THE banned terrorist organization, Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) intensified its terrorist activities in Pakistan immediately after establishment of Interim Government of Afghan Taliban in August, 2021. There were many motives behind these terrorist attacks. The most dangerous of these was to compel the Government of Pakistan to give them the former FATA area where they may establish their own rule. Having achieved this concession they would have expanded their influence in other areas through a gradual process by further intensifying their terrorist activities. TTP was guided by its masters in Afghanistan to covertly demand such concessions and pursue such motives on the plea that they should be accommodated on the pattern of Afghan Taliban, indeed a misleading contention. Pakistan cannot replicate the model of Afghan Taliban, since they were fighting against invading powers in Afghanistan whereas, TTP is fighting against its own state, society and the established democratic governments for fulfilling its nefarious designs. Indeed, there is no place for militants and terrorists like TTP in any part of Pakistan.
The reality is that TTP and many such organizations are tools being used by their masters. Establishment of militant groups like TTP, Jamaat-ul-Ahrar (JuA), Lashkar-e-Islam and similar other splinter groups was done in the first decade of 21st Century, once US along with its allies (forty-eight countries) invaded Afghanistan after the unfortunate incident of 9/11. These terrorist organizations were established to operate against Pakistan. Owing to the terrorist attacks of these terrorist organizations, Pakistan remained highly vulnerable from a security and economic point of perspective. Even the US and NATO forces tried to exploit the Pakistani vulnerabilities many a time from 2004 to 2021. Nevertheless, the Pakistani military backed by its masses failed the designs of external forces through a physical and direct combating of terrorism. All these terrorist activities were aimed to gradually fail Pakistan, socially, politically and economically. A realistic analysis of the post 9/11 happenings would reveal that for the strategic interest of external powers Pakistani geopolitics was used which caused maximum damage to the state and society of Pakistan. Though the Pakistani military combated the terrorism, yet this left deep impact on the state and society of Pakistan. On its part, Pakistan fully supported the US and NATO forces during their draw-down in 2014/15 and later in August 2021 during their final withdrawal.
It is to be mentioned that Pakistan combated militancy and terrorism for the greater cause of international peace and stability. Major powers and the international community on their part, did very little to compensate for the losses Pakistan suffered from 2001 to 2023. Pakistan brokered the deal between US and Taliban in February 2020. Nevertheless, Pakistan is the only country whose security situation has worsened after the take-over of Afghanistan by Tehreek-e-Taliban Afghanistan (TTA) in August 2021. This is despite the fact that the Taliban take-over of Afghanistan was made possible because of hectic Pakistani efforts. The process of NATO and US pull-out and Taliban take-over was quite peaceful. Taliban did not face any resistance from any quarter within Afghanistan while they were taking over the war-torn state, two decades after expulsion of their regime. Even the former strong-hold of Northern Alliance ‘Mazār-i-Sharif’ fell to the Taliban without any protracted fight.
This indicates that grounds were prepared for Taliban by former invaders which made everything possible for them except overt financial support. Covertly the platform of UNHCR is being used for continued support of the Taliban Regime and Afghan masses ever since August 2021. This means that the Taliban Regime has full backing of former occupying power (s) in Afghanistan. This also means that former invaders are tracking their strategic objectives within and in the neighbourhood of Afghanistan while using Taliban as a covert tool. Initially Pakistan provided huge humanitarian assistance to the Taliban regime for the poor masses, nevertheless, the Taliban Government started behaving differently with Pakistan and with a clear support to TTP and other terrorist outfits, hiding in their hideout in Afghanistan.
These terrorist organizations are constantly operating against Pakistan from their hideouts in Afghanistan. On an almost daily basis, Pakistani security forces are facing terrorist attacks from these terrorist organizations. The sole aim of these terrorist attacks is to cause attrition and bleed Pakistani security forces. Alongside TTP and its splinter groups, many Afghan citizens have been found involved in terrorist attacks against Pakistan in areas bordering Pakistan. Pakistan officially approached the Afghan Taliban Government to stop these terrorist organizations from operating from Afghan soil. A clear message from Pakistan to the Afghan Taliban Government was to either handover all the Pakistani nationals (terrorists) hiding in Afghanistan or put them through a process of accountability in their own country.
Unfortunately, the Taliban Government has not responded positively to these demands of Pakistan. Rather, it is continuing with the abetment of terrorist organizations into Pakistan. Besides, the Taliban Government has been behaving arrogantly and non-seriously over the repeated demands of Pakistan. Such types of reactions speak of offensive gestures from Taliban and direct threat from a group which has neither international recognition nor ability to survive independently for a long time. This aggression was not seen by the elected governments of Hamid Karazai and Ashraf Ghani. Rather, despite the presence of TTP elements in Afghanistan under RAW and NDS, there were very few attacks on Pakistani border posts from 2017 to 2021.
Pakistan needs to devise a comprehensive strategy to counter the continual terrorist attacks from Afghan soil. A two-prong strategy; (a) political and diplomatic engagements with the Interim Taliban Government of Afghanistan by the Government of Pakistan and (b) a terrorist combating policy by the military has to be worked-out and practiced simultaneously. Pakistan can neither accept impracticable demands of TTP nor can it afford a war of attrition against its armed forces and masses.
— The writer is Professor of Politics and IR at International Islamic University, Islamabad.
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