Asif Durani speech: Taliban lack the skill and capacity to govern Afghanistan

Summary of Asif Durani’s speech at the Brain Initiative for Development program:

1. The recent wave of attacks by Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has been facilitated—or even directly supported—by the Afghan Taliban.
2. Those in Pakistan who welcomed the Taliban’s return to Kabul now regret it.
3. In the trilateral statement of May 2023, Amir Khan Muttaqi had pledged that the Afghan Taliban would control TTP and ETIM groups, but the Taliban leadership later prevented this commitment from being reiterated in subsequent meetings.
4. The Taliban lack the necessary administrative skills and diplomatic capacity, failing to produce practical and reliable outcomes in negotiations.
5. Afghanistan has become a center of war economy, with significant consequences, particularly affecting border regions and Pakistan.