And what needs to be done
The good news is that the army has cleansed the Khyber Agency of terrorists and announced the completion of the ongoing military operation in the Agency. The bad news is that the leadership of the terrorists including the notorious Mangalbagh has taken refuge across the border in Afghanistan’s Nangarhar province. The TTP and Jamaat-al-Ahrar have also reportedly shifted to the Afghan province across the border. There were reports last week of fighters loyal to IS having seized substantial territory in Nangarhar. Mangalbagh has supposedly joined the group.
The army has achieved the victory at a substantial cost in terms of the loss of officers and men, particularly in the strategic Tirah Valley. Elimination of the terrorists from Khyber was considered crucial for the security of Peshawar as terrorist attacks inside the capital city of KP were orchestrated by the networks operating from the adjacent Agency. After the terrorists defeat in Khyber Agency, the number of attacks on Peshawar has come down substantially.
Two things are needed to ensure that the terrorists do not succeed in staging a comeback. First is the establishment of civil administration and law enforcement apparatus in the area to take care of security once the military pulls back. The tribal leadership in Khyber Agency was taken out by the TTP to create an administrative vacuum, and enabling the terrorists to move in.
The second and equally important, if not more so, is to take urgent measures to improve ties with Afghanistan which have recently suffered a setback. Terrorism in Pakistan and Afghanistan cannot be eliminated without complete understanding between the neighbours. Unless this happens, terrorists under pressure in Pakistan will seek asylum in Afghanistan and vice versa. The failure to bring the Afghan Taliban to the negotiating table despite promises has regenerated old suspicions in Kabul. Unless these are removed relations would revert to what they were under Karzai. This would adversely impact regional security and imperil the various development projects in the area.
[…] The good news is that the army has cleansed the Khyber Agency of terrorists and announced the completion of the ongoing military operation in the Agency. The bad news is that the leadership of the terrorists including the notorious Mangalbagh has taken refuge across the border in Afghanistan’s Nangarhar province. The TTP and Jamaat-al-Ahrar have also reportedly shifted to the Afghan province across the border. There were reports last week of fighters loyal to IS having seized substantial territory in Nangarhar. Mangalbagh has supposedly joined the group. The army has achieved the victory at a substantial cost in terms of the loss of officers and men, particularly in the strategic Tirah Valley. Elimination of the terrorists from Khyber was considered crucial for the security of Peshawar as terrorist attacks inside the capital city of KP were orchestrated by the networks operating from the adjacent Agency. After the terrorists defeat in Khyber Agency, the number of attacks on Peshawar has come down substantially. Two things are needed to ensure that the terrorists do not succeed in staging a comeback. First is the establishment of civil administration and law enforcement apparatus in the area to take care of security once the military pulls back. The tribal leadership in Khyber Agency was taken out by the TTP to create an administrative vacuum, and enabling the terrorists to move in. The second and equally important, if not more so, is to take urgent measures to improve ties with Afghanistan which have recently suffered a setback. Terrorism in Pakistan and Afghanistan cannot be eliminated without complete understanding between the neighbours. Unless this happens, terrorists under pressure in Pakistan will seek asylum in Afghanistan and vice versa. The failure to bring the Afghan Taliban to the negotiating table despite promises has regenerated old suspicions …read more […]
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