Why Afghan Taliban disavows its relationship with movement’s Pakistani wing?

Mohamed Yosry

Many researchers link the emergence of the Afghan Taliban movement with Pakistan, and many even consider it to have a Pakistani origin in the first place, or that it was launched in its actual beginnings from Pakistani territory in the 1980s during the reign of former Pakistani President Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq, despite this being contrary to the truth. But the ideological and movement links confirm that the extremist movement has basic roots in Pakistan, and even the leaders of the Afghan movement have often confirmed that the Pakistani Taliban is an integral part of the movement and not just a branch of it. So what has changed recently that Suhail Shaheen, one of the prominent leaders of the Afghan Taliban, has disavowed this historical relationship?

After taking power

As soon as the Afghan Taliban movement came to power in August 2021, the strong relationship between the two wings of the movement in Pakistan and Afghanistan appeared as if they were one movement, and the leaders of the Pakistani Taliban appeared to roam freely in the streets of the Afghan capital, Kabul, less than two weeks after the Taliban seized power, and in a very ambiguous atmosphere, as the leader of the Pakistani movement, Noor Wali Mehsud, appeared with a number of Pakistani Taliban leaders exchanging conversations with Afghan citizens in public, which was impossible before, as they were not allowed to simply cross the Afghan-Pakistani border under the previous Afghan government of former President Ashraf Ghani or in the presence of international forces then on Afghan soil.

The activity of the Pakistani movement on the borders between the two countries also began to increase, and the clashes between it and the Pakistani forces expanded and began to pose a serious security threat to Pakistan, which intensified at the beginning of 2022. On December 10, 2022, Mehsud announced that his movement is a branch of the Afghan Taliban, and he refused to extend the ceasefire with the Pakistani forces. He also pledged that his movement would implement an Islamist system in Pakistan similar to Afghanistan.

These statements and events reveal the close relationship between the two wings of the movement, as well as the extent of their congruence. Islamabad has always accused the Afghan Taliban government of providing a safe haven to the Pakistani wing of the movement and providing them with support and assistance.

Disavowing the Pakistani wing

With the great convergence between the two wings of the movement, which was revealed by the actions of the leaders of both wings and their successive statements since the rise of the Taliban until now, Sheheen, the head of the Afghan Taliban’s political bureau, came to detonate an unexpected bomb by disavowing and renouncing the Pakistani Taliban during statements to Arab News on July 9, during which he confirmed that Pakistani Taliban militants are present in the Pakistani tribal areas and not in Afghanistan.

Shaheen denied the presence of Pakistani Taliban fighters on Afghan soil and described the group as banned, pointing out that the banned groups are located in the tribal areas of Pakistan, and therefore it is the responsibility of Islamabad and not the responsibility of the Afghan Taliban government. He stressed that the Taliban government maintains its relations with countries and not with the security forces.

Disagreements within the movement

Shaheen’s statements reflect the existence of differences within the Afghan Taliban between the two wings, namely the doves, represented by the negotiating leaders or those who prefer the negotiating political line, and the jihadist wing that is committed to the movement’s old approach and does not accept abandonment of its colleagues.

The first wing sees the inevitability of retreating from the movement’s consistent jihadist approach in light of the changing circumstances surrounding it, which affect its relations with the outside and reflects on the interests of the movement, bringing it into a state of permanent clash with the world, as well as the internal situation in Afghanistan. As for the jihadist wing, it does not want to give up its principles.