Taliban Still Stuck in Guerrilla Mindset, Pakistan Will Respond in Kind: Talal Chaudhry

Islamabad —
Pakistan’s Minister of State for Interior, Senator Talal Chaudhry, said on Tuesday that the Afghan Taliban regime has yet to move beyond a guerrilla mindset, warning that bilateral relations cannot improve as long as Kabul continues to act as a proxy for external forces.
Speaking to media, Chaudhry identified what he called an “irresponsible neighbor” as the primary driver of deteriorating Pakistan-Afghanistan relations.
“The Afghan Taliban regime has not come out of the guerrilla mindset yet. Until they stop becoming someone else’s proxy, the situation will not improve,” he said.
The minister acknowledged that dialogue remained the ideal path forward, stating that Pakistan’s preferred solution had always been to resolve outstanding issues with Afghanistan through negotiations and diplomacy. However, he indicated that Kabul’s continued behavior had made that path difficult to pursue.
Chaudhry emphasized that Pakistan’s demands of the Taliban were no different from those of the international community, including concrete action against terrorism, preventing Afghan soil from being used against neighboring states, and conducting itself as a responsible state.
“As long as their mindset remains that of guerrilla warfare, our response will be the same,” he warned, adding that Pakistan was simply echoing what the rest of the world expected from the Taliban administration.
The statement comes amid ongoing tensions between Islamabad and Kabul, fueled by cross-border militant attacks that Pakistan has repeatedly blamed on groups operating from Afghan territory.