BALOCHISTAN’S Minister for Information Jan Achakzai has confirmed the widely-held perception that attempts are being made to penalize Pakistan for pursuing policies in line with its national interests. During a press conference in Quetta on Sunday, he referred to recent major terror incidents in Balochistan and KP and said this is clear proof that our two neighbours are trying to blackmail Pakistan. The Minister pointed out that the sophisticated nature of the attacks is also an indication that these have not been carried out by an ordinary terror outfit but perpetrated with the support of the Indian intelligence agency RAW.
Pakistan has, time and again, drew attention of the international community towards involvement of India in terror incidents in the country while the Taliban Government has turned a deaf ear to the consistent calls by Pakistan to take action against sanctuaries of terrorism in Afghanistan that are used to plan and carry out terror attacks on this side of the Durand Line. Pakistan has taken some border control measures at the cost of billions of rupees to keep a check on illegal movement of people and goods but instead of appreciating the move, the rulers in Kabul (both previous and the incumbent one) opposed it tooth and nail and even encouraged attacks on Pakistani troops and workers engaged in erection of the barbed wire. The surge in attacks from across the border and reports about involvement of RAW and the Afghan intelligence agency – National Directorate of Security also make it clear why the Taliban were not taking action against TTP elements in Afghanistan. There are reasons to believe that the TTP is being used as an asset to pressurize and blackmail Pakistan, especially in the context of the sovereign decision of Islamabad to expel all illegal immigrants including Afghan nationals as is the practice all over the world. It is also intriguing that instead of welcoming its nationals, who were hosted by Pakistan for decades at the cost of social and economic consequences, Kabul is hurling threats on Islamabad. Pakistan is committing no crime by expelling illegal immigrants and it is the responsibility of the Taliban Government to settle them back into their native areas at a time when rulers in Kabul propagate that conditions in Afghanistan are much better than Pakistan. The declaration issued by over two hundred religious scholars on Sunday is clear testimony that the entire nation stands behind their defence forces, that are valiantly fighting the foreign-funded and aided terrorists. The nation expects the government and the defence forces to take the ongoing operation against illegal immigrants and different mafias to its logical conclusion for the sake of immediate and long-term interests of the country. Stringent border control should be exercised to prevent re-entry of those who are being repatriated.
