COAS denounces Afghan bombings

Gen Qamar’s move appears to send message of zero tolerance to Taliban.

ISLAMABAD: Army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa on Wednesday strongly condemned the series of attacks in Afghanistan in a move interpreted as sending a clear message to the Afghan Taliban that Pakistan would not tolerate such kind of violence.

According to Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), Gen Qamar expressed grief and sorrow over the loss of precious lives in those attacks and said the army and people of Pakistan were standing by the people and forces of Afghanistan against this menace.



Although, the Foreign Office had already denounced the attacks on Tuesday, the army chief’s decision to issue a separate statement is significant. Official sources said Gen Qamar wanted to make it clear that Pakistan was against terrorism no matter who was behind it. Pakistan has often been accused of supporting the Taliban and providing their leadership a ‘safe haven.’ Islamabad has always denied the assertion while advocating a peaceful end to the long running conflict in the war-torn country. A senior official clarified that Pakistan’s principled stance of supporting peace talks should not be mistaken as support for the Taliban-led insurgency.

Pakistan in the past publically urged the Taliban to shun violence and enter into peace talks with the Afghan government. But it was rare that the army chief issued an explicit statement publically condemning Taliban sponsored violence in the war-ravaged country.



Five UAE officials among 56 killed in Afghan bombing

Five UAE officials were among 56 people killed in a string of bombings across Afghan cities, authorities said on Wednesday, as Taliban militants step up a deadly winter campaign of violence.

The Emiratis were among 13 people killed when explosives hidden in a sofa detonated inside the governor’s compound in southern Kandahar on Tuesday, while the UAE’s ambassador to Afghanistan escaped the attack with injuries.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, January 12^th, 2017.