Kabul’s stance
There is a visible discord between Afghanistan and Pakistan. The modus operandi of messaging and coordination are not in sync with ground realities, and it is feared that they are on a collision course. The categorical utterance from a spokesperson of Afghan Interim Government (AIG), Zabihullah Mujahid, that Kabul has nothing to do with the terrorist attacks on Chinese interests in Pakistan, and it will not be part of any campaign to apprehend the culprits, allegedly holed on its soil,has furthered the wedge. While this dissonance has come a day after Islamabad and Kabul agreed to jointly work in unearthing the accused is quite worrisome and unfortunate. Most of such irritants are borne out of talking through the media, and here too it seems both the countries are resorting to playing to the gallery, and on a sensitive issue like this, they are more into optics.
Kabul’s stance that it has nothing to do with the March 26 incident is over-simplification of a dreaded issue. It must be borne in mind that the western frontiers of Pakistan have become a breeding ground for terrorists, and most of the unscrupulous persons are scot-free to take refuge inside Afghanistan. This issue has been a bone of contention, and despite repeated assurances the dispensation has not kept its word, nor has it made any concrete effort to take out the non-state actors, especially the TTPwhich is having a field day on both sides of the divide. Last but not least, Pakistan left no ambiguity by bringing to the fore the names of the criminals who attacked the Chinese engineersand the same was acknowledged by Kabul with a statesmen promise to act accordingly.
This issue will not die down with knee-jerk reactions from the Taliban regime. They are being watched for their sincerity in taking on the terroristsand flushing them out. It may be pointed out that during the period from January to March this year, a total of 201 terrorist incidents took place in Pakistan, and the perpetrators emanated from Afghanistan. Should there be any more reasoning to act!
Published in The Express Tribune, June 2nd, 2024.
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