According to the news it is being confirmed and elaborated that Maulana Fazlullah has been enjoying safe havens in Afghanistan that has made it possible for the Swat chapter of the TTP to exist and operate with absolute liberty and impunity. The Afghan provinces of Kunar and Nuristan have been the epicenter of Pakistan’s major security concerns in the region for a long time now as the cross border attacks have been planned and executed from there. Moreover, random attacks in Swat and nearby areas have also fractured the peace that had been resumed after successful military operations.
The Pakistani authorities and security establishment have tried voicing and conveying their concern across the border, but have not been very successful so far. What comes from across the border into Pakistan is all violence, abuse and distrust. The Afghan government has imposed a ban upon the Pakistani newspapers to shut the truth from their people. Burying ones head into the sand hardly solves problems, but it appears the Karzai government suffers from an acute case of this Ostrich syndrome.
The attack upon Malala has triggered the Pakistani authorities into action as the entire nation, for the first time has stood in unison to call an end to this barbaric mindset. That Fazlullah is in Afghanistan and targeting Pakistan continuously compels us to foreground the situation of rampant lawlessness in Afghanistan. The presence of the US/Nato forces seem to aid the terrorists rather than curbing and controlling their momentum and reach.
The failure of the Afghan and Allied forces is surely evident as no steps have been taken to destroy the militant havens inside Afghanistan. But Pakistan’s need to fight terrorism completely is still alive which can be exemplified by the demand made by the Pakistani FM Hina Rabbani Khar for handing over of Maulana Fazlullah to Pakistan as he is much sought after terrorist in Pakistan for his role in the insurgency in the country. Surely if Afghanistan is unable to destroy sanctuaries then they ought to at least hand him over.
PROFESSOR KABIL KHAN
Rawalpindi