Quid pro quo

A common enemy demands a common strategy

One can understand the anger in Islamabad over the cross-border raids by the TTP militants sheltering in Kunar. One hopes that the information provided by PM Pervez Ashraf to Karzai regarding their hideouts is accurate. The question is whether the demand that the Nato and Afghan forces take strong and immediate action against the TTP hideouts would receive due consideration. The Afghan government and Nato forces have been asking for a similar operation against the Haqqani network for years. They have held the network responsible for some of the most daring and devastating attacks this year on Nato and Afghan troops in Kabul and inside the eastern provinces bordering Pakistan. Islamabad has rejected the accusations maintaining that the Nato forces were looking for a scapegoat to cover up their own inefficiencies. In a tit-for-tat response, Nato forces have made no move to go after the TTP militants operating from Afghan safe havens. This has further strengthened the perception that the US and Pakistan are pursuing altogether different goals while pretending to be allies. The Pakistani establishment has been accused of continuing to patronise some of the jihadi networks considering them assets in the pursuit of for an unchanging anti-India agenda. This is how the hesitation to take action against the Haqqani network, JuD, and LeJ is being interpreted.
The differences between the US and Pakistan have encouraged the militants on both sides of the Pak-Afghan border. While this has imposed a heavy punishment on Nato troops, the organisation’s tribulations would end after its troops withdraw in 2014. In the case of Pakistan, the suffering would be long-lasting and militant attacks could pose serious threat to the integrity of the state in case they emerge victorious in Afghanistan.
PM Pervez Ashraf and Kayani have emphasised the importance of an early completion of the TAPI gas pipeline project. They also stressed the speedy implementation of the CASA-1000 power transmission line and upgrading rail and road infrastructure between Pakistan and Afghanistan. The projects are highly vital for a power starved Pakistan. In case of better communication system turning the area into a trade corridor, Pakistan’s economy would benefit. The projects would, however, remain day dreams unless there is peace in Afghanistan and Pakistan’s tribal areas. This requires a concerted action against the militants by the US and Pakistan. As British Prime Minister Cameron put it, the terrorists that are trying to wreck Afghanistan are by and large the same terrorists that are trying to wreck Pakistan and there is a need for joint action against them. This, however, requires a quid pro quo. Cooperation is possible only if neither Afghanistan nor Pakistan allow safe havens to the militants.