabul’s independent foreign policy moves, particularly its expanding engagement with India. Against this backdrop, the ISI is reportedly reactivating contacts with Afghan opposition figures and armed groups outside the Taliban framework — a shift that could potentially lay the groundwork for coordinated destabilization efforts and, in extreme scenarios, an attempt to engineer regime change.