Following the US-Taliban deal, Pakistan has re-emerged as a key player in the Afghan peace process. Experts said that Islamabad's alleged policy of backing Taliban factions gives it influence in intra-Afghan talks.
Pakistan's support for the Taliban goes back to the early 1990s when the militant group emerged from the ashes of the long Afghanistan war in the 1980s and the subsequent civil war following the exit of Soviet troops.
Many experts say that Pakistan's military establishment was instrumental in the Taliban's earliest battlefield successes and their eventual capture of Kabul in 1996. Pakistan was also one of the few countries in the world that swiftly recognized the Taliban's hardline regime in Afghanistan.
Experts say that there are several strategic reasons behind Islamabad's support for the Islamist group. Prior to the Taliban's emergence from the Islamic seminaries in northwestern Pakistan, and the Pashtun-speaking areas of Afghanistan, Islamabad had supported several groups to protect its interests in Kabul.
But other regional countries, including Russia and India, were also vying for control in Afghanistan. This regional tug-of-war over Afghanistan resulted in a deadly civil war that killed thousands of people.
Since the partition of British-India in 1947, Pakistan has always been wary of "unfriendly" regimes in Kabul. It started backing Islamist groups in Afghanistan against pro-communist parties and pro-India politicians, which culminated in a full-blown "jihad" in the 1980s with support from the United States.
Following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, Pakistan was forced to put the brakes on supporting Islamist militants in Afghanistan.Under pressure from Washington, then Pakistani military dictator Pervez Musharraf joined the US-led war on terror against Al-Qaida and the Taliban, and backed the US invasion of Afghanistan to topple the Taliban regime.
Doha deal 'victory' for Pakistan
From the 2001 US invasion of Afghanistan to the recent signing of the US-Taliban agreement in Doha, western governments have blamed Islamabad for its alleged support to some factions of the Taliban and other Islamist groups.
The US urged Pakistan to "do more" against the Taliban to stop militant attacks on foreign troops stationed in Afghanistan. Security analysts say Pakistan acted "selectively" against the Taliban, knowing that the group could be used as a "bargaining chip" at a later stage in the Afghan war.
Experts say that the landmark Doha deal is a huge victory for Islamabad, as the Taliban, the militant group that Pakistan has always favored, is once again back in the driving seat.
"With Pakistan's support, the Taliban are stronger than ever — economically, militarily, politically, and also in their international standing. Pakistan obviously hopes that it can benefit from the remarkable re-emergence of the Taliban in Afghanistan," Siegfried O. Wolf, director of research at the Brussels-based South Asia Democratic Forum (SADF), told DW.
What is Pakistan's influence moving forward?
It is not surprising that Pakistan hailed the historic deal between the US and the Taliban in Doha on Saturday.
"The Pakistani military establishment assured Washington that they used their influence to make sure that the Pakistani Taliban would force the Afghan Taliban to agree to stop attacks on American forces in Afghanistan," said Ali K. Chishti, a Pakistani security analyst who is familiar with Islamabad's role in the peace process, told DW, adding that US President Donald Trump used his good ties with Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan to get the job done.
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