The U.S.-Pakistan Relationship Needs a Rethink
Support from Pakistani generals and spies helped return the Taliban to power in Kabul. Now Washington should be equally ruthless in pursuing its own interests.
Pakistan sees the installation of a friendly government in Kabul as a victory over India.
Photographer: Javed Tanveer/AFP/Getty Images
President Joe Biden’s administration says it will judge the new Taliban regime in Afghanistan by its actions. The same standard should apply to the group’s main backer: Pakistan.
Taliban leaders would not hold power in Kabul today if not for Pakistani support. The haven that Taliban commanders, their families and their fighters received within Pakistan allowed the insurgents — devastated and scattered by the initial U.S. invasion in 2001 — to rebuild their ranks. For nearly two decades, elements within the Pakistani military provided money, training and logistical support to the Taliban, even as Pakistan pocketed more than $33 billion in American aid. Pakistani leaders have hardly bothered to disguise their satisfaction at the Taliban victory.