Amrullah Saleh: Taliban Caught in Pakistan’s Intelligence Trap
Amrullah Saleh, former First Vice President of Afghanistan, stated in a series of posts on the platform X that the Taliban administration has been unconditionally compelled to participate in talks with Pakistan in Doha — a move he described as “Pakistan’s complete trap.”
Saleh said the Taliban’s presence in Qatar is unavoidable, as the Gulf nation has previously played a legitimizing role for the group and is now hosting the latest round of negotiations. He argued that Pakistan’s trap is designed in such a way that, regardless of the outcome, the Taliban are forced to cooperate with Pakistan’s military institutions — whether or not they represent the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).
According to Saleh’s analysis, if the Afghan Taliban are representing TTP in the talks, they are now obligated to work with Pakistan to dismantle it. If they are not representing TTP, they are still required to collaborate with Pakistan’s army to counter the shared threat. He believes this situation places the Taliban in a position of diplomatic disaster.
Saleh emphasized that Pakistan has managed to shift global perceptions of the Taliban administration — presenting them either as willfully providing safe haven to militants or as lacking the capacity to confront them. In both scenarios, he said, the outcome benefits Pakistan and has pushed the Taliban into an agreement mediated by Turkey.
He further noted that although TTP is a destabilizing actor in the equation, it has been excluded from the official talks, revealing major ambiguities in the implementation phase of the accord — particularly concerning who truly owns or represents TTP and who considers it a threat to Pakistan.
Saleh warned that whether by choice or coercion, the Taliban administration will ultimately remain within Pakistan’s sphere of influence.
