ISLAMABAD: Pakistan should take lead in recognising the government of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, said experts at a conference here.

The roundtable ‘Transformation of Taliban from militia to military: prospects, challenges and implications for regional security’ was organised by Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies (PICSS).

The speakers were of the view that the building of the Afghan army by the Taliban may not pose a threat to any regional country.

Apart from academia, the conference was also attended by diplomats from Saudi Arabia, France, Hungary, Japan, Iran, Azerbaijan, Romania, Iraq, and Palestine. The speakers discussed the ongoing transition of the Taliban militia into a regular army.

Retired Maj Gen Inamul Haque said Pakistan should take lead in recognising the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan as a legitimate ruler. He said the West spent $69 billion on building an Afghan army which disappeared into thin air in the wake of the Taliban’s offensive.

He said Pakistan’s army chief at that time, Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, had advised the Americans not to raise an army like that otherwise it would be counterproductive. The same happened eventually.

Pak-Afghan Youth Forum Director General Salman Javed said: “Currently, there are eight corps of the Afghan army under the Taliban while they are operating an air force too though they do not have fighter jets as yet but have attack helicopters. The overall form of the new army is not clear and the chain of command is also not much visible.”

However, he was of the view that the new army will be more like a counter-terrorism force than a standing army. He said it will take time to build a proper army.

“Taliban have a quest to have cordial relations with Pakistan. The border skirmishes are mostly local issues and may not in the larger picture affect overall relations,” he said.

PICSS Managing Director Abdullah Khan in his concluding remarks said: “In case the world does not recognise the Taliban government and anything like 9/11 happens again and the Taliban turn from military to militia then that would be a serious challenge for a sustainable peace and security of the region.”

Senior research fellow at PICSS, Jamal Nasir, said Taliban have “demonstrated their ideological bonding, allegiance to a commander, and high moral values while overwhelming their adversaries. But the standing army’s role is more than carrying out asymmetric actions.”

Published in Dawn, December 18th, 2022