Pakistani Professor Says Islamabad's Afghanistan Policy Has Backfired, Now Views Taliban as Terrorist Regime

ISLAMABAD (Afghan Verified) -- Pakistani political science professor Aqil Shah stated in an interview with The New Yorker that Pakistan's long-standing "strategic depth" policy in Afghanistan has backfired, turning into a national security nightmare.

Shah said the Afghan Taliban now treats Pakistan the same way Pakistan treated the United States for years, providing sanctuary to the Pakistani Taliban (TTP) from Afghan soil. The TTP, firmly entrenched in Afghanistan, uses these safe havens to launch attacks across Pakistan, including in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan and even Islamabad.

Describing the TTP and Afghan Taliban as "two sides of the same coin" with the same ideology despite different structures and leadership, Shah noted that Pakistan's previous dual approach -- viewing the TTP as "bad" and the Afghan Taliban as "good" -- has collapsed.

Following the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, Pakistan was the Taliban's biggest global supporter, advocating for its international recognition as an inclusive regime. Now, however, Pakistan labels the Afghan Taliban a terrorist regime and is discussing regime change amid escalating TTP threats.

The Afghan Taliban refuses to abandon its TTP allies, denies sheltering them and offers to facilitate talks, mirroring Pakistan's past responses to U.S. demands. Shah described Pakistan's policy shift as a reaction to failed policies rather than a deep strategic reassessment.