The Afghan President Ashraf Ghani's recent letter to civil and military leadership to take "practical steps" to clamp down on Taliban is the outcome of immense pressure on President Ghani following a series of deadly terrorist attacks in his country. Subsequent to the Taliban's spring offensive launched in late April, the Afghan President for the first time vented frustration of his government since he assumed office in September last year, asking Pakistan to clamp down on Taliban or otherwise "he would reverse diplomatic outreach".
The latest development comes after wide-spread criticism in Kabul after the MoU was signed between Pakistan's Inter-services Intelligence (ISI) and National Directorate of Security (NDS), Afghan spy agency, to cooperate through intelligence sharing and co-ordinated actions against the 'common enemy' - the terrorists. "Regardless of his firm commitment to peace, President Ghani has no choice but to become a war president to ensure the survival of his country and the safety of Afghan women and children," states the reported letter sent to the civil and military leadership of Pakistan.
In the letter, President Ghani has called upon Pakistan to prove its commitment to peace by taking eight steps, which include placing Taliban leadership under house arrest as well as going after Haqqani network, a branch of the Afghan Taliban, which the Afghan government believes is operated from Pakistani tribal areas.
Foreign Office spokesperson Qazi Khalilullah was not available for comments despite repeated telephone calls and text messages; however, he has repeatedly reiterated Pakistan's commitment in his weekly media briefings to cooperate with Afghanistan to root out the menace of terrorism, which Pakistan considers a common challenge. "Such acts are unjustifiable and can not be tolerated. Terrorism is our common enemy. comprehensive and co-ordinated measures are imperative to root out this menace from our region", Qazi Khalilullah said in a recent statement condemning a Taliban attack on an Afghan military base that killed 26 Afghan soldiers; he added that Pakistan reiterates its condemnation of terrorism in all its forms and manifestations.
Unlike his predecessor Hamid Karazi, President Ghani after coming into office initiated efforts to cooperate with Pakistan to fight the militants and, according to analysts, the Afghan leadership's concerns were largely addressed following the launch of military operation Zarb-e-Azb. But the recent letter by Afghan President should be taken seriously, they added.
"There is immense pressure on President Ghani inside his country ... the Afghans believe that Pakistan, on the one hand, intends to cooperate with Afghanistan but on the other hand they believe that there still exists Taliban infrastructure in Pakistan", said Lieutenant General Talat Masood (retd). He said that Afghans believe that Pakistan is holding Mullah Omer [Afghan Taliban chief] and not dismantling the Haqqani network despite Pakistan's stated commitment to root out all terrorists. He said that the recent MoU signed between the spy agencies of the two countries, which invited criticism inside Afghanistan, was also one of the reasons that prompted President Ghani to write the letter. Former Afghan President Hamid Karzai was among those who opposed the recent MoU signed between ISI and NDS, who in a statement called for its immediate cancellation, saying that it was against the national interest of Afghanistan.
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