CHIEF of Army Staff (COAS) General Syed Asim Munir has tried to sensitize the international community about the threat posed by ‘Fitna al-Khwarij’ to regional as well as global peace and security. Speaking at the special session of the Margalla Dialogue 2024 organized by the Islamabad Policy Research Institute (IPRI) in the Federal Capital, he pointed out that this ‘Fitna’ has become a hub for all global terrorist organizations and proxies. The Army Chief dwelt on Pakistan’s Role in Peace and Stability highlighting its significant achievements in promoting regional harmony and international peace.
Pakistan has rightly been regarded as the frontline state in the war against terror and its consistent fight against the menace of terrorism and extremism has contributed immensely to the cause of regional and global peace. The country incurred huge losses both in men and material during its long struggle against terror. It was because of the sacrifices offered by personnel of Pakistan Army and other security agencies that almost all terror networks were successfully neutralized from the soil of Pakistan. However, TTP elements (now called Fitna al-Khawarij), uprooted from some parts of KP, found safe havens in neighbouring Afghanistan and with the passage of time regrouped and achieved the capability of mounting potent security threats to Pakistan. Ever since assumption of power by Taliban in Afghanistan, there has been a sharp uptick in the number of attacks targeting security forces, other law enforcement agencies and security checkpoints, particularly in Balochistan and KP. There is undeniable evidence that the TTP is using Afghan soil to launch attacks against targets in Pakistan and the issue has repeatedly been taken up with the rulers in Kabul but Islamabad’s concerns have not been addressed. In fact, there are reasons to believe that the TTP is operating with the full connivance of the Taliban, who are using it as an asset to advance their own agenda of pressurizing Pakistan on different issues. The warning given by the Pakistan Army Chief was corroborated earlier by a report of the UN Security Council, which found that the TTP and the Afghan Taliban are collaborating more closely, sharing training camps and manpower. The report also noted that the two groups are conducting more lethal attacks under the banner of Tehreek-e Jihad Pakistan. The UN assessment quoted member states as noting that TTP operatives, along with local fighters, are being trained in al-Qaida camps that the terrorist outfit has set up in multiple border provinces such as Nangarhar, Kandahar, Kunar and Nuristan. Al-Qaida’s support for TTP also involves sharing Afghan fighters for military staffing or attack formations. The report quoted one UN member state as expressing concern that “greater collaboration” with al-Qaida could transform TTP into an “extra-regional threat.” Today this collusion of terrorist groups is focused against Pakistan but if left unattended by the world community it could present serious threats to other neighbouring countries and beyond. Therefore, there is an urgent need for a joint action plan to wipe out these remnants of terrorism to take the counter-terrorism campaign to its logical conclusion in this region. Apart from the role that Pakistan has played and is still playing for the cause of regional and global peace and security through its matchless war against terror, the country has contributed more troops than any other country for UN peacekeeping missions around the world. The Army Chief also noted that India’s extremist ideology was posing threat to minorities abroad, especially in the US, UK and Canada. India’s cruelty and brutality in India-Illegally Occupied Jammu & Kashmir (IIOJ&K) is also a continuation of Hindutva ideology and policy. The world must shun double standards on the issue of terrorism and speak loudly against state-sponsored and transnational terrorism by New Delhi.
