Ali Özkök interviewed Syed Khalid Muhammad, CommandEleven Executive Director, for Russia Today on the Taliban in Afghanistan and the failures of the Ashraf Ghani government to contain them.

This is translated directly from the German so there will be grammar and other errors that we can’t change without changing the context of the interview itself.

It might be good to know what influential people in the affected region think about wars the US/NATO are involved in. Here is an interview with Pakistani expert Khalid Muhammad about the geopolitical dynamics in Afghanistan. (PS. General Dostum, mentioned in the last paragraph, a warlord with a very dubious past)

The US, along with Afghanistan and India, wants to put Pakistan under pressure. But Pakistan is trying to get out of this predicament through an alliance with Russia and China, and a pragmatic relationship with the Taliban.

Syed Khalid Muhammad is director of the military science think tank CommandEleven, based in Islamabad. The think tank includes many former senior Pakistani military personnel. It focuses on issues of national security, counterinsurgency and extremism in the Indian subcontinent. CommandEleven works with the Pakistani military.

Do you think the Taliban have regained their former strength since the US invasion in 2001 and have become de facto rulers, at least in rural Afghanistan?

That is right. The Taliban regained its strength in the absence of a functioning government in Afghanistan. They are again trying to gain control of the country. They are stronger and more popular than ever. From a military point of view, the Afghan forces trained by the West draw the short straw against the Taliban, who are more welcome among the population.

The United States under President Donald Trump decided to send more troops to Afghanistan. Will this only delay the failure of the UN-funded government in Kabul?

US troop deployments were pointless from the start. The problem with the American forces being sent to Afghanistan is that they have still not developed any perspective for the country’s future and for their own deployment after all these years.

Currently, around 8,400 US soldiers are stationed in the country. Officially, they train the Afghan army. But it is weak, and it is fighting the Islamic State and the Taliban, which are getting stronger.

What is the reason for the weak government in Kabul?

Quite simply, it is the perennial weakness of President Ashraf Ghani’s government. It has absolutely no authority, not even in many places even in the capital Kabul. The UN-funded government’s influence is limited to the area directly controlled by ISAF.

From the Pakistani perspective, what we are seeing in Kabul is a repeat of the events of the 1970s. The American influence is too great in the country. In addition, the number of aggressions Kabul carries out against Pakistan at the request of Washington is increasing. Kabul suffers from the mistaken belief that Washington will stand behind them forever.

This mindset creates more problems than good for Kabul. The US is trying to use a weak and incompetent government in Kabul against Pakistan.

Is the US military presence helping the Afghan people or is it part of the problem; that the country can’t rest?

The American presence was the biggest problem for Afghanistan from the first day of the invasion. The US is forcing the government not to negotiate with the Taliban or other groups. We’ll see what the result is. We have a failed government. Blame the US, not the government in Kabul.

In the West, it is always accused that Pakistan supports the Taliban. Is that correct?

Pakistan supported the Taliban. But our relationship cooled in the wake of the “war on terror”. We still maintain friendly relations. We also need to bring them to the negotiating table or bring about a ceasefire. We must ensure that our border is secure. A pragmatic relationship is then necessary. The US has proven that it cannot defeat the Taliban. It is also about the need to keep the US-backed government in Kabul at bay.

The Pakistani government is working with the Taliban to fight the far more dangerous terrorist group “The Islamic State” in the Tora Bora area. Therefore, Pakistan has also given active support to a breakaway group from the Taliban to fight IS.

Which other actors contribute to the situation in Afghanistan?

In recent years, India has gained influence. In addition to the United States, Afghanistan has gained India as a powerful champion, which has major problems with Pakistan and China.

Delhi began with investments and military training of the Afghan army. Today, there are not only many pro-American, but also many pro-Indian government advisers walking in and out of the doors of Kabul.

For example, the powerful security chief in Afghanistan, Amrullah Salih, is seen as a bridge to India. He was head of the National Directorate of Security intelligence service under the Karzai government and is responsible for police reforms in the Ghani government. These people are part of a growing US alliance with India, which is specifically aimed at the traditional Pakistani influence.

You can read the entire interview in German here.