Bisham perpetrators

Pakistan has demanded either Afghanistan apprehend and try culprit on its own, or hand them over to it for prosecution

It is official that the conspirators and executors of the Bisham bloodshed are holed in Afghanistan. Pakistan on Monday once again reiterated that the dispensation in Kabul must act, and go after the dreaded elements of TTP who are responsible for a continual terror wave on both sides of the divide.

This is for the second time in two week that Islamabad has pointed a finger at TTP, blaming them for the Bisham carnage, which resulted in the killing of numerous Chinese nationals on March 26. The ISPR chief’s media talk of April 25 has been substantiated by the Federal Interior Minister and NACTA chief, saying that Afghan soil was being used for nefarious activities, and the act is supplemented with the support of abettors in Pakistan.

The arrest of 11 suspects and the categorical naming of terrorists, including Bakhtiar Shah, Qari Abdullah, Khan Lala, along with TTP chief Noor Wali Mehsud, and the Malakand commander Azmatullah, makes it an open and shut case of cross-border devastation. Kabul should not shy behind excuses and go after the terrorists.

Pakistan has demanded that either Afghanistan apprehend and try the culprit on its own, or hand them over to it for prosecution. This is a compelling equation, and should not be met with an apologetic attitude by the Interim Government of Afghanistan.

Bisham’s tragedy was meant to not only derail the cordial relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan, but to hamper the growing geo-economics in the region with the completion of CPEC projects. Thus, it is an assured proposition that enemies of Pakistan and China are behind it, and the non-state actors are acting as proxies in the hands of their benefactors.

Islamabad’s warning that it will take ‘unilateral steps’ if Kabul ducked down once again reflects its restlessness. Ever since the advent of Taliban 2.0, Pakistan had been hoping for congeniality and had walked extra miles to assist Afghan brethren. But it seems the tribal-rooted gun culture is not going away anywhere, and the silence and inaction of AIG is highly condemnable.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 28^th, 2024.

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