Poll: Pakistan Ultimatum may Spark New Anti-Taliban Movements
DID Press: A new survey shows that the audience of DID Press Agency views Pakistan’s recent ultimatum to the Taliban primarily as a catalyst for the emergence of alternative political movements in Afghanistan—an outcome that may reshape the regional balance of power.
Following Pakistan’s unprecedented ultimatum demanding that the Taliban recalibrate their security policies and curb extremist groups, DID Press conducted a public poll to assess how this diplomatic pressure may affect power dynamics in the region.
According to the poll results, 46% of respondents believe the ultimatum could strengthen organized opposition structures and alternative political movements in Afghanistan. This indicates that a large segment of the public interprets Islamabad’s pressure not merely as a security warning, but as a potential trigger for domestic political shifts—changes that could eventually alter the balance of power between the Taliban and emerging opposition actors.
Meanwhile, 18% of participants said they believe Pakistan’s ultimatum is meant to exert political and practical pressure on the Taliban to reform their security outlook and enhance counterterrorism cooperation to mitigate threats posed by armed groups to Pakistan’s interests.
Additionally, 9% of respondents expect the Pakistani approach to escalate cross-border tensions and fuel regional instability—reflecting concerns about the fragility of the frontier and the possibility of sporadic clashes.
Finally, 27% believe the Taliban will continue on their current path with no significant policy change, arguing that Pakistan’s pressure will not considerably influence the Taliban’s domestic or regional behavior. This suggests that a portion of the public remains skeptical about the effectiveness of external pressure on the Taliban.
Summary
The distribution of responses indicates that public opinion increasingly views the possibility of political alternatives to the Taliban as realistic under mounting foreign pressure. Although a notable minority doubts that the Taliban will alter course, the dominant sentiment shows that Pakistan’s move toward direct pressure is widely perceived as a significant variable that could shape the future balance of power in Afghanistan and across the region.