No more appeasement
The Foreign Office’s stance that Pakistan is not interested in a dialogue with the TTP simply confirms its resolve to shun dreaded elements. The latest stance is important from the perspective that Islamabad tried to do all it can to bring the non-state actor on a denominator of consensus in the larger interest of regional peace and security. But the double standards exhibited by TTP and its likes, on the run in Afghanistan, have made it clear that peace cannot be attained through appeasement. The decision to shut the door on TTP was also necessary because the fugitive leadership did not stick to the minimal demands, and kept on broadening it by calling for annulling the merger of FATA into Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, as well as looking the other way round as it went on to bleed the nation at impunity.
Pakistan is eager for striking a chord of cordiality, interaction and development with its western neighbour. But the stubborn attitude of Taliban 2.0 leadership has, indeed, come as an irritation. While it has not been able to nail down the terrorist groups housed inside Afghanistan, it has also not kept the promise of disallowing its territory for aggressive designs against the neighbourhood. Pakistan has long been on the receiving end, and the TTP claims of targeting armed forces convoys as well as innocent citizens has made it intolerable. Thus, the decision to quick-fix it and go after such elements in hot pursuit is on the spot.
As far as diplomacy is concerned, Pakistan appointed one of its best envoys, Ambassador Asif Durrani, for ironing out the differences between the two countries, and he has been on the mark. The visit of JUI-F chief Maulana Fazalur Rehman, in his personal capacity as a religious leader, was also an exercise in exigency to enable Kabul to see the ground realities, and end the Ostrich syndrome by putting an end to lethargy in exterminating the terror nexus. Time for the dispensation in Kabul to realise the potential of a friendly and peaceful Pakistan, and do the needful in all sincerity.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 12th, 2024.
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