Taliban strikes In Islamabad, patience with Afghanistan finally runs out

Days after the Taliban swept to power in 2021, Pakistan’s then spymaster appeared in Kabul on what looked like a victory lap.

- By Saeed Shah ISLAMABAD

From the lobby of the Afghan capital’s fanciest hotel, Lt Gen Faiz Hameed told reporters: “Don’t worry, everything will be OK.”Last week it became clear Pakistan had badly miscalculated how it could rely on the Taliban, as Islamabad unleashed airstrikes in Afghanistan and troops from both countries fought on the border.

Pakistan’s defence minister, Khawaja Muhammad Asif, said patience had run out after repeated calls for the Taliban to stop Pakistani militants from using Afghan territory from which to attack.

Pakistan’s predicament is the mirror opposite of accusations the US-led coalition in Afghanistan made against it before 2021: that the Taliban were being allowed to use Pakistan as a safe haven.

"This is blowback, big time,” said Kamran Bokhari, a senior director at the Washington-based New Lines Institute thinktank. “If you support proxies who challenge your own national identity and your national narrative, they don’t think that you're ideologically legitimate, then it is only a matter of time before they turn their guns on you.”