Will Pakistan’s Image Makeover for the Taliban Work?

Following the fall of Kabul to the Taliban, Pakistan’s National Security Committee (NSC) issued a policy statement saying that the “continuation of foreign military presence in Afghanistan for a longer duration would not have yielded a different outcome."

Endorsing the U.S. decision to withdraw, it described the current situation as a “logical conclusion” to the conflict in Afghanistan. “It is now time for the international community to work together to ensure an inclusive political settlement for long term peace, security, and development of Afghanistan and the region,” the statement added.

Pakistan’s statement after the collapse of the Ashraf Ghani government suggests that Islamabad not only has been trying to bring the Taliban back to power, but may now be actively pushing to manage the group’s legitimacy to make it more acceptable to the international community.

Pakistan’s policymakers may have concluded that the most feasible way to manage security challenges emanating from Afghanistan, including the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), is to push for a settlement that features the Afghan Taliban in the new government.

Pakistan’s focus appears to be on fully supporting the group’s branding as a legitimate political stakeholder, which to some extent got a boost after the international community began engaging the Taliban in serious talks more than a year ago.

It is likely that Pakistani authorities are advising the Taliban to improve their media and diplomatic profile to promote the group’s role in Afghanistan as legitimate. The focus in this regard would be to convince the world that the Taliban are willing to address issues that so concerned the international community during their first stint in power in the 1990s.

Although the Pakistani leadership and the Taliban often deny in public that they have any influence over each other, behind closed doors they remain attentive to each other’s interests.

Since the fall of Kabul, Pakistan’s lawmakers have praised the Taliban for its moderate statements and termed the group’s takeover a peaceful transition. Prime Minister Imran Khan even dubbed the Taliban’s takeover an attempt to break “the shackles of slavery."

On August 17, Pakistan announced that it would build a regional consensus before recognizing the Taliban government in Afghanistan and won’t make a unilateral decision as it did when the group first came to power in 1996.

Arguably, Pakistan’s policymakers believe that it’s inevitable that the international community will work with the Taliban and it’s only a matter of time before recognitions start pouring in.

For Pakistan, the ideal situation in which it can recognize the Taliban regime is if some major countries, such as Russia and China, do so first. Otherwise, Islamabad could choose to go with a regional declaration that recognizes the Taliban regime under some conditions.

Already, many important regional players have shown a willingness to work with the Taliban. China, which is one of Pakistan’s closest allies, has announced that it is ready to deepen “friendly and cooperative” relations with Afghanistan. Russia’s ambassador to Afghanistan has met with Taliban representatives. Moscow decided to keep its embassy open in Kabul. Even the United States has demonstrated a willingness to work with the Taliban. “A future Afghan government that upholds the basic rights of its people and that doesn’t harbor terrorists is a government we can work with and recognize,” U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said recently.

In its first major press conference from Kabul, a Taliban spokesman said that the country won’t be allowed to be used against any other country and the group will form an inclusive government that will bring together all major political stakeholders. The group has also said that its government will protect the basic rights of people.

This is something Pakistan likely welcomes and views as a development that can make it easier for other regional and international players to decide on recognizing a Taliban government or at least on opening talks with it.

Pakistan wants the Taliban to project themselves as a moderate group that is ready to work with all countries and can be engaged. So far, the Taliban’s rhetoric falls into this pattern.

After nearly 20 years of waging an insurgency, the Taliban and their supporters in Pakistan should be aware that Afghanistan cannot be effectively ruled if all important ethnic and political stakeholders are not brought into the fold.

The Taliban issued a general amnesty, including for those who worked against the group, a smart move if they follow through. The Taliban’s leadership has been meeting important remaining political leaders in Afghanistan, including Abdullah Abdullah and Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, in an attempt to build political consensus for its governance vision.

There is clearly a tactical understanding between Pakistan and the Taliban that the only way forward for their mutual interests is to portray the Taliban as a kinder and gentler version of itself, which has shifted into a mainstream political organization. While many are skeptical about the reality of such a transformation, that’s certainly the narrative the Taliban, and Pakistan, are trying to communicate.

At present, Pakistan has managed to bring back the Taliban to power. This is a major win for Pakistan’s longstanding Afghanistan policy.