‘Decisive action’

EDITORIAL: The new government must have already found out that it has no time to settle in, especially when it comes to the two gravest threats facing the country – default and security.

And just as it was forced into very serious negotiations with the IMF (International Monetary Fund) about the last tranche of the SBA (Stand-By Arrangement) in its first few days in office, it has now also had to take the terror bull by the horns and give an appropriate reply to the attack in North Waziristan that martyred another seven security personnel.

This time, though, the state has gone ahead with its threat of “decisive action” inside Afghan territory because even after months and years of seemingly solid assurances the Taliban regime did not honour its promise of clamping down on TTP (Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan) and its affiliates holed up on their side.

And even though everybody knows that it is Pakistan’s security establishment, not exactly the fresh government, that has put its foot down and taken action, Kabul must also now realise that it cannot continue to kick the can down the road even as TTP goes about reigniting its insurgency.

Gone are the days when it could influence Islamabad into negotiating with the enemy, talking peace, releasing convicted criminals and even allowing them to settle back in the old tribal area as confidence-building measures; all of which only played into TTP’s hands and allowed it to get stronger.

Therefore, it is extremely important that the de facto Afghan government draw the right lessons from Pakistan’s new no-nonsense policy.

So far, sadly, there’s no sign of such good sense prevailing. The Taliban accused Pakistani forces of hitting civilian targets and there was even exchange of fire at some points on the border. This is bad news for both countries, especially Afghanistan.

Pakistan has put down a very bloody TTP insurgency before, at the horrible cost of more than 80,000 innocent lives, and knows exactly what needs to be done to prevent a repeat performance.

In fact, it was Afghanistan’s failure to do its part that led Pakistan’s military to take matters into its own hands once a certain point was crossed.

But the stakes are higher for Afghanistan. The Taliban face crippling isolation, poverty, hunger, disease, etc., among other extremely poor social indicators just because their stubbornness prevents the world from recognising and/or helping them. And now, because of their actions, their only window to the international community – Pakistan – is also about to be slammed shut.

Other stakeholders, like China and Russia, will also soon tire and stop advising Kabul to do the right thing if the Taliban do not change their approach and wake up to reality.

Even the UN pointed out that the Afghan government is not serious about cleansing the country of other militias; most of which spend most of their time planning and conducting attacks in Pakistan.

It’s very simple, really. The Taliban could either use the events of this weekend to stoke more war and terror in this region, or it could hit the reset button and understand that it will have to get along with its neighbours in order to progress and give better lives to its people. Either way, Pakistan has changed the contours of the bilateral relationship with its “decisive action”.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024