RASC News Agency: Afghanistan has never been able to fully control its own tragedy. For decades, conflicts within the country have spilled over into neighboring regions, producing waves of refugees, weapons, narcotics, and extremism. What is increasingly alarming today is that these threats are now concentrated in Pakistan and even beyond, under the dominance of the Taliban.
Afghanistan no longer promises equality, recovery, or stable trade to the region. Instead, it has increasingly become known as a supplier of two modern tools of terror: suicide attackers and suicide drones. This perception is not just derived from Taliban messaging; it reflects the direct impact of their rule on regional security.
The Taliban’s focus on organizing and expanding cross-border violence is a phenomenon no responsible government can ignore. Pakistan has long been a victim of attacks by groups taking refuge, operating freely, or being encouraged in Afghanistan’s territory. The most dangerous aspect today is the transformation of violence itself. The old threat of discovered attacks has not disappeared; it has been amplified through asymmetric warfare, which is more invisible, cheaper, and psychologically devastating. A single suicide attacker can strike a market, mosque, or military convoy in seconds. Drones can deliver attacks from long distances, spreading terror while showing that armed violence evolves faster than states can respond.
The fact that the Taliban’s “exports” to Pakistan are destabilization rather than trade or cooperation highlights the inhuman and strategic nature of their policy. Afghanistan under Taliban control is unable to eliminate terrorist components or prevent its territory from serving as a base for militant networks. While the Taliban claim to bring rationality and protection to Afghanistan, their cross-border behavior directly contradicts these claims. Whenever fighters, networks, or planners based in Afghanistan attack Pakistan, the Taliban cannot hide behind rhetoric of “sovereignty” or “non-interference.” Sovereignty carries responsibility, and a government wielding power is accountable for its consequences.
The export of suicide attackers as a cross-border threat is especially alarming because it embodies ideological negation. Suicide terrorism does not just target human life; it undermines the foundations of policy and dialogue. It rejects negotiation, coexistence, and law, prioritizing death over civil order and promoting absolutism. If such tactics are allowed to organize and expand, any regional peace effort is immediately contaminated. Pakistan, already under pressure from internal security challenges, cannot withstand waves of such violence, and expecting ignorance of its roots is unreasonable. A neighboring state unable to counter these networks fosters suspicion, anger, and failed relations.
The next level of threat comes from suicide drones. These are not merely weapons; they symbolize a new era of armed violence. Drones reduce the gap between intent and action, generate disproportionate fear in small groups, and can be used for reconnaissance, intimidation, attacks, or propaganda. Crucially, they blur the line between war and peace. When militant groups gain even basic drone capabilities, they create a strike force that threatens the security of entire regions and strains the capacity of security institutions. Sending these tools to Pakistan, directly or indirectly, represents a deliberate expansion of terrorist services.
The Taliban must understand that in international politics, perception is nearly equivalent to intent. They may not be directly responsible for every cross-border attack, but their effectiveness in countering militant networks is judged by how they appear in dealing with these threats. Currently, the Taliban are seen as an unresolvable and unreliable state, whose primary “cross-border exports” to Pakistan are suicide attackers and armed drones not trade, communication, or cooperation. This image can only be changed through tangible, verifiable actions against terrorist hideouts, training centers, and logistics networks. Otherwise, inaction, denial, and selective measures will make Afghanistan a region “open to all.”
This situation is worrying not only for Pakistan but also for Afghanistan itself. A government that allows its territory to become a hub for asymmetric violence risks losing legitimacy, investment, and public trust, alienating its people further. Afghanistanis have long needed roads, schools, hospitals, and open markets, not leaders whose governance turns the country into a stage for fostering local terrorism. While the Taliban often call for practical engagement with the world, pragmatism is a two-way process, and no neighbor can effectively cooperate with a government unable to prevent the entry of suicide attackers and drones into its territory.
