“No doubt that supporting the Taliban is a case of playing with fire and Pakistan can get very badly burnt if it courts the Taliban government beyond a point in the balance of power”, Ahmed warns.
“I think the opinion is equally divided between those who consider the Taliban to be an asset and those who deem it as a liability. However, I think that those who consider it an asset will not have the same freedom of action as was possible earlier”, he said.
Hafiz Hussain Ahmed, the leader of the religious Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam party, was quoted as saying by German broadcaster Deutsche Welle (DW) on 16 September that there would be “no harm” if Sharia law is implemented in Pakistan as well.
“The TTP, to a point, has the potential to create friction between Islamabad and the Taliban”, Ahmed remarks.