Kabul, Sep 2 (IANS) Recent appointments made by the Taliban in southern Afghanistan have sparked questions about the extent of Pakistan's influence over the power structure in Afghanistan and whether Afghanistan's sovereignty is being undermined from within, a report has detailed.
"The reported appointment of Mawlawi Abdul Khaliq Fateh Agha as deputy head of foreign liaison for Afghanistan’s southwest zone is more than a bureaucratic reshuffle. If the account is accurate, it points to a deeper pattern, namely the consolidation of authority in Afghanistan through figures whose political networks appear to extend beyond the country’s borders and into Pakistan’s security establishment," Intelligence analyst and Counter-terrorism expert Ajmal Sohail wrote in Eurasia Review.
Reports have claimed that Fateh maintains close ties with Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), holds Pakistani citizenship and a passport, and a Pakistani national identity card under the name Abdul Khaliq Tareen. Despite being allegations, Sohali reckoned that they hold importance as they fit into the concerns shared by many Afghans that the Taliban's claim of national independence is increasingly being hollowed out by opaque cross-border patronage networks.
Similar concerns have been raised over the appointment of Mawlawi Obaidullah Noorzai as the head of the Nimroz Chamber of Commerce. He highlighted that reports have claimed that Noorzai shares close ties with Pakistan's military and intelligence circle, has a residence in Chaman city of Pakistan's Balochistan province and his frequent visits there have raised doubts that commercial institutions might also be influenced from outside.
The concerns regarding these appointments have further increased as the ties between Pakistan and Afghanistan have deteriorated in recent months, with repeated exchanges of fire and concerns over civilian casualties. Since the Taliban seized power in August, 2021, the group's leaders have repeatedly presented the image of a government which is free from foreign occupation and Western dependency. However, the claim's credibility relies on who governs in Kabul and how officials get appointed in regional offices, commercial institutions and cross-border networks.
"For Afghanistan, this is a dangerous formula, when a government that cannot transparently explain, who its officials are, where their loyalties lie, or how they obtained positions of authority risks deepening public distrust. The Taliban’s governance model already lacks electoral legitimacy, constitutional checks, and independent oversight. If appointments are also perceived as being shaped by foreign intelligence interests, the regime’s claim to sovereign authority becomes even more fragile," mentioned Ajmal Sohail.
According to the report, the international community must also take note of these appointments as they hold importance for the future of Afghanistan, on whether it really becomes an independent state or a territory managed through overlapping networks of militancy, commerce and foreign influence.
--IANS
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