Peace in Afghanistan

Letter June 20, 2018
Terrorists find safe havens in Afghanistan

ISLAMABAD: With the killing of the Tehreek-e-Taliban’s chief, Maulana Fazlullah, in a US drone strike, the deaths of many innocent children have been avenged. Fazlullah was the mastermind behind the Army Public School massacre of 2014 that saw over 140 school boys brutally killed with others being physically or mentally affected for life.

While his death brings much peace in the hearts of many parents who lost their little ones that unfortunate day, there is still a long way to go before terrorism is completely eliminated from Pakistan. This is not to say that efforts such as the Operation Zarb-e-Azb and Radd-ul-Fasaad have not borne fruit because they have. But the menace of terrorism in Pakistan or the terror that it brings will only be completely eliminated if terrorism from Pakistan’s neighbouring country Afghanistan is eliminated.

Terrorists find safe havens in Afghanistan as did Maulana Fazlullah when he escaped to the neighbouring country after the Pakistan Army began its operations in Swat, where he once had a stronghold. As a result, peace in Afghanistan is good for Pakistan’s security as much as it is important for the US. All the three stakeholders should really work through their differences and jointly work towards achieving peace in Afghanistan.

Majid Aslam

Published in The Express Tribune, June 20th, 2018.

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