Terrorists as strategic assets

A folly we can no longer afford

Last month the establishment had presumably warned the Afghan Taliban and the Haqqani network to choose between the TTP and the state of Pakistan if they wanted to stay friends with Islamabad. The TTP leadership, including its present chief Mullah Fazlullah, owe allegiance to Mullah Umar whom they consider as Amirul Momineen, or the leader of the faithful. Haqqanis, on the other hand, have allowed the TTP leadership to move freely in areas of North Waziristan under their control. That the TTP declined to extend the ceasefire indicates that the warning did not have any effect. A number of other developments also corroborate this. Attacks on civilians and those in uniform continue. On Saturday, an explosion in Peshawar killed at least three noncombatants and a remote controlled IED blast injured four security personnel in North Waziristan. What is even more significant is Fazlullah’s move to sack Khan Said Sajna as Ameer of South Waziristan. Sajna is reportedly in favour of holding talks with Pakistan. As if to cock a snook at Pakistan, the TTP chief has nominated Khalid Omar Khorasani, who had ordered the decapitation of 23 troops taken hostage, to appoint a new commander for South Waziristan in place of Said. Both Fazlullah and Khorasani operate from inside Afghanistan where the government in Kabul has provided them shelter to launch attacks inside Pakistan.

It appears that Mullah Omar and the Haqqanis were unwilling to oblige Pakistan. With the so called “Spring Offensive” having started last Monday, they are relying on the support of Fazlullah and his men in the fight against the multinational army and Afghan troops. Soon the Afghan government would discover that it was a folly on its part to provide Pakistani militant groups safe havens.

It is time Pakistan, Afghanistan, and the US realised the need of eliminating all brands of terrorists from the region. As long as governments continue to treat bands of terrorists as strategic assets, there will be no peace in Pakistan, Afghanistan or India. The policy of setting one militant group against another in the long run results in creating more enemies than before and is therefore to be avoided. There have been reports in the media that Taliban groups from Punjab, that include LeJ and Jaish-e-Muhammad, are poised for joining hands with the Afghan Taliban. While shortsighted elements in the echelons of power might think this would provide them a breather, a more comprehensive view of national security would require elimination of all these group through mutual cooperation by Pakistan, Afghanistan and the US.