Examining the Impacts of 2021-Reemergence of the Taliban Regime in Afghanistan over the Security and Strategic Dynamics of Pakistan

Abstract

The withdrawal of the armed forces of United States (U.S.) from Afghanistan on 30th August 2021, marked the end of the twenty-year war started under the pretext of War on Terror in 2001. The post-U.S.-withdrawal reemergence of Taliban regime in Afghanistan has redefined Pakistan’s counterterrorism experiences and foreign policy inclinations since it caused the resurgence of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP, relabeled by the state of Pakistan as Fitna al Khawarij) and the consequent eruption in anti-state activities has jolted the peace and security situation in Pakistan particularly in the bordering provinces of Afghanistan i.e. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Balochistan wherein the attacks on state installations and security personnel have become a new normal. The severity of the matter can be sensed by noting that nearly five hundred terrorist attacks have been recorded in KP alone until August 2025 whereas the internal displacement in Bajaur district of KP has already started in order to provide the security forces an opportunity to restore normalcy in the region. The matter becomes more complex owing to the fact that 1640 miles long Durand Line is very hard to be fully covered for preventing cross-border movement of the Khawarijs. In this background, the present study, while applying a qualitative and exploratory research design, analyzes the post-2021 security and strategic dynamics in and around Pakistan especially with regard to the revival of terrorism, cross-border instabilities, and policy realignments of the regional and global powers. It concludes that, for Pakistan, an effective border management system along with an all-inclusive socio-economic development policy is necessary to bring peace and stability in its areas contiguous to Afghanistan otherwise the shallow military successes lacking proper strategic depth would prove fruitless.