- So Pakistan was Mr Right all along!
Ever since the inception of global war on terror, Pakistan has been labelled as a breeding ground for terrorism, a safe haven for militant outfits, and a potential base to plan, and execute terrorist activities across the borders. The US invasion of Afghanistan, in particular, drove out terrorist elements from Afghanistan in search of safe havens, encroaching the rather unchecked Pakistani tribal areas as uninvited guests. Pakistan, subsequently, remained at the target of both sides fighting the war i.e. the terrorists raising havoc within, and the US along with its allies blaming the former for being a courteous host to the extremists. Despite all odds, Pakistan, however, launched an all-out offensive against terrorist outfits in order to eradicate the evil from its midst, and denied the allegations made by the US and its allies all along, asking the latter to do-more on their part; not to be acknowledged, of course.
But as they say, “Fortune favours the brave”; so seems to be the case of Pakistan, finally.
June 13, 2018, apparently, is an opportunity for Pakistan to change the course of future in its favour, subject to a vocal leadership, an assertive diplomacy, and an aggressive media campaigning at all levels. The date marked the killing of Pakistan’s most wanted terrorist, and the leader of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) Mullah Fazal Ullah aka Maulana Radio, whom Islamabad had alleged all along of operating from Afghanistan. Opposed to Kabul’s denial of its neighbour’s allegations of hosting Fazal Ullah, a US drone strike carried out in the Kunar province resulted in the elimination of this master of disaster, which was later confirmed, and acknowledged by the Afghan authorities.
Mullah Fazal Ullah, in addition to numerous high profile attacks against the US and Pakistan, was the mastermind behind the barbaric APS attack back in December 2014 slaughtering 130 children, and the attack on Malala Yousafzai, the Nobel award winner turned global ambassador for girls’ education and rights.
While there is much for Pakistan to celebrate in the elimination of Maulana Radio, it is critical for Islamabad to aggressively pursue at the international level the hidden angles in this entire episode.
The first and the foremost is that Fazal Ullah’s assassination inside Afghan territory proves Pakistan’s longing claim that the terrorist safe havens no longer exist on its land, rather have shifted across the border into Afghanistan, and are operative from there. The fact that terrorists have migrated to the Afghan soil instead of dwelling in Pakistan establishes the recognition of Kabul as a safer, and a potential base for the extremists to re-organise, plan, and operate in various dimensions.
The world must act to prevent Afghanistan from becoming, what its friend India terms as, a Terroristan; to their disappointment, something that Pakistan, now proven, is not
Secondly, amid the shift of terrorist networks to Afghanistan, an even more grave concern for Islamabad, and the World at large should be both, the capacity of the former to take on the merchants of death, and in worst case scenario, the intention to do so as well.
The fact that Maulana Fazal Ullah was able to plan and execute attacks inside Pakistan from Afghanistan is nothing less than a wake-up call, and must ring the alarm bells for all stake holders. It signifies that despite all efforts, money, and time invested by the US in Afghanistan, both the host government, and the security forces are either not competent enough to engage, and restrict the enemy, or they lack the will to do so.
Pakistan, for long, has raised its voice against the involvement of foreign agencies, through Afghanistan of course, in destabilising the national security through terrorist attacks on key security installations, and the public at large. Whereas Islamabad has been asked persistently to do-more, primarily by Washington and Kabul, with the killing of Mullah Fazal Ullah inside the Afghan territory it is Pakistan’s turn to demand the same from the two counterparts.
While it is welcoming to see the US doing more by taking down the TTP leader, the reluctance of Afghanistan to do so is a question that requires a serious answer.
Third, and last but not the least, the preference of terrorists for Afghanistan over Pakistan as a safe haven, followed by their migration, is an undeniable proof of Islamabad’s commitment to eradication of terrorism from its soil, the landmark successes it has achieved in the war on terror, and installation of a fool proof, and effective security infrastructure from the tribal areas in the north to Karachi in the south.
It is imperative for Pakistan to make the most of this opportunity, and persuade the international community to acknowledge Islamabad’s longing view point on terrorist safe havens, and the do-more mantra, along with its efforts and sacrifices in wake of curbing the menace of terrorism.
This, however, is Pakistan’s end of the deal here. For the world, it is critical to acknowledge Afghanistan’s transformation into a safe haven for terrorists, along with its inability to deal with, and contain the genie of militancy in the bottle; made worse by the lack of will at both, government and security establishment levels.
The world must act to prevent Afghanistan from becoming, what its friend India terms as, a Terroristan; to their disappointment, something that Pakistan, now proven, is not.
