Russia courts Taliban, Pakistan's Afghan leverage shrinks — SkimNews
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- Russia invited Taliban officers to observe its Center-2026 war games (September 28–October 3) in Chelyabinsk — the first such invitation since the Taliban returned to power in 2021 — while Pakistani soldiers drilled at the same exercise.
- Russia formally recognized Taliban rule in July after suspending its terrorist-group ban in April 2025, and on May 27 Security Council secretary Sergei Shoigu signed a military-technical agreement with Taliban defense minister Mohammad Yaqoob Mujahid that Moscow's envoy says is limited to refurbishing existing Soviet-era equipment.
- An unconfirmed Afghanistan International report claims the Taliban are buying weapons and drones from Belarus with Indian money; none of the four governments involved have confirmed the deal, and the source notes no contract or system is named.
- Pakistan struck Kunar and Helmand provinces days before the exercises; the UN mission confirmed at least 10 civilians dead, most of them children, and the UN has tallied more than 1,100 civilian casualties from cross-border violence this year, with Pakistan claiming 22 militants killed on October 1.
- China established a new county on its Wakhan Corridor border in March and wants joint counter-militant patrols, but has not funded the Taliban's planned road through the corridor — a route analysts read as Afghanistan's bid to reduce dependence on Pakistan.
- The Taliban's shift from a movement that leaned on Islamabad into a government running a multi-partner foreign policy is the real change, the source argues — meaning even solid Pakistani ties with Moscow no longer guarantee alignment on Afghanistan.
Why it matters: Pakistan's monopoly on Afghan diplomacy is ending: the Taliban's success in drawing Russian, Chinese and Indian engagement while still hosting Pakistani troops at the same exercises shows the insurgent-turned-government now runs a multi-partner foreign policy. Pakistan's continued cross-border strikes — 1,100+ civilian casualties this year per the UN — harden Afghan opinion and strengthen Kabul's case for better weapons, raising the cost of each clash.
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