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As Kabul burns and the Taliban turns rogue, Pakistan scrambles to rewrite history by blaming one general for decades of disastrous policy. But can a cup of tea really explain away 40 years of strategic miscalculation?
Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif and army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir
UPDATED: Nov 6, 2025 22:36 IST
Pakistan is desperately trying to clean up its Afghan mess, and it has found the perfect scapegoat: Lt Gen Faiz Hameed, the former ISI chief who famously sipped tea in Kabul after the Taliban's 2021 takeover. Finance Minister Ishaq Dar has now publicly blamed that visit for triggering the current bloodbath, conveniently shielding Army Chief Asim Munir from accountability.
But this isn't just about one man's photo opportunity. It's about a system that refuses to acknowledge its own catastrophic failures. For decades, Pakistan's Afghan policy has been written in duplicity: jihad for strategic depth, diplomacy for dollars, and denial for damage control. The ISI nurtured the Taliban through the 1990s, played both sides after 9/11, and celebrated their return in 2021 as a victory over India and America.
That triumph aged faster than bad tea. The Taliban's takeover unleashed the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, the monster Pakistan thought it had buried. Prisons opened, militants rejoined their comrades, and violence returned from Khyber to Balochistan. Over 2,500 people have died in terror-related violence since 2024, yet Islamabad remains more focused on saving face than saving lives.
The irony burns brighter than border fires. Pakistan once claimed to be Afghanistan's protector but now bombs its neighbour whilst closing crossings. The Taliban, fed up with Pakistani arrogance, threatens retaliation. Meanwhile, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif warns of war, the same tired refrain that's haunted Pakistani foreign policy for 40 years.
Behind the diplomatic theatre lies another crisis: India's quiet return to Afghanistan. Whilst Pakistan fumes, New Delhi has upgraded its Kabul mission to a full embassy, the very nightmare scenario Islamabad spent decades trying to prevent. It's poetic justice and geopolitical karma rolled into one.
Faiz Hameed may be the face of failure, but he's not its author. The system that created him still runs unchecked, protected by propaganda and powered by paranoia. Until Pakistan breaks its addiction to denial and stops seeing Afghanistan as a pawn, the cycle of violence will continue, not just with Kabul, but within Pakistan itself.
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Published By:
indiatodayglobal
Published On:
Nov 6, 2025
