Taliban takeover in Afghanistan triggers mix of celebration and concern in Pakistan

Successive Pakistani governments have been accused of assisting the Taliban, but Islamabad has strongly denied the accusations

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  A man waves Afghanistan's national flag in Kabul, as the country marks its 102nd Independence Day on Thursday, August 20. This commemorates the country regaining full independence from British influence in 1919. AFP

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  Taliban fighters patrol in Kabul. AP Photo

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  Afghans pass by the poster of Afghan President Ashraf Ghani who fled the country after Taliban took over, as they celebrate the Independence Day in Kabul. EPA

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  Cars and crowds are seen near the airport in Kabul. Reuters

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  People gather round the scene of a shooting outside Kabul airport, while others move away from the incident. Reuters

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  A Taliban fighter sitting on a vehicle guards the route of an Ashura procession in western city Herat. AFP

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  British and dual nationality citizens living in Afghanistan board a military plane at Kabul airport. Reuters

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  A US Marine processes an evacuee at Kabul's Hamid Karzai International Airport. AFP

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  Afghan President Ashraf Ghani on his first video address since Taliban takeover. Facebook

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  People carry Afghan flags as they take part in an anti-Taliban protest in Jalalabad, Afghanistan. Reuters

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  A woman holds a photograph during a protest to raise awareness of the situation in Afghanistan, outside EU headquarters in Brussels. AP Photo

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  Senior Taliban figure Abdul Ghani Baradar arrives in Afghanistan on Tuesday, August 17, 2021. AFP

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  A Taliban fighter walks past a beauty saloon where images of women have been defaced, in Shahr-e Naw neighbourhood in north-west Kabul. AFP

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  People wait to be evacuated from Kabul's Hamid Karzai International Airport, following the Taliban takeover of the capital. AFP

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  Afghans make their way into Pakistan at the Chaman border crossing. AFP

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  Khairullah Khairkhwa, right, a former governor of western Herat province and now a member of the Taliban's political office in Qatar, speaks to the media after arriving in Kandahar, southern Afghanistan. EPA

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  US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan takes questions on events in Afghanistan, at a White House press briefing in Washington. EPA

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  Taliban forces guard a checkpoint in Kabul. Reuters

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  A young demonstrator attends a vigil in support of Afghanistan outside the West Los Angeles Federal Building, Los Angeles. EPA

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  Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid, centre, holds the group's first press conference in Kabul since the insurgents took the capital. AFP

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  Images of glamorous women displayed outside a beauty salon in Kabul have been painted over since the Taliban took control. EPA

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  A Taliban fighter in Afghan capital Kabul, where the group has told government staff to return to work. AFP

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  Taliban fighters on patrol in Kabul. AFP

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  Taliban fighters in an Afghan government forces pickup patrol the streets of Kabul. AFP

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  Taliban fighters pass a poster of Afghan President Ashraf Ghani in Kabul. AFP

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  People queue outside Kabul airport as they try to leave Afghanistan following the Taliban takeover. Reuters

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  A Taliban fighter keeps watch outside the Interior Ministry in Kabul. AFP

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  Some of the first people flown out of Kabul after the Taliban takeover arrive at Frankfurt International Airport in Germany. AFP

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  People have arrived in Frankfurt after fleeing the Afghan capital. AFP

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  Western countries have been flying citizens and Afghans out of Kabul since it was seized by the Taliban. AFP

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The Taliban's stunning takeover of Afghanistan has sparked concern and celebration in neighbouring Pakistan.

The country has been intricately linked to the conflict across the border and has given a home to millions of Afghan refugees.

Pakistan also simultaneously helped the American military and hosted members of the Taliban leadership.

We know we are going to get blamed and it's totally unfair. No one did more to help America fight terrorism in this region and now they have left us to pick up the pieces

Senior Pakistani official

Analysts said Pakistan's government was surprised by the speed and scale of the collapse of Afghan President Ashraf Ghani's government, much like the West was.

Pakistan now fears being left to pick up the pieces from increased militancy and another wave of refugees as western nations depart.

But its security establishment, which has long been accused of supporting the Taliban, has rejoiced at the downfall of Mr Ghani's government, because it wipes away the influence of Pakistan's arch rival India.

As Taliban fighters arrived in Kabul largely unopposed, Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan gave a measured response.

Mr Khan, who caused outcry in Afghanistan in 2012 when he declared the Taliban were fighting a "holy war" justified by Islamic law, has called on the international community “to work together to ensure an inclusive political settlement for long-term peace".

“The ideal time to end the conflict through negotiations might have been when the US/Nato troops were at maximum military strength in Afghanistan," he said.

"Continuation of foreign military presence for a longer duration now would not have yielded a different outcome.”

But in a speech to unveil a new education curriculum, he also appeared to refer to events across the border as Afghans breaking “the shackles of slavery”.

Pakistan's Human Rights Minister Shireen Mazari was quick to denounce Mr Ghani and his vice president, Amrullah Saleh, who have repeatedly blamed Pakistan for the insurgency.

She said it was “truly tragic to see the long-suffering Afghan people abandoned" by the pair.

"Both scuttle into hiding. It doesn't really matter where they have disappeared or bolted to, what's important is the leadership abandoned their people in midst of crisis. Shameful," Ms Mazari said.

Security experts are concerned the Taliban's return to power will embolden militants and extremists in Pakistan.

The Taliban's victory was immediately seized on by Pakistan's hardliners. The Tahrik-e-Taliban (TTP), also known as the Pakistani Taliban, congratulated their Afghan counterparts on their “blessed victory”.

The TTP killed thousands of Pakistani troops and civilians in their own insurgency, before they were largely forced into Afghanistan.

The Taliban conquest was also welcomed by Pakistan's largest religious political party, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam.

Asfandyar Mir, an expert on South-Asian security at Stanford University, said the return of the Taliban was a “major wild card” for politics in Pakistan.

“It's likely to inspire and embolden conservative religious constituencies across the board and Pakistani decision makers are waking up to that fact,” he said.

But the sight of the India-backed Afghan government being swept away helped to assuage many concerns, with members of the security establishment rejoicing that India's influence was collapsing, he said.

Refugee influx

If the Taliban takeover triggers a civil war, or they reimpose draconian rules on social and moral conduct, a large number of Afghans are expected to again flee to Pakistan.

US government estimates drawn up before Kabul fell suggested as many as 300,000 people may try to cross into Pakistan.

Pakistan is also keen to avoid international blame for what has happened. Its Inter-Services Intelligence agency has long been accused of using the Taliban as a proxy to gain leverage in Afghanistan.

The amount of support given has been hotly contested, but the Taliban leadership has been given refuge in Pakistan for years, allowing the group to gain strength.

Their leadership has lived in cities such as Karachi and Quetta, while wounded fighters have been treated in Pakistani hospitals.

The Nato coalition often called on Pakistan to exert more pressure on the Taliban by arresting or expelling their leaders, or forcing them to negotiate.

Pakistan says its influence has been exaggerated and it has done everything it can to bring the group to the negotiating table.

“We know we are going to get blamed and it's totally unfair. No one did more to help America fight terrorism in this region and now they have left us to pick up the pieces," a senior official in Pakistan said.