The US Homeland Security Head Michael Chertoff told reporters at Bagram airbase in Afghanistan the other day that Pakistan should strike back against terrorism "otherwise, they're going to see more of the kind of tragedies that they saw when Benazir Bhutto was assassinated." The assertion, apparently, was aimed at those in this country that have been refusing to own up the so-called war on terrorism, terming it as America's problem.
That view, though, has already undergone a drastic change. People in this country have learnt from painful experience that terrorism is a clear and present danger, and that no one is safe from it - not even in their homes, as demonstrated by last March's bombings in Lahore.
This brand of terrorism, nonetheless, is still associated with America, being a consequence of its two wars in Afghanistan, the first a proxy war against the erstwhile Soviet Union, and the second one that rages on. Yet there are hardly two opinions on that Pakistan is confronted by terrorism, which it needs to address effectively. Difference of opinion, however, exists - or has arisen lately - between the US and Pakistan on how to address the problem. The US wants Pakistan to use military force and help it win the war in Afghanistan.
This country, in fact, did try to follow that approach, except for a brief resort to peace deals with the extremists/militants, and lost more soldiers fighting pro-Taliban elements in the tribal areas than the combined losses of the US and Nato forces fighting their opponents in the main theatre in Afghanistan.
Yet the use of force did not help; instead, the Pakistani Taliban brought the fight right into our cities, killing countless innocent people in Karachi, Lahore, Rawalpindi, Peshawar and some other smaller cities. The newly elected government has now wisely decided to lay more emphasis on the other option and hold negotiations with the militants who are willing to lay down their arms.
Needless to say, the elected government, being directly answerable to the people, must ensure their safety and security through whatever means possible. So far the peace deals approach seems to be working, although in their usual reckless way the Taliban have vowed to continue to fight the 'infidels' in Afghanistan.
Seven years of fighting between the armed forces and the militants and between some internal elements has lent a great deal of complexity to the security situation. Immediately after the assassination of Benazir Bhutto the government pointed an accusatory finger at the chief of Pakistani Taliban, Baitullah Mehsud, even producing a taped conversation between him and one of his operatives as evidence.
Baitullah has consistently denied any connection with the tragic incident, prompting some to opine that it may be the doing of some other pro-Taliban group. In fact, a former DG of ISI, Asad Durrani, reckons that the Pakistani Taliban no longer are a centrally controlled organisation; several independent groups operate as Taliban. Then there are some other elements that take advantage of the situation to pursue their own agendas.
A case in point is a hitherto unexplained incident that took place in NWFP. It may be recalled that not long ago the former chief minister of the province, Akram Khan Durrani, made a lot of hue and cry after a man was caught red-handed planting a bomb outside his office. It turned out that the man belonged to one of our own intelligence agencies, and its chief actually intervened to get him released. Common logic suggests that it is in the interest of any government and its agencies to ensure peace.
Yet in this case a provincial chief executive accused an intelligence agency of planting a bomb in his office premises and no one attempted to repudiate him. Which only goes on to show how, taking advantage of the prevailing chaos and confusion, all sorts of elements are playing dangerous games to advance their agendas. Now that an elected government is in place it must put its act together and do whatever it takes to restore peace in this country.
The US and its Nato allies in Afghanistan may have little interest in that. They are going to go on pressuring Pakistan to fight their war. So far as cross-border activity is concerned Pakistan has to make serious efforts to stop it and to ensure that the Taliban do not use our tribal areas as a sanctuary. But it is basically the responsibility of the US and its allies to fight their opponents in Afghanistan and to stop them from slipping into Pakistan.