The US has no diplomatic relations with the Taliban government so the visit of a high profile official like Khalilzad has led to speculation about his real motives. He had gone, ostensibly to accompany the American prisoner George Glezmann back to the US after his release from Taliban custody. Glezmann claimed he was an airline mechanic from Atlanta and was visiting Afghanistan as a “tourist”. He was captured by the Taliban in December 2022 and accused of being a spy.
Officially, Qatari negotiators brokered the deal for Glezmann’s release on behalf of the Trump regime. Khalilzad’s visit and meeting with Afghan foreign ministry officials point to something larger: a possible rapprochment being worked out between the US and the Taliban for the opening of the American embassy in Kabul.
The Afghan-born US diplomat, better known for his close links with the neo-cons, had in the past served as US ambassador to Afghanistan during the George Bush regime. In 2018, Donald Trump appointed him to negotiate with the Taliban for the withdrawal of US forces from the country.
The Pakistani generals have always considered themselves gatekeepers of other countries’ relations with Afghanistan. By meeting the Taliban directly, the Americans seem to have cut out the men in khaki from the equation.
This has caused nightmares in Rawalpindi. Reports says that Pakistani generals now gather for their drinking sessions at iftar with long drawn faces. The army chief, General Asim Munir could possibly claim that he is sad because his mother passed away. What about the other generals: have their mothers died as well?
They might as well have, if speculation about Khalilzad’s visit is correct. There is the issue of the opening of embassies in each other’s capital, and the release of the nearly $10 billion of Afghan Central Bank funds frozen by the US. Naturally, the Taliban would like to get this money back.
There is also speculation that the US is seeking the use of Bagram Airbase north of Kabul. If there is any truth to this, it would be a huge game changer. During the 20-year occupation of Afghanistan, the US used Bagram airbase as a major hub for military operations. American forces fled from the base in the middle of the night on August 16, 2021 prior to its forces escaping from Afghanistan on August 30, 2021.
There are several reasons for the US’ renewed interest in Afghanistan. They are both strategic and economic. Since the US ouster, China has made great inroads into Afghanistan. It has invested more than $1 billion in mining exploration operations. Afghanistan is rich in copper and more crucially in lithium. Its deposits are estimated at $3 trillion.
By getting a foothold in Afghanistan, the Americans want to undermine China’s advances in the region as well as lay their hands on Afghanistan’s precious minerals. Trump’s threats to annex Canada and Greenland are part of the same policy of grabbing others’ resources.
The Chinese are moving rapidly to build the 50-kilometer Wakhan-China road which is nearing completion. China has also proposed building a railway line along the road to diversify communication between the two countries.
In the summer of 2024, Mohammad Younus Akhundzada, Afghan Deputy Minister for Rural Rehabilitation and Development, revealed that China and Afghanistan are working together to build the Wakhan Corridor. This will facilitate direct trade with Afghanistan besides increasing China’s access to a range of Eurasian markets.
Last year, a delegation led by China’s Ambassador to Kabul, Zhao Xing, and Taliban officials visited the Wakhan Corridor to inspect road construction up to the Chinese border. The Wakhan Corridor, a narrow panhandle strip, is the only linkage between China and Afghanistan. It connects four countries: China, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, and Pakistan.
The reopening of the Wakhan Corridor has enormous implications for both China and Afghanistan. It will not only enhance the scope of Beijing’s multi-trillion-dollar Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) into Afghanistan but also provide access to the huge Eurasian markets and beyond. For Kabul, it will reduce Afghanistan’s dependence on Pakistan for transit facilities and ease bilateral trade between Beijing and Kabul.
This is what has caused the worst nightmares among Pakistani generals. For decades, they have destabilized Afghanistan to use it as an opportunity to milk the Americans by conjuring the threat of terrorism. In the decade of the 1980-1990, Pakistani generals made tons of money from the so-called Afghan Jihad. The dollar pipeline went through Rawalpindi.
One general in particular, Akhtar Abdur Rahman who was chief of ISI, became a billionaire taking his cut from money sent to the mujahideen. He did not live to enjoy the loot because he died in the fiery plane crash with General Ziaul Haq in August 1988, but his sons are living it up. They have become billionaires in their own right.
In recent months, Pakistani generals have deliberately muddied relations with the Taliban. There have been cross-border attacks and the Taliban have vowed to retaliate. If the generals have any sense, they should take these threats seriously.
The generals in Rawalpindi thoughts they could lure America into another trap in Afghanistan and milk them for billions of dollar. They have got a huge shock. The Americans have opened direct channels with the Taliban, including backdoor channels with the Haqqani network believed to be under the influence of the Pakistani intelligence agency, the ISI.
The Taliban have long maintained an office in Qatar that serves as a convenient location for officials from other countries to meet them. With the exception of China, no other country has dispatched their ambassador to Kabul. Beijing also hosts the Taliban’s ambassador resulting in billions of dollars worth of trade deals being signed between the two countries.
The Taliban may appear to be country pumpkins but their political acumen should not be underestimated. They know what is in their best interest and how to pursue it. Unlike the greedy Pakistani generals whose policies are geared toward lining up their own pockets, the Taliban work for the larger good of their country.
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