Speaking at a well-attended seminar organized by the Institute of Regional Studies (IRS), former National Security Advisor, Lt. Gen (r) Nasir Khan Janjua, suggested that the way forward to deal with the challenge of cross-border terrorism, especially the TTP, was to proceed through the Afghan government. He also underscored that, ‘for a better future, and ensuring a better partnership in the development of the region, we need to look at Afghanistan beyond the TTP factor’. He also emphasized the need to see the cross-border terrorism threat in a larger canvas, adding that “today’s challenges are direct outcomes of the conflicting ideologies of different countries and their maneuverings with the insurgent groups.”
Speaking on the occasion, Ambassador Asif Ali Khan Durrani, Pakistan’s Special Representative on Afghanistan said that peace in Afghanistan seemed a tall order for now, therefore we have to live with the neighboring country and manage our affairs with Afghanistan accordingly. Ambassador Durrani also noted that ‘earlier, it was hoped that with the arrival of the Taliban, the security situation on the Pak-Afghan border would improve but unfortunately the TTP attacks emanating from Afghanistan had increased by 60 percent in the last two years’.
Sharing his thoughts on the occasion, DrKaleem Imam, former IGP and counterterrorism expert, said that besides the TTP, several other militant organizations were actively involved in spreading insurgencies such as BLA, and BLF.
In his concluding remarks, President IRS, Ambassador Jauhar Saleem said that “we need to understand that there would always be some international politics played in our region, but we should never allow that to destabilize our country.”
