RASC News Agency: In a renewed escalation of regional friction, the Pakistani military has once again leveled grave accusations against India and the Taliban regime in Afghanistan, alleging their collusion in destabilizing Pakistan through cross-border proxy operations. On Sunday, May 26, Major General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, the official spokesperson of Pakistan’s Armed Forces, accused India of exploiting Afghanistani soil to facilitate and orchestrate hostile activities against Pakistan’s national security interests. Speaking at a high-level press briefing, General Chaudhry warned the Taliban leadership against offering sanctuary to what he described as “terrorist groups” operating under the guise of Indian influence. He urged the Taliban to refrain from acting as “surrogate agents” for New Delhi’s regional ambitions. “India is injecting financial resources into Afghanistan to build a platform for subversive operations against Pakistan,” he stated, characterizing India’s alleged activities as a serious threat to regional peace and stability.
The military spokesperson expressed alarm over what he described as India’s growing influence among political operatives and power brokers within Afghanistan, asserting that such developments point to a deliberate strategy by India to establish a geopolitical footprint on Pakistan’s western border. These claims follow a series of similar accusations made in recent months, particularly in relation to the Taliban’s perceived tolerancevand in some cases, support for the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), a militant group responsible for numerous attacks within Pakistani territory. Tensions between Islamabad and Kabul have sharply intensified in recent weeks, coinciding with reports of behind-the-scenes meetings between Taliban officials and Indian diplomats. Indian media sources have confirmed a series of quiet engagements, culminating in a recent phone call between India’s Foreign Minister and his Taliban counterpart. During the call, both parties reportedly discussed “growing bilateral cooperation” and the need to further strengthen diplomatic ties.
This emerging axis between India and the Taliban has raised eyebrows in Islamabad, where officials see it as both a betrayal and a strategic provocation. Analysts argue that the Taliban desperate for diplomatic recognition and economic investment are willingly courting Indian overtures despite their longstanding ideological and logistical ties with Pakistani authorities. In doing so, they risk further aggravating an already volatile border dynamic while eroding trust with a neighbor that once served as one of their principal patrons. Meanwhile, Taliban authorities have remained conspicuously silent in the face of Pakistan’s public denunciations. They have neither confirmed nor denied the alleged Indian operations, nor have they addressed accusations of harboring TTP militants. This calculated silence has only deepened suspicions about the Taliban’s real allegiances and raised serious concerns over their ability or willingness to act as a responsible regional actor.
Adding to the complexity, Pakistani media have reported the existence of a trilateral understanding among China, Pakistan, and the Taliban aimed at curbing India’s influence within Afghanistan. However, Taliban officials have declined to acknowledge the existence of any such agreement, underscoring their preference for strategic ambiguity over transparent diplomacy. Critics contend that the Taliban’s duplicitous approach courting Indian support while simultaneously benefiting from Pakistani tolerance exposes the regime’s lack of coherent foreign policy and undermines its claims to legitimacy. More troubling, however, is the regime’s evident prioritization of transactional diplomacy over the long-term interests of the Afghanistani people, who remain mired in poverty, violence, and international isolation.
Despite their rhetoric of Islamic solidarity and independence, the Taliban have shown a troubling willingness to be manipulated by foreign powers whether through military assistance, economic bribes, or political recognition. Their reluctance to address Pakistan’s concerns, coupled with their eagerness to entertain Indian influence, paints a picture of a regime not only bereft of strategic consistency but complicit in fostering instability across South Asia. As geopolitical rivalries deepen in the post-American vacuum of Afghanistan, the Taliban’s opaque and opportunistic foreign policy is quickly transforming the country into a theater for proxy conflicts. Without a clear and accountable stance, the Taliban risk turning Afghanistan into a launchpad for regional chaos, rather than a platform for peace and reconstruction.
