PAKISTAN is facing a renewed wave of militancy and terrorism since last few months. In the recent incidents of terrorism, five Chinese nationals were targeted through a well-planned and very well coordinated suicide attack near Bisham. Besides, two strategic locations were targeted; the Gwadar Port Authority Complex and the TurbatNaval Base in a series of attacks. These three attacks were somehow interlinked and an attempt to sabotage the developmental work of CPEC, a Grand Pak-China Project. Very interestingly, there came a very interesting statement from US State Department, after suicide attack on Chinese nationals, working at Dasu Dam. State Department spokesperson was questioned about the Iran-Pakistan Gas Pipeline, which Pakistan decided to complete its part after a delay of more than fifteen years. He clearly communicated US annoyance over this gas pipeline project and indirectly warned Pakistan not to proceed on this project. This statement is sufficient enough to draw conclusions from the series of terrorist attacks, being conducted on various parts of Pakistan. Indeed, keeping Pakistan in a constant state of socio-political instability, security threats and state of economic tremulousness are the direct objectives form these terrorist attacks. Indeed, Pakistan has been combating militancy and terrorism since the start of 21st century. This wave of terrorism started in Pakistan, after the well planned incident of 9/11, which was planned, conceived and executed at US but its fall-outs were felt in Pakistan and Afghanistan until 2021. Pakistan suffered over 80,000 human beings in this uncalled for war with massive economic and social losses. After the pull-out of US and NATO forces, the occupying powers imposed Taliban Government in war-torn country for a new phase of terrorism in Pakistan. This phase of terrorism is totally focus against Pakistan and China with three main objectives; a) to sabotage China Pakistan Economic Corridor, b) to economically ruin and exploit Pakistan ensuring its dependency over IMF and World Bank and c) to harm Chinese economic and strategic projects which are being implemented through Pakistani geopolitics.
In the last two decades, Pakistani military has very successfully fought against this externally imposed terrorism with lot of bravery and enthusiasm. Indeed, the nation has defeated the terrorism through its brave armed forces while the entire nation stood behind them. This achievement was never the agenda and desire of those who conceptualized the idea of terrorism against Pakistan. They wanted more to be done against Pakistan, thus renewed the concept with changed methodology. They wanted Pakistan should constantly bleed and ultimately involve into a civil war and internally chaotic situation. They imposed Taliban Government in Afghanistan, whom U.S declared as a terrorist outfit during its prolonged stay in Afghanistan from 2001 to 2021. Despite not being recognized, U.S and west is supporting Taliban Government through various NGOs, IGOs, MNCs and various organizations of United Nations. They don’t criticize the human rights violations, being committed by Taliban; they have no issue with women rights under Taliban Government. Indeed, Taliban Government in Afghanistan is being sustained through various direct and indirect approaches. All the vested powers want from Taliban Government in Afghanistan to destabilize Pakistan through terrorism and use Afghan soil to target the joint ventures of Pakistan and China.
Despite repeated requests to Taliban Government in Afghanistan for stoppage of terrorism through TTP and its splinter groups, there is no let-up in the attacks from Afghan soil. TTP and its splinter groups have killed thousands of innocent Pakistanis and thousands of our soldiers in last two decades. The main objective of TTP terrorist campaign against Pakistan has been to force Government Pakistan to give them some concessions and areas for their own rule within the boundaries of Pakistan. Former FATA was the area; TTP has been looking forward for this type of set up in the first instance. Having achieved this concession they would have expanded their influence in other areas in a gradual process. Indeed, TTP is just a tool, planning to destabilize and insecure Pakistan has been going for decades. Establishment of militant groups like; TTP, Jamaat-ul-Ahrar (JuA) and similar other splinters groups was done in first decade of 21st, after US and NATO invaded Afghanistan.
In the first two decades of 21st century, Pakistan was deliberately kept vulnerable from the perspective of security as well as economically. So much so, that US and NATO forces tried to exploit the Pakistani vulnerabilities many a time from 2004 to 2021. In the post 2021 scenario, the response of the Afghan Taliban Government towards Pakistan has been unfriendly and rivalry based. Taliban soldiers, guarding the Afghan border repeatedly disrupted the process of security fencing, undertaken by Pak Army. Taliban soldiers even removed the fence from a sizable portion of Pak-Afghan border which cannot be taken as an incident but a willful act.Nevertheless, Pakistani military is quite alert against the happenings and the nefarious designs of external forces and combated the well planned terrorism which was aimed to ruin Pakistan through direct and indirect strategies.
Pakistan is the only country whose security situation has deteriorated after take-over of Afghanistan by Afghan Taliban in August 2021. Afghan soil is rapidly becoming a confluence of various spying networks to; train, finance, equipped and abets the terrorists of various cadres to conduct terrorist attacks in Pakistan. Even Indian RAW is covertly getting back to Afghanistan under various pretexts. In fact, there is a need to understand the new trends and renewed objectives of terrorism against Pakistan by external forces while making use of Afghan soil. Pakistan must devise new strategies to counter the emerging trends of terrorism through wisdom and foresight. — The writer is Professor of Politics and IR at International Islamic University, Islamabad.
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