Do more
The US Congress just echoed concern rising across Pakistan in its letter to John Kerry; warning against getting too cozy with Islamabad until Zarb-e-Azb expanded to include ‘designated foreign terrorist groups’ other than TTP, like ‘Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), Lashkar-e-Jhangvi’, etc. And since House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce recommended, among other things, ‘sanctioning Pakistani officials that maintain relationships with designated terrorist groups’, things could get uncomfortable if John Kerry is convinced. Going by recent headlines, though, Washington is more likely to give Islamabad the benefit of the doubt, at least for the moment.
There has been an impressive three-way thaw recently, with Pakistan, Afghanistan and America working together for the first time in the long war against terrorism. It seems, in hindsight, that Pakistan’s military operation was the catalyst that ultimately triggered the goodwill. And with the Americans going and a new government in Kabul, Pakistan’s cleansing was taken at face value. The Afghans have undertaken repeated operations in the border region, at Pakistan’s request. Therefore it is all the more important to reciprocate. There is no denying the government’s resolve so far as North Waziristan and TTP are concerned. But it seems there is still no cohesive strategy regarding other kind of proxies, those who have been housed and nurtured in South Punjab and interior Sindh for far too long.
It seemed, however briefly, that the Dec16 school tragedy had finally prompted a thorough recalibration of ‘strategic depth’ and all such doctrines. Yet since it’s been business as usual for the Taliban – Shikarpur and Peshawar attacks speaking for themselves – and it seems directionless rhetoric is still the government’s main tool. The government must appreciate the sensitivity of the moment. It is essential to treat all types of militants as one, no matter how much some of them might have mattered in the strategic calculus of a bygone era. If more time is wasted, crucial partners might pull out again. It’s better to do more now, in our own interest, than suffer a worse form of blowback.
