Interim Prime Minister Anwar-ul-Haq Kakar, during his news conference in Islamabad on Wednesday, lived up to his reputation of putting across his point of view in a logical and convincing manner and highlighting the national perspective cogently. He minced no words in clarifying that the decision to repatriate all illegal immigrants including Afghan nationals was prompted by refusal of the Taliban Government to address Pakistani concerns about free for all anti-Pakistan activities of TTP activists from Afghan soil. He expressed sorrow over non-cooperation of the Taliban regime in stemming the recent spike of terrorist incidents causing human and material losses in Pakistan, which has its origin in activities of the banned TTP. The Prime Minister also demanded of the Taliban Government to hand over all Pakistani nationals residing in Afghanistan illegally and Pakistan would accept them.
The plain narration of the fact by the Prime Minister should leave no doubt in the minds of any Pakistani that the ongoing operation against illegal immigrants is the logical response of the country to the consistent non-cooperation of the Taliban Government on the issue of TTP terrorists, who are enjoying safe havens in Afghanistan and plan and execute terrorist activities in Pakistan. The Prime Minister rightly pointed out that following the installation of an interim government in Afghanistan in August 2021, it was expected that at last peace would prevail in the neighbouring country and the two states would also find new ways of progress and prosperity. It is an established fact that Pakistan championed the cause of Afghanistan, throughout opposed the military solution and paved the way for the withdrawal of foreign occupation forces, which ultimately led to the installation of the Taliban Government in the neighbouring country. Pakistan did all this in solidarity with the Afghan people and once the sovereignty returned to that country it rightly expected that a firm action would also be taken against TTP terrorists as they were continuously engaged in anti-Pakistan activities from Afghan soil. However, instead of obliging Pakistan, the Taliban first sought amnesty and dialogue with militants and then came up with the plea that Pakistan should sort out its internal problems itself, forgetting that Pakistan was not asking for such a favour but only action against hard-core criminals, who fled to Afghanistan in the face of an indiscriminate operation by the security forces of Pakistan.
The response of the Kabul Government is intriguing as the Taliban declared on numerous occasions not to allow the Afghan soil to be used against any other country including Pakistan. It is really shocking that since the Afghan interim government took over, there has been 60 percent to 500 percent increase in incidents of terrorism and suicide attacks, which has caused 2,267 innocent Pakistanis to lose their lives. As highlighted by the Prime Minister, 15 Afghan nationals were involved in suicide attacks while 64 Afghan drug traffickers were killed fighting against law enforcement agencies. Since February 2023, the Pakistani authorities have been informing Afghanistan of terror acts in Pakistan through continuous political, diplomatic, military, informal and formal ways about intensified activities of TTP terrorists and the need for a prompt action against them to save lives of innocent people but the Taliban Government was unmoved.
Therefore, Pakistan was left with no option but to take measures to safeguard its own national interests. Otherwise too, repatriation of illegal Afghans was long due as they not only made inroads in the local economy but were also involved in criminal activities, prompting demands from people across Pakistan to send them back to their motherland. It may also be noted that despite the provocative and non-cooperative attitude of the Afghan Government, Pakistan is not expelling registered refugees or those who have valid documents and only those living illegally are being evicted. There is a justified feeling among people of Pakistan that even registered refugees should also be sent back to Afghanistan where normalcy has returned and they can be resettled in their native areas easily. It is also the aspiration of the people of Pakistan that cooperation or non-cooperation of the Taliban Government on the issue of TTP terrorists notwithstanding, the ongoing operation against illegal immigrants should be taken to its logical conclusion.
