To cover up their failure, Pakistan has been quietly supporting the global terrorist group, Islamic State of Khorasan Provinces (ISKP) and other outfits for carrying out a dirty war against Afghanistan.
The recent devastating attacks sponsored by Pakistan are a deceitful method of compelling the Taliban government to follow the diktat of Rawalpindi which is bound to cause a blowback, reported Al Arabiya Post.
A series of suicide attacks carried out by Pakistan’s new cohort, the Islamic State of Khorasan, killed over 25 people, mostly Shias and Hazaras in Kabul, in September this year.
The attacks come in the wake of the fraying of Pakistan’s deep-rooted relationship with its old ally, the Afghan Taliban. Pakistan is miffed at the Taliban on several issues, but more so on the terrorist group, Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) which it considers a grave threat.
The TTP is protected by the Afghan Taliban, sheltered mostly in border areas in Afghanistan and now regrouping in Pakistan’s Swat and nearby tribal areas, reported Al Arabiya Post.
The suspicion and anger between the two allies were reflected in the statements made by senior leaders recently.
A few weeks back, Afghan Deputy Foreign Minister Sher Abbas Stanekzai accused Islamabad of “receiving millions of dollars” from the US to permit drones to fly over Pakistan’s airspace for operations in Afghanistan.
He condemned Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s statement during his UN General Assembly that terrorist groups were operating from Afghanistan.
He warned Pakistan not to interfere in internal matters and to stop defaming the people of Afghanistan for their problems, reported Al Arabiya Post.
There are several reasons for Pakistan’s belligerent move towards Afghanistan. The most serious is the Taliban’s steady challenge to Durand Line, the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan.
The Pashtuns are sore at Pakistan’s attempt to build a wire fence across the border which they see as cutting through their heartland. Pashtuns live on both sides of the border and have for long nursed ambitions of gaining a Greater Pashtunistan.
Pakistan is wary of such aspirations and has been constructing a long-winded fence along the border despite skirmishes and gunfire, reported Al Arabiya Post.
What has riled Pakistan no less is the Taliban government’s refusal to rein in TTP, a serious threat in its border regions. In fact, thousands of Swat residents had come out into the streets in recent days to protest against the TTP influx into their areas.
The residents believe that the army was not taking serious action against the terrorists to create an atmosphere of fear. In the past, the army had disingenuously allowed terrorists to infiltrate into civilian areas to project themselves as a victim of terrorism and seek foreign help and contribution.
Pakistan is also deeply peeved at the Taliban government’s pragmatic approach towards India. The Taliban Defence Minister Mullah Yaqoub’s statement of sending Afghan troops to India for training has caused ripples in Rawalpindi, reported Al Arabiya Post.
India’s efforts to reach out to the Taliban, quite successfully, have challenged Pakistan’s long-held notion of having a friendly regime in Afghanistan which can be used to rebuff India. If Afghan troops are trained in India, along with other aid, it could free the Taliban government of slavish reliance on Pakistan.
The Taliban government’s increasingly independent posturing indicates a complete failure of Pakistan’s Afghan policy which it had invested in for decades.
The failure could also lead to serious issues of security in the Pashtun-dominated tribal region and nearby areas. In fact, the Taliban has used the equation with Islamabad to strengthen its hold over the country, with the help of TTP, the bete noire of Pakistan, reported Al Arabiya Post.