ISLAMABAD — Pakistan has increased efforts to reach out to some of its biggest enemies in Afghanistan, a significant policy shift that could prove crucial to US-backed efforts to strike a peace deal.
The target of the diplomatic push has mainly been non-Pashtun political leaders who have been at odds with Pakistan for years because of the country’s historical support for the Afghan Taliban, a Pashtun movement.
Many of the non-Pashtun leaders fought the Taliban when the fundamentalist Islamic group seized control of Afghanistan in the 1990s with Pakistan’s help, and have accused Islamabad of maintaining support for the insurgents following the US-led invasion in 2001.
Many experts agree that Pakistan continues to see the Taliban as an ally in countering the influence of archenemy India in Afghanistan.
But they also say Islamabad no longer believes the insurgents can take over the country or wants them to.