Cast not the first stone

It is in both Pakistan & Afghanistan's interest to fight the Haqqani group & finger-pointing helps nobody and nothing

With the bilateral relationship between Pakistan and Afghanistan currently undergoing an overhaul, the comments of the Afghan Senate Chairman, Faisal Hadi Muslimyar, about responsibility for the blast that killed nearly 60 in Paktika province seem out of step. As yet, there has been no claim of responsibility for the attack on a volleyball match, but the Afghan intelligence agency has blamed the Haqqani network for the incident, and Mr Muslimyar has said in the Afghan Senate that such attacks as those carried out in Paktika are the work of Pakistan. Whilst it is entirely possible that the Haqqani network carried out the attack as it is well within its operational capabilities, without providing supporting evidence it is inexcusable to accuse Pakistan of such a heinous crime. In keeping with the reset of bilateral relations, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was quick to condemn the attack and called Afghan President Ashraf Ghani on November 24 to express his condolences.

The Haqqani network has until recently enjoyed something of a charmed life, at least in terms of whether or not it was targeted by either the Afghan or the Pakistan military. The gloves came off with the election of the new Afghan president and the new Chief of Army Staff in Pakistan. The latter has made it crystal clear that there are no exceptions in the fight against terrorism, and has specifically talked of hitting the Haqqani group wherever it is found in Pakistan. Both Pakistan and Afghanistan have until recently seemed to have turned a blind eye and deaf ear to the activities of the Haqqani group, because it suited their ends to do so. With the script changing, the Haqqani group is off the protected list, and it is somewhat disingenuous of the Afghans to point a finger at Pakistan in terms of responsibility when they have done little or nothing to root out the Haqqanis themselves. New realities are bedding in, and now is not the time to rock the boat. It is in our mutual interests to fight the Haqqani group and finger-pointing helps nobody and nothing.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 27^th, 2014.

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