Pakistan's own conflicting policies led to the country being a victim of the Taliban's return to violence.

•  The Pakistani security establishment attempted to distinguish between "good" and "evil" Taliban fifteen years ago. The Afghan Taliban and other organizations like Jaish-e-Muhammad and Lashkar-e-Taiba that supported Pakistan's objectives in the area were the good Taliban.
• Although the situation is still not as bad as it was then, the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTPreturn )'s to terrorist, extortion, and hostage-taking activities has set Pakistan back a decade and severely damaged its relations with the Afghan Taliban, who the Pakistani government and Army accuse of harboring the terrorist organization.