Afghan peace talks, Pakistan and Taliban

In 1999 when Parweez Musharaf, then the Pakistani Army Chief, grabbed power in a bloodless coup, said that the best strategy against the Taliban was to recognize them. Musharaf noted: “the fact, a majority of 55 percent of Afghans are from the Pashtun tribe[s]. Afghanistan has always been ruled by the Pashtuns and there should be a change of strategy right away. You should make political overtures to win the Pashtuns over.”

Musharraf’s saying, though flawed it be, depicts a political reality. Ever since the fall of the Soviet Union, the Pakistani establishment has been supporting a religious Pashtun group to take over assignment of government in Kabul. In the eyes of the Pakistani generals, a group of Muslim Pashtuns are the only force that can ensure Pakistan’s objectives in Afghanistan.