India’s Minister of External Affairs, S. Jaishankar, on Tuesday accused Pakistan of playing a “double game” with both the Taliban and the former Afghan government — a strategy he said has ultimately backfired following the withdrawal of United States forces from Afghanistan.
Speaking at Charotar University of Science and Technology (CHARUSAT), Jaishankar asserted that Islamabad had long supported terrorism in the region, only to fall prey to the very extremist networks it once cultivated.
“Whatever benefits they were getting out of the double game also disappeared. Moreover, the very terrorism industry they had promoted came back to bite them,” he stated.
Jaishankar argued that Pakistan’s strategic miscalculations have left it isolated in Afghanistan, especially in light of increasing attacks by Pakistani militants on the country’s own security forces since the Taliban’s return to power in 2021. This, he noted, came despite Islamabad’s decades-long backing of the Afghan Taliban against the former Western-supported government in Kabul.
The foreign minister also issued a pointed warning to Pakistan, cautioning that continued support for cross-border terrorism would bring “consequences.”
India and Pakistan have long accused each other of harbouring and supporting militant groups. In a notable shift, Pakistan has recently alleged that the Afghan Taliban — once seen as its close ally — is now cooperating with India.
Jaishankar highlighted what he described as a stark contrast between the two South Asian nations, framing India as a country advancing in economic and global stature, while portraying Pakistan as stuck in outdated policies of instability and proxy warfare.
“During this period, we have grown economically and politically, and our standing in the world has improved. But Pakistan continued the old playbook,” he said.
While Indian officials have typically maintained a cautious tone when discussing the Taliban, Jaishankar’s comments stand out as one of the clearest acknowledgements by a senior Indian leader that the group was a product of Pakistani patronage of terrorism.
