Amrullah Saleh, Afghanistan’s former first vice-president, says Pakistan has adopted a new approach towards the Taliban involving economic pressure, air strikes and efforts to gain international support.
In a statement, Saleh said Islamabad had linked trade and economic ties with security and political issues, while the continued closure of border crossings had made the Taliban more dependent on routes through northern Afghanistan and Iran.
He also alleged that Pakistan was using air strikes in Afghanistan to increase pressure on the Taliban while engaging with forces opposed to the group over Afghanistan’s future political arrangements.
Saleh said the measures were part of a broader Pakistani strategy to weaken the Taliban and expand its influence in Afghanistan. He also accused the Taliban of “hubris, arrogance and shortsightedness” over the past four years, saying it might now be too late to pursue a genuine Afghan-led political solution.
