Pakistan’s evolving policy toward the Afghan Taliban: balancing security, diplomacy and sovereignty
Since 2021, Pakistan had been hoping that the Taliban would stabilize Afghanistan by returning to power in Kabul and ensure that cross-border militancy that is spilling to Pakistan reduces. Repeated high-profile assaults (senior police and military officers) within Pakistan (Balochistan and KPK) by 2025 as a result of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and other forces based on Afghan territory made Islamabad conscious of the fact that engagement did no longer suffice to counter the threat; and the understanding compelled Pakistan to expand its repertoires of denying the threat to include visible security operations.