Afghan Taliban and breach of trust

Every day we hear about our soldiers laying down their lives to save Pakistan. Waziristan is the flashpoint and in the crosshairs of the TTP. The Taliban regime in Afghanistan has done little to keep their promise of not allowing anyone to use their soil to attack another country. In our case, the TTP is playing havoc with Pakistan from the Afghan border, and as a result, several soldiers have embraced martyrdom in the last few days.

Pakistan had warned the Taliban regime of severe retaliation if the rogue elements were not contained. That was not to be. Eventually, to put the matter in perspective — war begets war — Pakistan conducted airstrikes inside Afghanistan, resulting in civilian casualties. Drones were supposedly used to attack terrorists sanctuaries in eastern Afghanistan on April 16. Whether drones were used or not remains unconfirmed. The Taliban took unprecedented exception to these attacks and termed them both ‘cruel’ and force multiplier which will ‘pave the way for enmity’ between the two countries.

The TTP has found safe sanctuaries in eastern Afghanistan, making the situation at the border tense and volatile. Despite Pakistan’s repeated request to the Taliban to restrain the TTP and disallow them from using their soil to attack Pakistani soldiers, there has been no action worth the salt. In fact, since the coming into power of the Taliban in August 2021, attacks on Pakistani soldiers have escalated in North and South Waziristan, resulting in over 100 military fatalities. Moreover, the exchange of harsh words between the two countries and Pakistan’s decision to cross over the Afghan border indicates that Pakistan is running out of patience with the Taliban inaction.

Not that these attacks were one-time happening. A couple of attacks had been carried out in the past few months in Kunar province, where large contingents of the TTP live. In addition, some high profile TTP leaders, such as the group’s former spokesman-leader Khalid Balti, were killed in a covert operation in the eastern Afghan province of Nangarhar.

The return of the Taliban has given a new lease of life to the once scattered and disunited TTP that had been successfully driven out of Pakistan’s tribal areas through various military operations. Their operational capacity had considerably diminished, but the Afghan Taliban’s protective shelter brought nearly 5,000 to 6,000 TTP stalwarts back into a united front. Another factor playing into the strengthening of the force was the release of many TTP militants from jail after the US exit. Hafiz Gul Bahadur group is said to be behind most of the recent attacks. The cleric turned militant has been close to al-Qaeda and the Haqqani Network. This unity of command has enabled TTP to launch calculated and targeted attacks on Pakistan’s military.

Pakistan did extend the proverbial olive branch to the TTP, but their demands for restoring ex-FATA’s semi-autonomous status and for the army to leave the region were impalpable. It was tantamount to handing over the territory to the militants. On the other hand, the Afghan Taliban wanted to take down the fence that Pakistan has built along the 2,400 km border it shares with Afghanistan. Although the Afghan Taliban were against the fencing, which had restricted the free movement of Pakhtun tribesmen, they did not apply pressure to have it removed until they came to power.

Ironically, all this happened while Pakistan was rallying for international humanitarian support for Afghanistan. It happened while Pakistan was hosting millions of Afghan refugees. It happened while Pakistan has still not barred the smooth flow of goods and services into Afghanistan.

Relations are formed on trust and survive on trust. Therefore, the Afghan Taliban’s breach of trust may not be detrimental to Pakistan only, but it could affect regional peace as well.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 30^th, 2022.

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