NA panel told: Sharp uptick in terror attacks after Taliban returned to power

ISLAMABAD: A National Assembly panel was informed on Wednesday that terrorists attacks in Pakistan has significantly increased following Afghan Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan with more than 2,300 terror incidents and over 1,378 fatalities in the country since 2021.

The National Assembly Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs meeting chaired by Hina Rabbani Khar was given a detailed briefing by Foreign Secretary Muhammad Syrus Sajjad Qazi and other senior officials of the Foreign Office on Pakistan’s relations with the United States, China, India, Afghanistan, Iran, and Turkiye.

Following a detailed briefing on Apostille services by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Apostille Bill 2024 was also thoroughly discussed and unanimously passed by the committee.

On Afghanistan, the foreign secretary said that at present addressing the issue of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) threat from Afghanistan remains the foremost priority for Pakistan.

He said that in recent years, there has been a sharp uptick in terrorist attacks by TIP and its affiliates inside Pakistan using Afghan territory. Since 2021, he added that there have been more than 2,300 terrorist incidents in Pakistan, resulting in over 1,378 casualties in Pakistan. He said that Pakistan’s concerns have clearly been outlined to the interim Afghan government with the demands to dismantle, disrupt and disarm the TTP in Afghanistan; detain and hand-over TTP ringleaders to Pakistan; prevent/ debar the from conducting actions against Pakistan and public condemnation/ denouncement of all acts of terrorism in Pakistan.

He also told the committee that relationship with Afghanistan is of core strategic importance to Pakistan, having a direct bearing on Pakistan’s internal stability and security.

However, he said that managing this relationship is likely a daunting challenge due to bilateral dynamics, as well as, inherent historical complexities.

He said that Pakistan’s engagement with Afghanistan is guided by its core interests, which include the imperative to address the security threats emanating from Afghanistan; border management for documented travel, demarcation/ fencing, etc; promotion of bilateral trade; and enhancing connectivity/ access to Central Asia and beyond.

He added that Pakistan remains engaged with the interim Afghan government through existing bilateral channels, including the Joint Coordination Committee (JCC), which is mandated to discuss border security and management issues between both sides.

He added that sustainable repatriation of Afghan nationals is also among Pakistan’s foremost priorities.

In November 2023, the government of Pakistan began implementing the Illegal Foreigners Repatriation Plan (IFRP), which envisions a phased and orderly repatriation of all illegal aliens from Pakistan. First phase of the IFRP has been completed, in which a total of 663,844 undocumented Afghans have been repatriated, as of 22 July 2024.

The foreign secretary further told the panel that One Document Regime (ODR) is being implemented to promote documented travel across the border.

He stated that enhancement of trade and transit cooperation and development of infrastructure and energy-connectivity projects through Afghanistan features high on Pakistan’s agenda.

He said that bilateral trade with Afghanistan has witnessed an increasing trend in the last several years, reaching US$ 1.603 billion in 2023-24, with Pakistan’s exports standing at US$ 1,065 million and imports at US$ 539 million.

About relations with the US, the foreign secretary said that the ties between the two countries have grown over the years.

He said that Pakistan and the US have a Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) and the 7th inter-sessional meeting of TIFA was held in Islamabad on 24-25 April 2024.

About trade with the US, he said that the US is the largest single country export destination for Pakistan. Sharing the trade figures for the last two years, he said that Pakistan exports to the US [including services] stood at $8.33 billion during FY 2022-23 against $9 billion in FY 2021-22.

He added that Pakistan imports from the US in FY2022-23 were $2.214 billion against $3 billion in FY2021-22. The US’s FDI and FPI in Pakistan were $118.4 million in FY2-22-23 against $131.4 million in FY2021-22.

Repatriation of profits/ dividends to the US remained $38.9 million in FY2022-23 against $203.3 million in FY2021-22. Pakistanis workers in the US sent $3.090 billion in FY2022-23 against $3.087 billion in FY2021-22, he added.

He said that top exports to the US for FY2022-23 included bed and table linen ($1.035) billion, men/ boys suits (not knitted) ($896 million), sweaters, pullovers ($319.929 million), T-shirts and vests ($303.87 million), socks and other hosiery ($202 million), leather products ($174.73 million).

Whereas, top imports from the US in FY 2022-23 included cotton ($880 million), ferrous waste and scrap ($ 246 million), maize (corn ($39.66 million), soybean ($173.02 million), and bitumen ($13.7 million), he added.

He further said that 80 US enterprises, including Pepsi, Coca Cola, General Electric, Abbott, IBM, Dell, Pizza Hut, McDonalds, Caterpillar, Procter and Gamble, Oracle, Pfizer and Microsoft are investing in Pakistan, employing 150,000 Pakistani workers and supporting around one million households.

Furthermore, he added that at present 10,164 Pakistani students are enrolled in the US higher education institutions, which is 16 percent higher than last year (8,772). Pakistan is among the top eight countries with significant increase in student numbers in the US, he added.

Referring to the flood assistance, he said that the US flood assistance of about USD 200 million (including additional pledge of $100 million during the Geneva Conference) is being channelled mainly through USA1D.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024