EDITORIAL: Reports that Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has once again merged with its splinter groups Jamat-ur-Ahrar (J.u.A) and Hizb-ul-Ahrar (HuA) in Afghanistan, to restart terrorist activity in Pakistan no doubt, must have caused a fair bit of concern in Islamabad as well as Rawalpindi. It was only after considerable loss of life and the sincerest effort on the part of the government and the military that the country finally defeated this monster and condemned it to the badlands of Afghanistan. It's another story altogether that the Afghan government simply refused to cooperate when our militants were on their soil and on the run. In fact, there is ample evidence to suggest that Afghan and Indian intelligence actually aided the TTP's retreat into Afghanistan so they could live to be made to fight another day. Still, despite all the help, funding and training they received from all over the place the militants were eventually no match for Pakistan's powerful military, whose combing operations in urban centres were just as effective as its operations in the tribal area. Yet now that the snake is raising its head again, and everybody here knows just how quickly random acts of terrorism can spread fear up and down the country, law enforcement agencies will need to do whatever is necessary to stay ahead of the curve and preempt any adventures from the enemy.
The way to do that would no doubt be to go back to the National Action Plan (NAP), which was enacted after the most terrible of all the tragedies of our own war against terrorism was inflicted upon us and 149 people were killed, including 134 children and school staff members, at the Army Public School in Peshawar in 2014. The main thrust of the Plan was enhancing cooperation and boosting information-sharing between the dozens of intelligence agencies that litter our security landscape. Just as the TTP, JuA and HuA merger was exposed because of an intercepted phone call between their members, or a recorded message that was caught on the waves, intelligence agencies always have their ear to the ground for any chatter that might suggest something serious. And the more different agencies can exchange information, the better they as a whole are able to piece the bigger picture together and take timely action.
Pakistan's internal situation, after struggling with the coronavirus pandemic and then finally getting the economy up and running again, is so sensitive that it just cannot afford to be caught off guard. Already the United Nations (UN) has warned that many TTP militants in Afghanistan have joined the so-called Islamic State and the total number of 'Pakistani foreign fighters' in the neighbouring country is between 6,000 and 6,500. Various militant groups, according to the report, are now looking to cooperate with the twin aims of destabilising Pakistan by targeting its security forces and soft spots and undermining the Afghan peace process by colluding with Taliban commanders opposed to ending the war. Sadly, the Afghan government is still in no mood to play along with Pakistan and join hands to rid the border area of these madmen once and for all. Anybody who has fought this fanatic enemy knows well the danger that comes with taking your foot off its throat once you have it down. Unfortunately, from Pakistan's point of view, a lot of them were able to filter through the border which meant the army was never really in a position to finish the job without a little bit of help and cooperation from Afghanistan. But now that we know that none is coming, we must prepare to deal with this resurgent threat with an iron fist.
Pakistan must also, along with serious intelligence and military action, initiate a diplomatic offensive and present whatever evidence it has of Afghan and Indian interference before the world. At a time when Pakistan has made all the difference, effectively, between more war and peace in Afghanistan, it is simply unacceptable that Kabul continues to nurture and protect our enemy with help from New Delhi. And all countries that have contributed to the Afghan peace process along with Pakistan must also tell India to stop interfering and Afghanistan to start cooperating. For as long as there is instability and unrest in any one country in South Asia, and it is fed by other countries in the same region, then none of them will remain safe or stable for long. So it is best to help Pakistan put out this fire, especially since it has done the most to fight it, before it consumes the whole neighbourhood.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2020
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