Cross-border attacks

A soldier was martyred earlier this week after terrorists shot at a check-post in the Mohmand tribal district from across the Afghan border. The Foreign Office has condemned the attack and called on the Afghan government to do more to secure its side of the border. The FO has rightly noted that terrorists and terrorist groups continue to find sanctuaries in Afghanistan, from where they target Pakistani security forces.

Unfortunately, this is the umpteenth time that such an attack has taken place in recent times, and we do not expect a let-up in such attacks due to the continuing weakness of Afghan security forces and the unwillingness of the government in Kabul to bring peace to its own soil, let alone ours. Pakistan has and will continue to discuss effective border management with the Afghans, but cross-border terrorism can only be resolved if the Afghan government actually shows will, and their security forces show competence.

But those do not appear to be forthcoming anytime soon. The Afghan military remains a relatively rag-tag outfit incapable of beating down the terrorists and militant groups that still control large swathes of the country. Despite almost two decades of foreign funding and training, they have not become a strong fighting force. US documents leaked in 2019 suggest that the only thing they were good at was corruption. These documents have quoted US and Nato officials as calling Afghan security forces "incompetent, unmotivated, poorly trained, corrupt and riddled with deserters and infiltrators". The documents also show that Afghan police deserters were stealing their weapons on the way out and setting up "private checkpoints" to extort locals and travellers.

The Afghan government seems to share the same qualities, willing to let the country burn to cling on to power, and, allegedly, acting as a safe haven for Indian spies working to terrorise Pakistan. With the American withdrawal and reduction in financial support from which to embezzle, top Afghan officials would certainly be on the lookout for new sugar daddies. Of course, the Afghans could prove us wrong by making efforts to stop the attacks, but we have a strong feeling that they won't.