Article
C. Raja Mohan, Darshana M. Baruah
{
"authors": [
"C. Raja Mohan"
],
"type": "legacyinthemedia",
"centerAffiliationAll": "dc",
"centers": [
"Carnegie Endowment for International Peace",
"Carnegie India"
],
"collections": [],
"englishNewsletterAll": "ctw",
"nonEnglishNewsletterAll": "",
"primaryCenter": "Carnegie India",
"programAffiliation": "SAP",
"programs": [
"South Asia"
],
"projects": [],
"regions": [
"South Asia",
"Afghanistan",
"Pakistan"
],
"topics": [
"Security",
"Foreign Policy"
]
}
Source: Getty
In The Media
Pakistan’s Taliban Proxy and Afghan Power Sharing
Pakistan’s leverage over the Taliban is driving negotiations over Afghanistan’s future.
Published on Jul 4, 2013
Source: Indian Express
As tensions between Kabul and Islamabad threaten the fragile peace process in Afghanistan, the Taliban's role as a proxy for Pakistan's interests has come back into sharp focus this week.
Gen. Sher Mohammad Karimi, the head of the Afghan armed forces told the BBC in an interview that the prolonged war in his country can come to an end "within a week" if Pakistan stops supporting the Taliban.
On the face of it, Gen. Karimi's statement is not a shocking revelation. Despite repeated Pakistani that it controls the Taliban, few in the world question the reality of the Pakistan army's extraordinary influence on the militancy in Afghanistan.The doubts, if any, have disappeared as Pakistan in recent months orchestrated the process of political reconciliation, by selectively releasing some Taliban leaders from detention, promoted the opening of their office in Qatar, and managed their communication and contact with the United States.
Karimi's decision to reaffirm the well-known truth about Pakistan's control over the Taliban comes amidst the reports that Islamabad is pushing for a power sharing arrangement in which the Taliban will control the eastern and southern provinces in Afghanistan.
Although Islamabad has denied these allegations, Kabul says that Sartaj Aziz, foreign policy adviser to the Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, put across the proposal to the Afghan ambassador in Islamabad, Umer Daudzai in a meeting last week.
The Afghan Deputy Foreign Minister, Ershad Ahmadi pointed to "the elements within the Pakistan government who have a grand design for using the peace process as a means to undermine the Afghan state and establish little fiefdoms around the country in which the Taliban--its most important strategic asset in Afghanistan--play an influential role".
Ahmadi expressed his deep disappointment that the newly elected Nawaz Sharif government might be buying into the attempts by the ISI to weaken the Afghan state. He said federalising Afghanistan is part of an effort to win at the peace table what the ISI could not achieve on the battlefield with its proxy, the Taliban.
Interestingly, the Afghan Taliban too expressed its opposition to any form of federalism in Afghanistan. Cynics would say this is mere posturing. They argue that the Taliban in any case has no incentive to abide by any arrangement to share power once the international forces withdraw from Afghanistan and will seek to establish an Islamic Emirate in the nation.
About the Author
C. Raja Mohan
Former Nonresident Senior Fellow, Carnegie India
A leading analyst of India’s foreign policy, Mohan is also an expert on South Asian security, great-power relations in Asia, and arms control.
- Deepening the India-France Maritime Partnership
- Shanghai Cooperation Organization at Crossroads: Views From Moscow, Beijing and New DelhiCommentary
- +1
Alexander Gabuev, Paul Haenle, C. Raja Mohan, …
Recent Work
Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.
More Work from Carnegie Europe
- Taking the Pulse: Does the EU Have a Germany Problem?Commentary
Are Germany’s economic, industrial, and political struggles becoming a liability for the EU’s ability to rise to the geopolitical moment?
Rym Momtaz, ed.
- The Speech Ursula von der Leyen Can’t DeliverCommentary
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is about to give her annual address on the state of the EU. Here’s what she won’t—but should—say.
Rym Momtaz
- Europe Fails to Learn the Lessons from CeutaCommentary
The aftermath of the Ceuta crisis shows Europe has drawn the wrong lessons. Rather than doubling down on failed migration policies, the EU needs to address the underlying roots of such episodes.
Richard Youngs
- Taking the Pulse: Is Canada Leading a Third Way?Commentary
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has twice inspired praise for standing up to U.S. President Donald Trump: at the 2026 World Economic Forum in Davos and on Canada-U.S. trade negotiations. Is Carney showing a third way better than the EU has in dealing with the Trump administration?
Rym Momtaz, ed.
- Europe’s Self-Confidence ProblemCommentary
The EU’s responses to two recent incidents expose the gulf between European perceptions and capabilities. Unless the union can bridge that gap, it will never become a real geostrategic power.
Rym Momtaz
