The Role of Pakistan in Facilitating Peace between the Taliban and the United States: Challenges and Opportunities

Abstract

This article explores the complicated and consequential role that Pakistan plays in enabling peace talks between the United States and the Taliban that led to the 2020 Doha Agreement. Using a qualitative research approach and utilizing secondary data, the article examines Pakistani mediation's role in one of the most important diplomatic episodes in contemporary South Asian history. Looking at Pakistan in the context of international relations theory, specifically Realism and Constructivism, the paper analyzes Pakistan’s strategic reasons for the peace process, its historical connection to the Taliban, and its regional security concerns and interests in being part of building peace in the region. The study concludes that Pakistan facilitated meetings, hosted Taliban leaders and promoted dialogue among warring factions through its diplomatic and intelligence network. Pakistan’s calculations were rooted in its national interests; Islamabad wanted to have a stable western border, a minimal Indian presence in Afghanistan, and to exert itself and its regional status as a responsible actor on the world stage. But the findings also point to a contested narrative: The international community may have recognized the Pakistan's positive facilitation, but suspicions also remained that it would maintain old tracks with Taliban factions and might be playing a double game in terms of both perpetuating the conflict and resolving it. Finally, the article evaluates the wider geopolitical and regional implications of Pakistan's mediation, in relation to post-withdrawal Afghan governance, US–Pakistan bilateral relations and regional strategic realignments concerning India, Iran and China. Through a Constructivist framework, the research also suggests how elements of national identity, religious kin affiliation, and ideational constructs shape Pakistan’s foreign policy conduct. Finally, the study contributes to scholarly debates on peace building, mediation and South Asian geopolitics by providing a nuanced interpretation of how historical ties, strategic calculations and normative architectures intersect in the mobilization of international peace processes.