Pakistan’s Special Representative for Afghanistan, Sadiq Khan, on Monday issued a stark warning that all avenues of cooperation between Islamabad and Kabul could collapse if the Afghan Taliban refuse to take concrete steps against the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).
Speaking at a seminar titled “A Holistic Appraisal of the Security and Governance Challenges of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa” hosted by the Islamabad Policy Research Institute, Khan stressed that the future of bilateral relations hinges on a serious commitment from Afghanistan to restrain cross-border terrorism.
“Pakistan cannot proceed with any form of engagement unless there is visible cooperation in addressing the TTP threat,” Khan asserted, underscoring the militant group as the central obstacle in bilateral ties.
Khan described the current state of Pakistan-Afghanistan relations as historically strained but stressed that there was potential for a peaceful partnership, should both sides move beyond entrenched hostilities. “This relationship can be grounded in mutual respect and soft power—but only if the security concerns are addressed sincerely,” he said.
Drawing on his experience as Pakistan’s former ambassador to Kabul, Khan lamented the lack of strategic direction from Islamabad during his tenure. He also criticised the inconsistency of public discourse on Afghan refugees, noting that while Pakistan has only repatriated 568 Afghan nationals, there has been disproportionate domestic rhetoric compared to Iran, which has returned over a million without controversy.
Khan pointed to an alarming rise in anti-Afghan sentiment in Pakistan, a phenomenon he said was absent three years ago. “We have turned Pakistan into a mirror image of Afghanistan in terms of internal strife and hate narratives,” he remarked.
The TTP, Khan said, remains a critical flash point. “We are not demanding arrests or handovers,” he clarified, “but we do expect containment and restraint of these elements on Afghan soil. Without this, all understanding between the two countries becomes void.”
He further revealed that Pakistan had identified 500 militants who had infiltrated from Afghanistan to orchestrate attacks, approximately half of whom were Afghan nationals with ties to Taliban leadership. “We need to engage with the real power brokers inside Afghanistan who control the territory and can ensure compliance,” he added.
While acknowledging that the Taliban wield unprecedented control across Afghanistan’s 44,000 villages, Khan argued that such territorial control does not equate to complete societal authority. He pointed out that despite orders from the Taliban leadership prohibiting unauthorized weapon carrying and cross-border movements, groups like the TTP continue to operate openly in defiance.
Raising concerns over the long-term implications, Khan questioned whether the Taliban leadership was waiting for a catastrophic event before taking responsibility. “Must the Afghan people suffer again, as they did for two decades, before decisive action is taken?” he asked.
Concluding his remarks, Khan reiterated that while the TTP poses a developmental rather than existential threat to Pakistan, the damage it causes must be minimized through effective, immediate policy. “Even if we fail a hundred times, we must strive for success on the hundred and first,” he said, urging a persistent yet clear-eyed approach to engagement with Kabul.
