EDITORIAL: It’s curious that TTP (Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan) has (so far) denied responsibility for the Mastung and Hangu blasts that took dozens of lives and left hundreds mutilated and wounded; especially as the government points the finger across the border on the other side this time.
But, then, it is only natural for all sorts of anti-state actors to jump into the fray once any one of them triggers an insurgency.
Pakistan’s experience with the war on terrorism, when separatist groups and Indian agents joined in with TTP’s assault on the state, ought to have prompted the security apparatus to pre-empt this threat just as the old, ugly trend of border violations, suicide attacks and hits on law enforcement personnel was gathering pace.
Indeed, this space also warned of a quick expansion of the theatre of war as well as the principal cast of villains if the snake wriggling its way back into the country wasn’t beheaded promptly.
Instead, we wasted time endlessly reminding the Afghan government of unkept promises, then taking bad advice and trying to talk peace with the same people that were killing our men, women and children back home, all the while also seriously considering repatriating them, supposedly to live peacefully among us, in KP (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), the province that suffered the most from TTP’s bombs and bullets.
Lately, though, the military has clearly put its foot down. And there’s even been rare and reassuring chatter from Kabul that the Afghan Taliban were finally moving against the Pakistani Taliban. Yet the attacks have continued, in fact increased, and now – going by hints dropped by the government – they’ve drawn in other enemies of Pakistan as well.
All this completely resets the government’s priority list and now all attention must go to making sure we don’t have to relive any more memories from a time we’d rather not revisit.
The economy has naturally been the number one concern for the last few years. Yet even though avoiding default, bolstering reserves, reducing inflation, etc., are all necessary for the country to survive, none of it will even be remotely possible if terror grabs the headlines once again, spilling blood and spooking investment like before.
Yet taking out TTP, deep in its Afghan sanctuary, is easier said than done. And, considering the recent past, going all-out is likely to cause some friction in already testy relations with the Afghans, among other irritants.
That, no doubt, is going to put the government’s diplomatic arm to a very stiff test. But with a caretaker setup in place with elections to follow – when large rallies will provide natural soft targets for TTP and its allies – it’s not immediately clear how the political heavy lifting is going to be done.
Everybody knows, however, that the one thing Islamabad does not have is the luxury of time. And that adds yet more complexity, and therefore risk, to an already very fragile situation.
The first step is to neutralise all terror groups, militias, cells inside the country. Once we stop reacting to their attacks on the streets, we can begin acting out our own diplomatic offensive; hopefully one that will not require active military backing.
A lot of trouble will be avoided if the Afghan government wakes up and smells the coffee in time. Pakistan is its only real window to the outside world and also its only pillar of support in the region. And its own actions, rather inaction against TTP in this case, are compromising these strategic advantages.
If Kabul really wants peace and stability for its own people, then it must play a part in keeping the Pakistani border calm. But for that it will have to help wipe out TTP.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2023