Couldn’t change if he wanted to
The Pakistanis were pretty sure Kabul would not cooperate with Zarb-e-Azb – sealing the border, etc – but had to make a formal request anyway. In fact, most people on this side of the Durand were willing to wager that Karzai would actually try to confound Pakistan’s military operation in whichever way possible, even if it were his last gasp as president. And though unfolding events are open to interpretation, there are pretty obvious signs that Karzai will go out doing pretty much what he’s been doing while in office – blame it on Pakistan.
Now it’s Pakistani soldiers, in civvies, crossing over into Nooristan, and killing some Afghan soldiers. The foreign office rightly snubbed the allegation before it gained much traction. It is true that both Nooristan and Kunar have presented the Pakistani military with a host of problems, not the least being Afghanistan’s official intelligence agency, the National Directorate of Security (NDS), harbouring our most wanted anti-state militants in safe houses across both provinces. What is more, whenever Pakistan raises this issue with Karzai’s government, we suddenly have sections of the international media claiming that the exact converse is still a bigger concern – that Pakistan uses its soil against Afghanistan far more frequently.
But now that the Pakistani government is committed to the anti-insurgency operation, that too till ‘the last terrorist is removed’, Kabul’s old lines no longer hold true. In fact, if the Afghan government were really sincere about controlling both insurgencies, it would have taken Pakistan’s more recent concerns far more seriously. The border needs to be shut immediately. Not only are fleeing militants a persistent problem for Pakistan, but by Kabul’s own admission, they are just as much a threat for the people Karzai has taken care of for so long. If they return, they will do what has worried the Afghans for so long. So why facilitate them and not the Pakistani government?
It is time Kabul realises that helping Pakistan and adopting a coordinated, mutually beneficial posture is in the benefit of both countries. But it might be too late in the game for the outgoing president to change himself, so something better is expected of his successor.