Pakistan…Told Ya So!


Maybe not best buddies...



For a few days now I’ve been writing about how Pakistan, which has supported the Talibani for twenty years, might well regret its “victory” in Afghanistan. Well, guess what ladies and germs. Some real experts are starting to say the same thing.

Like for instance, writing in Foreign Policy magazine, Michael Kugelman notes that while the Taliban/Pakistan (or, more precisely, the Taliban/Inter-Services Intelligence agency) partnership remains close, it is never-the-less experiencing some new strains.(1)


Among other things, Pakistan has its own Taliban, the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), a terrorist group which waged a brutal guerrilla war in the country’s border areas for several years. You may recall that the TTP was responsible for the Peshawar school massacre in 2014, when TTP militants opened fire on students and teachers at a Pakistani school run for military families. The attack resulted in the deaths of 132 children and a number of adults.(2)


Now, says Kugelman, the TTP has been re-invigorated by the Taliban’s triumph in Afghanistan, and it seems that Kabul isn’t exactly stepping up to take Islamabad’s side in the matter. 


Of course, the two countries may, sooner or later, work out their difficulties. But, in the short term, they are going to have some problems…maybe serious ones.


Which, of course, is what your’s truly has been saying.


It’s nice to know that, every once in a while, I get a little jump on The People Who Actually Know What They’re Talking About.


Doesn’t happen often. So I’ll gloat about it while I can.



~mjt



Sources:


  1. “Pakistan’s Friendship With the Taliban Is Changing: Expect a recalibration of the relationship by both sides now the Taliban are in power,” by Michael Kugelman, the writer of Foreign Policy’s weekly South Asia Brief, Foreign Policy, September 13, 2021, Behind Soft Paywall, https://foreignpolicy.com/2021/09/13/pakistan-taliban-ties-afghanistan/

2. “2014 Peshawar school massacre,” Wikipedia, accessed Sep 13. 2021, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2014_Peshawar_school_massacre

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