DID Press: Afrasiab Khattak, a prominent Pakistani politician and former member of the Senate, claimed that the ongoing tensions between Pakistan and the Taliban are primarily aimed at obstructing China’s trade network linking Afghanistan, Pakistan, and China.
Speaking on X (formerly Twitter), Khattak described the situation as a continuation of a longstanding “espionage game” between the Taliban and Pakistan. He noted that “twenty years ago, when Afghan Taliban fighters moved from their bases in Pakistan into Afghanistan, thousands of Pakistani Taliban were among them. When the Afghan government protested, Pakistan dismissed it as an internal Afghan matter. Today, when the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) fights in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the Afghan Taliban considers it an internal Pakistani issue.”
“The main objective of the recent conflict between Pakistan and Afghanistan is to thwart China’s initiative to establish a trilateral trade network,” Khattak added.
These remarks come amid the second round of complex Taliban-Pakistan talks in Turkey, which remain unresolved due to disagreements over the Durand Line border, Taliban recognition, and security issues. The meeting follows Doha talks and last month’s deadly border clashes that claimed dozens of lives.