Not possible at all. You see Hezbullah doing FPVs against Buffer zone of Israelis? Their buffer zone is much tinier. Expect such happening against Pakistan military too for any incursion. and now some facts: Lebanon - Israel border is just 120 km (blue line). Ours with Afghanistan is 2700 KMs. On top, Israel do not have to worry about any other existential threat from any other side. We have god damn india at our east sharing another massive border. Why on earth we would want us to be trapped into a death trap by sending our military at opposite side?
How many times I have to repeat, that this buffer-zone BS is impossible. Unless you become best buddies with india and somehow you have guarantee they will not attack and then you spend 100 billion dollars to wage a war against afghanistan to invade into 50-100 kms and guard it like hell to have a "buffer zone". The thing is Taliban are building or procuring one way drones. Its super obvious that Taliban will be getting their hands on FPV drones as well. Whole of afghanistan, whether taliban or anti-talib groups will become one if their land is occupied.
Taliban / afghanistan is something you can deal only with intelligence agencies. You need to divert their attention towards any other border, create a rift between their ranks OR arm / support anti-talib group so they get busy their. Best outcome would be to eventually get your own (or ones at your payroll) in their higher ranks and eliminate rest to make his way at the top. or some other intelligence shit. You need ground presence, infiltration, covert ops. In today's age of one-way drones, FPVs (poor man's airforce) its really difficult to do massive military operations without massive cost and blow back.
Pakistan already showed in the recent border clashes that it
can take Afghan territory even if only for a short time. So it’s not like Pakistan is powerless. It’s not like the border is some sacred line nobody can cross. When Pakistan pushed back, it captured small Afghan positions and held them briefly. So yes, Pakistan
can do it. But doing it on a large scale is a whole different story.
And that’s the point.
Pakistan can build buffer zone inside Afghanistan on soma areas, but whole border may not be possible as long as the Taliban stay fully in control. A strong, centralized Taliban with support from Indian and Israe, means limitted space for Pakistan to shape anything on that side.
Afghanistan has never been one united block anyway. It’s always been a mix of different regions and different peoples, Tajiks, Uzbeks, Hazaras, Pashtuns. Everyone has their own power centers. Their own leaders. Their own loyalties.
Even the Americans once said Afghanistan basically acts like
three separate regions. North. South. West. And honestly, that’s how it looks on the ground.
If these regions ever start asking for more autonomy...even a little... Pakistan suddenly has options. Real options. You can talk to the north. You can talk to the west. You can talk to the central highlands. You don’t have to deal with only the Taliban in Kabul.
And yes, that includes the old
Northern Alliance networks and other non‑Taliban groups. They still exist in political form. They still have influence. They still don’t like Taliban rule. They are natural counterweights.
When Pakistan engages these regions politically or economically....not militarily, the Taliban’s grip weakens. Slowly. Quietly. Naturally. And when their grip weakens,
natural buffer spaces start to appear. Not because Pakistan invaded anything. But because Afghanistan becomes more decentralized.
But here’s the twist people forget,
China won’t like this. China wants a stable, centralized Afghanistan under Taliban control. China wants one phone number to call, not five. China wants no northern warlords, no regional autonomy, no fragmentation. Because fragmentation threatens their Belt & Road plans and their Xinjiang security concerns.
So yeah, China may go against Pakistan’s interests here. They may quietly support the Taliban’s central authority. They may push back against any Afghan decentralization. They may not want Pakistan talking to northern or western groups.
So Pakistan has to be smart, Quiet, Subtle and Patient.
Because the only path where a buffer zone becomes possible is the path where Afghanistan becomes weaker, more divided, more decentralized and where Pakistan builds ties with northern, western, and central groups who don’t want Taliban domination.
Not war, Not invasion. Just political engagement with the parts of Afghanistan that already feel different.
