The Haqqani connection again

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And deteriorating ties with Kabul

 

Pakistan seems caught in the proverbial one-step-forward-two-steps-back riddle when it comes to foreign relations. Things seem to be improving with India, for example, and then they revert to the traditional paralysis. The Americans are happy one moment, and back to the “do more” mantra the next. And the same is true with the Afghans. President Ghani not just went out of his way, but staked his political career, by opting for the thaw with Islamabad when nobody in Kabul was in favour of reaching out to Pakistan. Now, after last week’s vicious attack in Kabul, they too are once again pointing fingers at Pakistan.

To be fair to Islamabad, though, not all of the criticism is true at this point in time. Granted, much about the Haqqanis remains shrouded in mystery despite the long list of successes of Zarb-e-Azb. But to imply that the Haqqani Network, or any terrorist outfit for that matter, is still leveraging the Waziristan sanctuary – that too with some measure of official support – is clearly going too far in the present environment. And though the Americans never really took the pressure off the Haqqani questions, this time their anger seems more related to Pakistan’s inability to get the Taliban to the negotiating table.

To say Pakistan has not tried on that front, too, would amount to misrepresenting facts. Kabul and Washington need to realise that frustrating as another strong Spring Offensive is nothing could be worse than letting terrorists’ gains derail advances achieved by the Quadrilateral Coordination Group. All sides must still focus on ways and means to get the talks going. And a big step in that direction would be impressing upon the enemy that it can no longer divide the principal parties trying to achieve peace. Short of that ties will remain strained will little or no chance of progress. It’s a difficult but necessary choice.

 

1 COMMENT

  1. Wake up and smell the terrorist breeding in your country… you cannot give radical mullahs a free pass and expect the suicide bombers to stop… the haqqani network must be eliminated… until it is then Pakistan will be guilty of harboring terrorists who are attacking a neighboring country. The haqqani are just.another radical Islamic terrorist group that must be removed in order to get peace in the region…

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