People are nor understanding it. Pakistan is being forced into these talks by countries that have interests with the Taliban. Taliban and their relatives live in countries like Qatar. Pakistan has no choice, but to attend these talks because Pakistan takes monetary help from these countries.
This is patently not the case.
Qatar and Turkey are doing this in earnest.
The key is that it is no longer as simple as sending a bunch of suicide bombers in Pakistan. There is a major cost to be paid for each suicide bombing in Pakistan and the Taliban know this. As I have said earlier, gone are the days of Taliban hiding in mountains. They have a country to run and that means they are visible and present. That means they can be openly targeted.
The issue is one of living with this situation for the long term. That is neither good for us nor for Afghanistan (actually it is way worse for them).
My own view, despite some of the naysayers and I'd say even Taliban sympathizers like Rahim Yousufzai claiming that Pakistan cannot antagonize Taliban because of their reaction, is that Pakistan has more leverage than people are being led to believe.
a) The economic leverage is that Pakistan is STILL the only major trade route for Taliban.
b) Militarily there is a massive overmatch in favor of Pakistan. Given Pakistan's new approach, every Taliban attack including the use of TTP and BLA, suicide attacks etc. will cause more damage to Taliban bc of Pakistani response. Taliban stand to lose out on trade, infrastructure, and would face a potentially major IDP problem if Pakistan presses hard and makes living untenable for ppl close to the border.
c) Yes, Taliban can resort to their Takfiri guerrilla tactics and take to the mountains of Afghanistan, but when they do that, the leave space open for other entities to take power. Pakistan could accelerate the displacement of Taliban government by backing other factions. Tajiks, Uzbeks etc. could be courted if needed. Pakistan could activate its cells and insert more people to destabilize the Taliban govt. Countless tactics could be used by GoP to do this.
d) Yes, Taliban could be aided by India through a covert war (they sort of already are but lets say RSS India steps up military supplies), but the entire region looks at the arming of Taliban as a problematic proposition including Russia, China, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and even the US. Second, Pakistan and China could respond by upping the ante in IIOK and Indian tribal belt.
This is not to suggest that Pakistan should go the kinetic path. We should invest in the talks and get the Taliban to see the light. I still hope Taliban see the folly of their approach because it is a road to nowhere. It is more ruin for Afghanistan and perpetual war with Pakistan.