For years, Pakistan kept telling the world that the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan was not operating in a vacuum. Islamabad said its fighters had sanctuaries across the border, that they were receiving support from Afghan soil, and that the authorities sitting in Kabul and Kandahar could not wash their hands of this problem. Many in the West listened politely, but rarely accepted the argument with the seriousness it deserved.
Now the same point is being acknowledged in Europe.
In a televised interview, a senior European representative admitted what Pakistan has been saying for a long time: the TTP is a terrorist organisation; it receives support from Afghanistan; and the people who now rule Kabul and Kandahar have a responsibility to address this threat. He went further. He said that if there are training camps, weapons flows, financial support, or safe havens for terrorists escaping operations in Pakistan, these are matters that must be dealt with by the Afghan authorities. Most importantly, he acknowledged that every state has a legitimate right to self-defence against a clear terrorist threat.
This is not an ordinary statement. It changes the nature of the debate.
Until recently, Pakistan’s complaints about the TTP were often treated as another chapter in the long and bitter story of Pakistan-Afghanistan mistrust. Whenever Islamabad raised the issue of sanctuaries, Kabul denied responsibility. Whenever Pakistan demanded action, the Taliban offered either silence, excuses or evasive assurances. Western capitals, meanwhile, avoided taking a clear position. They wanted engagement with the Taliban, but they did not want to admit that engagement had failed to change Taliban behaviour.
In a televised interview, a senior European representative admitted what Pakistan has been saying for a long time: the TTP is a terrorist organisation; it receives support from Afghanistan; and the people who now rule Kabul and Kandahar have a responsibility to address this threat.
On the one hand, European officials know that Afghanistan under the Taliban remains a source of serious security concern. They know that the Taliban have failed to deliver inclusive governance. They know that Afghan girls have been shut out of schools and universities. They know that women have been pushed out of public life. They know that political opponents, minorities and dissenting voices have been silenced. They also know that terrorist groups continue to find space inside Afghanistan.
On the other hand, Europe continues to open channels with the Taliban, host their representatives, and search for practical arrangements on migration, humanitarian access and regional stability. Dialogue itself is not wrong. No serious country can afford to ignore Afghanistan. But dialogue without accountability is not diplomacy. It is an accommodation.
This is where Europe’s policy begins to lose moral and strategic clarity.
The Taliban were not given power through an election. They came through force. They made promises to the international community under the Doha framework. They promised that Afghan soil would not be used against other countries. They promised, directly and indirectly, that Afghanistan would not again become a platform for international militancy. Nearly four years later, what is the result? The TTP remains active. Al Qaeda’s former leader, Ayman al-Zawahiri, was found and killed in Kabul. Several militant organisations continue to operate in Afghanistan, according to repeated international assessments. The Taliban continue to deny, deflect and delay.
Therefore, when a European official says Pakistan has a right to self-defence against a clear threat, he is not giving Pakistan a favour. He is recognising a basic principle of international order. No state can be asked to tolerate armed groups attacking it from across the border while the authority controlling that territory refuses to act.
At the same time, the warning about civilian casualties must be taken seriously. Pakistan’s counterterrorism response must remain precise, lawful and responsible. No innocent Afghan should pay the price for the Taliban’s failure or the TTP’s violence. But concern for civilians cannot become an excuse for ignoring terrorist infrastructure. Safe havens, training camps, weapons, money and facilitation networks cannot be treated as minor irritants. They are the machinery of war.
The real question is not whether Europe should talk to the Taliban. It should. The real question is: what has Europe obtained from this engagement?
Have girls returned to schools? No. Have women returned to public life? No. Has inclusive governance emerged? No. Has Afghan soil stopped being used by anti-Pakistan terrorist groups? No. Have the Taliban taken decisive and verifiable action against the TTP? No.
Then what exactly is being rewarded?
This is the uncomfortable question Brussels must answer. Europe cannot keep presenting itself as the guardian of democracy, human rights and rules-based order while quietly lowering the price of engagement for one of the world’s most repressive regimes. If the Taliban can ban women, exclude minorities, violate commitments, host or tolerate militant networks, and still receive diplomatic space, then what message is being sent to other violent movements?
The Taliban’s biggest achievement after returning to Kabul has not been administrative. It has been diplomatic. They have learned how to extract engagement without giving reform, how to make promises without implementing them, and how to turn international fatigue into political advantage. They know the world is tired of Afghanistan. They know Europe worries about migration. They know neighbouring countries fear instability. They use all of this to secure space without changing their conduct.
The writer is a freelance columnist.