Resurfacing friction between Pakistan and Afghanistan
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Contrary to solemn affirmations by the Taliban to the international community that they would not allow the soil of Afghanistan to be used for terrorism, recent reports indicate that a variety of militant organizations continue to operate with impunity within Afghanistan and carry out attacks against neighboring countries, notably Pakistan and Uzbekistan.
Since August last year, over 100 Pakistani military personnel have lost their lives to attacks by the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) emanating from eastern Afghanistan, according to a military statement. Reports of the uprooting of parts of the border fence, cross-border attacks against Pakistan and the Afghan accusation of Pakistani air raids in Khost and Kunar against TTP bases as well as the threat of ‘bad consequences’ by the Afghan foreign ministry, point to a new low in Pakistan-Afghanistan relations.
Despite the iron-fisted control of Afghanistan by the Taliban, Daesh-K, ETIM, IMU and TTP continue to wreak havoc internally and externally, targeting innocent Afghans and destabilizing Afghanistan’s relations with its neighbors. The inability of the Taliban government to suppress and eliminate these groups raises questions of intent and capability. And more fundamentally reveal the twisted reality of the state of Afghanistan after over 40 years of war and turmoil.
The ideological inclinations and partnerships of expediency against foreign occupation over these long years have left enduring scars on the makeup of Afghan society, which the Taliban seemingly cannot efface. In short, Afghanistan remains a source of regional instability.
Pakistan cannot continue to countenance TTP terror attacks from Afghanistan and the safe haven provided to them in eastern Afghanistan.
Salman Bashir
Pakistan is directly affected by the situation in Afghanistan. Besides hosting millions of Afghan refugees and providing every possible assistance to Afghanistan – humanitarian, economic and diplomatic- Afghans of all shades are prone to whip up anti-Pakistan hysteria. The Taliban are no exception to this as are members of the old regime.
But Pakistan cannot continue to countenance TTP terror attacks from Afghanistan and the safe haven provided to them in eastern Afghanistan. The Taliban describe these entities as refugees and suggest that Pakistan deal with them bilaterally through talks. This obfuscates the real issue of cross-border militancy by portraying the TTP as innocent refugees. The TTP has been an ally of the Taliban and is deeply in league with anti-Pakistan forces.
Pakistan’s hopes for a stable and peaceful Afghanistan, an anchor of regional economic cooperation, have received a rude jolt by the attitude and actions of the Taliban. Pakistan has no other option but to persist with its supportive measures for the Taliban regime to eventually bring a degree of normalcy to Afghanistan. That seems to be the official line in Islamabad.
The TTP issue can be met with the ‘talk-fight’ formula so often used during NATO’s sojourn in Afghanistan. The Taliban will have to be persuaded to quietly mediate with the TTP, while forcing those bent on terror and violence to vacate Afghanistan. Diplomatic and economic leverage will have to be used to impel a change in the orientation of the Taliban government, which cannot absolve itself of its responsibility for whatever happens in and from Afghanistan.
The broad contours of Pakistan’s policy toward Afghanistan is unlikely to change. The TTP issue has to be dealt separately from the imperative need for assisting in Afghanistan’s stability and economic well-being. In this regard, the enormous incentives that Pakistan and China offer have not yet been fully appreciated by the Taliban government.
Changing the mindset of the Taliban is a tall order. While respecting the sovereignty and independence of Afghanistan and by adhering scrupulously to the principle of non-interference in Afghan affairs, Pakistan will have to continue to modulate policy toward Afghanistan based on a realistic understanding of the situation that is extremely complex and requires immense patience.
- Salman Bashir is a Pakistani diplomat who served as Foreign Secretary of Pakistan and as High Commissioner of Pakistan to India. Twitter: @Salman_B_PK
