Navigating Pakistan’s Nexus with the Afghan Taliban: A Perspective of Religious Instrumentalism

Pakistan has supported the Afghan Taliban throughout its history. When the Taliban 1.0 seized the throne of Kabul in 1996, Pakistan soon recognized the Taliban’s government and continued its support. Ethnic nationalism has always created security concerns for Pakistan. Historically, when East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) gained independence from Pakistan based on Bengali nationalism, it became wary of Pashtun nationalism. Pakistan forged a nexus with the Afghan Taliban primarily to replace the Pashtun nationalism with Islamic nationalism across the Durand line. The Taliban gives more preference to the Islamic nationalism vis-à-vis the Pashtun nationalism. The extant literature has covered all the causes of Pakistan’s support for the Afghan Taliban. Still, this scholarship will elucidate how Pakistan supported the Afghan Taliban to replace Pashtun nationalism with Islamic nationalism through the lens of religious instrumentalism. This study explores why the advocacy of the Afghan-Taliban is crucial for Pakistan and how Pashtun nationalism can threaten the security of Pakistan. The data for this research has been gathered from primary and secondary sources, i.e., journals, books, speeches Twitter accounts, etc. Moreover, the rulers of Afghanistan and the Pashtun nationalists from the very onset created security concerns for Pakistan by inciting Pashtun nationalism. Still, with the support of the Afghan Taliban, Pakistan has always tried to subdue Pashtun nationalism.