Amrullah Saleh: Pakistan and Taliban Have Both Failed
Amrullah Saleh, the former Vice President of Afghanistan, has criticized both Pakistan and the Taliban for what he described as intelligence and military failures. In a recent post on the social media platform X, Saleh revealed significant shortcomings in Pakistan’s intelligence operations and in the Taliban’s handling of pressures from Islamabad.
Citing Pakistan’s recent airstrikes against the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Saleh noted that despite four years of tracking TTP leader Noor Wali Mehsud using both human and technical intelligence, the Pakistani Air Force failed to eliminate him. He described the operation as a complete failure and a major setback for Pakistan’s intelligence and strategic efforts.
On the other hand, Saleh alleged that the Taliban administration, after issuing empty rhetoric and theatrical posturing, ultimately succumbed to pressure from Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI). According to him, the Taliban has signed a secret agreement under which counterterrorism cooperation between the two sides will follow standards set by Pakistan.
Saleh stressed that beyond the propaganda from both sides, the developments do not reflect a genuine escalation in tensions, but rather deep, strategic failures on both fronts. Pakistan, he said, has demonstrated weaknesses in intelligence gathering and targeting, while the Taliban has shown vulnerability and an inability to resist foreign pressure.
He concluded by saying that the primary outcome of this standoff has not been a reduction in threats, but rather the increasing militarization of areas around the Durand Line—a long-disputed border that has been a persistent source of tension between Afghanistan and Pakistan.
