Security situation in the country took a new dip on Monday. Abduction of football players in Balochistan and a daredevil attack on a military convoy in Peshawar simply reminded us that the enemy is in cahoots. In a surprising operation, unknown elements took away five football players from an entourage on way to play a game in Sibi. The team was intercepted in Dera Bugti as it was in a qualifying round for the Balochistan Chief Minister Gold Cup. Incidentally, the bus was stopped and players screened, and to the amazement of many only five players and those belonging to Bugti tribe were taken away.
This hints at a serious conspiracy, as the sitting federal caretaker interior minister is himself a Bugti. One could easily make out that dreaded anti-state elements who are out to create fissures in the restive province, as well as across the country, have knitted a plot. Likewise, the ambushing of a Frontier Constabulary vehicle, which resulted in the death of an officer in Peshawar, brings to full circle an exigency at hand, and one that is in need of being dealt with much more concentration.
The fissures that are emanating since the return of Afghans to Pakistan must be studied in proper perspective. The Torkham border is closed, and clashes have made it a no-go area for all kinds of cross-border activity. Last but not least, the revulsion in Chitral as reportedly non-state actors have made their way from the western border speaks of the Taliban government’s inefficiency as they could not keep their word. It is incumbent upon the regime in Kabul to stop these miscreants, and not to allow them to make use of Afghan soil for mercenary and terrorist activities.
The question is what is the way out? Pakistan’s diplomatic and on-ground offensive operations have not been able to stem the rot. This calls for an across-the-board combing operation of elements who nurse such elements, and not to spare their patrons wherever they are. An existential crisis calls for an extra-ordinary solution.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 12th, 2023.
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