EDITORIAL: About time Pakistan took its TTP (Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan)-specific concerns to the Security Council. The country’s ambassador to the UN, Munir Akram, has formally told the council that Islamabad has “clear evidence” that the outlawed terrorist group is supported by “our main adversary” and is allowed to conduct cross-border attacks at will.
He didn’t have to spell it out, but it was clear that he was alluding to the Indian government and its intelligence agencies’ financial and material support to TTP to attack security installations and personnel inside Pakistan in what is effectively its second insurgency against this state.
It’s a shame that the Afghan government did not keep its word about dismantling the TTP network on its side of the border. That was, after all, the quid pro quo for our help in bringing about the Doha negotiations that saw the end of the so-called war on terror and departure of all occupying troops from Afghanistan after more than two decades of constant fighting.
And now, after delivering a clear warning about “decisive action” to Kabul, taking the UN on board is part of a clear pattern that will, most probably, see Pakistan put its foot down and do whatever needs to be done to crush TTP once and for all; wherever it is holed up.
The Indian influence is not new. New Delhi worked closely with the Karzai and Ghani administrations, openly shared their anti-Pakistan obsession, and kept TTP fed and armed immediately after the Pakistani military smashed its command structure in the tribal area and forced its remaining fighters to flee across the Durand Line.
But the expectation that this influence – a clear violation of international law – would come to an end with the return of the Taliban proved completely wrong. And Pakistan not only faces a new, bloody insurgency but, quite rightly, also feels betrayed by the Afghan government.
No doubt this issue would have been touched upon during the army chief’s visit to the US as well. For, there is concern everywhere that TTP has got its hands on high-tech equipment left behind by American forces as they scrambled to leave the war-torn country. And that equipment, which includes night vision goggles and sophisticated sniper rifles, is being employed against the Pakistani military and police forces.
The Americans do not publicly admit to any unaccounted for hardware, blaming the former Afghan army instead, which melted away as soon as Ashraf Ghani fled the country, but the facts must have come out in military-to-military interactions between Pakistan and the US.
It’s significant that the head of the UN mission in Afghanistan has also endorsed Islamabad’s complaints, especially that “Afghan de facto authorities have done little to contain the TTP”. With complete international isolation looming – which is exactly what will happen once Islamabad turns its back on them – the Taliban may well regret their lack of wisdom in breaking their promise to Pakistan for the sake of TTP terrorists.
In fact, Pakistani authorities should have sniffed their insincerity when they first tried to delay action instead of taking their smart idea of talking to TTP. Even now, with attacks once again becoming a daily occurrence, there is a need for greater urgency in Pakistan’s response.
The future is uncertain, because the Taliban will not react well to any cross-border action. But that should not stop the military from taking all necessary action to exterminate TTP once and for all.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2023
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