Ex-Afghan Intelligence Chief: Opposing Pakistan Does Not Mean Supporting the Taliban
Rahmatullah Nabil, former head of Afghanistan’s National Directorate of Security, has responded to recent tensions between the Taliban administration and Pakistan by stating that Afghans can both condemn Pakistan’s military incursions and interference while also viewing the Taliban as an illegitimate, dependent, and destructive group.
He stressed that resistance to Pakistan’s decades-long aggression against Afghanistan’s land and people should in no way be interpreted as endorsement or support for the Taliban.
Nabil referred to the Taliban’s clandestine, long-standing ties with Pakistan’s intelligence apparatus, claiming that the Afghan public possesses ample evidence of secret dealings between the Taliban and the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) over the past three decades.
Challenging the Taliban’s denials of any backstage dealings with Pakistan, Nabil said that if the group truly has no hidden agreements, then one of its leaders should publicly swear that 180 Taliban fighters are not currently receiving treatment in Karachi hospitals and another 140 in Quetta hospitals.
He also revealed the existence of active Taliban guest houses in Karachi and Quetta, alleging that the ISI’s “S” section has handed over 40 million Pakistani rupees—about 150,000 USD—to the Taliban’s representative in Quetta for financing these facilities and covering the treatment of wounded fighters.
According to Nabil, unless the Taliban provide clear answers to the Afghan public’s critical questions on women’s rights, suppression of people’s right to self-determination, and other human rights violations, opposition to Pakistan should not be hijacked to benefit the group.
In conclusion, Nabil asserted that the people of Afghanistan are aware of both the foreign invader and the domestic destroyer, and consider neither worthy of legitimacy.
