PAKISTANI law enforcement agencies have executed kinetic and non-kinetic measures to combat the menace of terrorism in the country. Besides, the government is utilizing diplomatic channels to erase the terrorists’ sanctuaries in the neighbouring state—Afghanistan. Last week, a Pakistani delegation visited Kabul to seek security cooperation from the Taliban Administration. It requested the Taliban Administration to assist them in the investigation of the perpetrators of the Bisham suicide attack on March 26. Kabul’s response was encouraging; however, Afghanistan’s internal dynamics seem unsupportive to Pakistan’s demands.
The identification and elimination of transnational terrorist syndicate members require the transnational counterterrorism approach. The terrorists having sanctuaries in Afghanistan are out of the reach of Pakistani law enforcement agencies. Though Pakistan Air Force conducted surgical strikes at the suspected hideouts of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP)terrorists belonging to the Hafiz Gul Bahadur Group, located inside border regions—the Laman area in Paktika’s Barmal district and the Afghan-Dubai area in Khost’s Spera district of Afghanistan.The Hafiz Gul Bahadur group had claimed responsibility for the deadly attack in North Waziristan at the security post in Mir Ali in North Waziristan in March 2023. The attack martyred seven Pakistani soldiers.
Realistically, surgical strikes on the Afghanistan territory are not advisable. They deteriorate Pakistan’s relations with Afghanistan. Nevertheless, in extreme situations, especially when the Taliban Administration is not cooperating, such undesirable strikes are the only option for guarding the national security of Pakistan.
Pakistani law enforcement agencies are bravely chasing, arresting and killing hardcore terrorists. Despite the daring operations of Pakistani law enforcement agencies, the terrorist attacks have increased alarmingly since the withdrawal of the United States-led NATO forces from Afghanistan in August 2021.This is because terrorist groups, such as TTP, have hideouts and sanctuaries inside Afghanistan. The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) claimed that terrorism in Pakistan has the full support and assistance of Afghanistan. “The Afghan interim government is not only arming the terrorists but also providing a haven for other terrorist organizations as well as being involved in the incidents of terrorism in Pakistan.”
The TTP was responsible for multiple terrorist attacks inside Pakistan, resulting in the deaths of hundreds of civilians, law enforcement officials and Chinese working in Pakistan. Besides the Pakistanis, the terrorist groups are targeting Chinese nationals, mainly engineers and workers employed on the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) projects. They desired to spoil the country’s economic prosperity and undermine China-Pakistan bilateral relations. Notably, the Chinese are very sensitive about the security of their nationals in Pakistan. They demanded from the government of Pakistan a foolproof security for the Chinese residing in Pakistan.
The Bisham, Shangla terrorist attack on the Chinese engineers’ vehicle on 26 March 2024, caused the suspension of work on three critical hydropower projects: the Dasu Dam, the Diamer-Basha Dam and the Tarbela 5th Extension. A similar attack on a bus carrying workers of the Dasu Hydropower Project in July 2021 killed nine Chinese nationals. The suspension of work on the mega projects indicates that terrorists were successful in spoiling Pakistan’s drive for economic prosperity.
The Bisham terrorist attack took the number of direct attacks involving Chinese targets to at least 33 since the launch of CPEC. The terrorist’s sequential targeting of Chinese nationals has shaken their confidence in the security measures to protect them. A few of them might consider leaving Pakistan due to safety concerns. Hence, the security of Chinese engineers and workers is one of the critical concerns for the government of Pakistan. Importantly, if the Chinese quash their projects in Pakistan, then no one will think of investing in Pakistan shortly.
Pakistanis were optimistic that after the end of the war in Afghanistan, the Afghan Taliban would assist them in the extermination of anti-Pakistan terrorist groups having safe hideouts in Afghanistan. Ironically, since the Taliban seized control of Kabul in August 2021, the cross-border militancy has increased in Pakistan.
The Taliban administration not only refused to assist Pakistan in controlling the TTP but indirectly asked Islamabad to accept the terrorist organization’s unconstitutional demands. In March, Zabihullah Mujahid, the spokesperson of the Taliban administration, said, “Pakistan should not blame Afghanistan for their problems and failure to control violent incidents. Such acts can lead to dire consequences which will not be in control of Pakistan.” Despite these recommendations of the Taliban administration, Islamabad has been requesting Kabul for assistance in arresting the perpetrators of the Bisham suicide attack. For the satisfaction of the Taliban administration, Islamabad had shared concrete evidence with the Taliban administration.
The encouraging development is that the Taliban administration agreed to assist Pakistan in the investigation of the Bisham suicide attack in which five Chinese nationals and their Pakistani driver lost their lives. On 31 May 2024, FO spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said, “The Afghan side has agreed to examine the findings of the investigation and to work with Pakistan to take the investigation to its logical conclusion.” Indeed, it’s an essential development in restoring the mutual trust between Kabul and Islamabad. To conclude, security cooperation between Afghanistan and Pakistan is imperative for combating the menace of transnational terrorist syndicates and improving the image of the Taliban administration in the international community and mutual trust between Islamabad and Kabul.
—The writer is professor at the School of Politics and International Relations, Quaid-i-Azam University.
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