Uptick on attacks in Pakistan is alarming. This spike reminds us the recent report issued by the United Nations. Need not to mention is the bitter reality that our Parliament hasn’t bothered so far to discuss contents of this report in the Parliament.
This is the 14th report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team of the UN Security Council’s 1988 Taliban Sanctions Committee . Its contents are literally troubling and Pakistan should discuss it with Afghan authorities.
The report states:
• A range of terrorist groups has greater freedom of manoeuvre under the Taliban de facto authorities.
• They are making good use of this, and the threat of terrorism is rising in both Afghanistan and the region.
• While they have sought to reduce the profile of these groups and conducted maintaining links to numerous terrorist entities, the Taliban have lobbied member states for counter-terrorism assistance in its fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant – Khorasan Province (ISIL-K), which it perceives as its principal rival.
• There are indications that Al-Qaeda is rebuilding operational capability, that TTP is launching attacks into Pakistan with support from the Taliban, that groups of foreign terrorist fighters are projecting threat across Afghanistan’s borders and that the operations of ISIL-K are becoming more sophisticated and lethal (if not more numerous)
• The issue of Afghanistan also needs attention. We celebrated the withdrawal of the United States from Afghanistan and showed goodwill for the new government at all levels, but what is the reason that such warmth is not being reciprocated from the other side?
Pakistan is trying to convince the whole world to recognize the new government of Afghanistan and there are attacks on Pakistan from Afghanistan. This attitude is bound to stir many crunch questions.
Is the whole burden of brotherhood to be borne unilaterally by Pakistan or friendly countries also have some responsibility to share?
Should it be understood that there are some non-state actors in Afghanistan over whom the Afghan government has no control? Or should it be understood that these non-state actors have some level of support from the government there?
If this is not the case and the Afghan government is committed to its policy that its territory will not be used against any other country, then this policy should be put into practice.
Brotherhood is not a one-sided love story. It should not be. According to the data released by the Pak-Afghan Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the volume of bilateral trade has decreased from two and a half billion dollars to one billion dollars.
Every day, around 100 trucks from Pakistan enter Afghanistan from Chaman border alone. Remember that Afghanistan is a landlocked country. Now, if Pakistan has to pick up the dead bodies of innocent the trade corridor cannot remain open.
Sanity and responsibility should prevail in Kabul. Sagacity and well wishes should be reciprocated.
