Reema Shaukat
Blame game on Pakistan is not new. A homeland of peace lovers has always been under intrigues and repeatedly assessed as terror producing state. Well, Pakistan is truly paying the price for more than a decade to be part of war on terror which was inflicted upon her. Unfortunately, after losing much through human losses and infrastructure still Pakistan is held responsible for instability in the region.
War against terror was waged actually to end terrorism but history articulates that this wrong decision twisted terror more than elimination. So that’s why often this war against terrorism is now referred as war for terrorism by some critics. USA and its allies never realized what could be the implications of this war in the long run. Understanding it as a wrong decision after almost one and a half decade and still believing that they have given peace to region is a wrong assumption.
Western media particularly never understood the security dynamics of Pakistan. For them Pakistan today is a country which breeds extremism. Time and again foreign media is found active in propagating against Pakistan with their agenda to destabilize an exemplary country fighting successfully against extremism. Recently, Carlotta Gall, a British journalist in her article titled ‘Pakistan’s Hand in the Rise of International Jihad’ published in New York Times accused Pakistan for supporting Afghan Taliban and causing instability in Afghanistan.
According to her Pakistan likes to intervene in others conflict and today Pakistan is responsible for chaos in the region. Sadly but then realistically speaking, if so is the case then a state which is sponsoring terrorism should be wise enough to not let others intervene in its security matters, nor join hands in curbing this menace of extremism.
Turning the pages of history one finds that Pakistan has never nurtured any faction for acts of militancy nor it supported any such thoughts. Pakistan never realized timely that this war by West in the region will be so costly for it including shattered internal security. When today Pakistan is rising and shining through all challenges, improved security situation and economic investments coming in, opponents are busy again in tarnishing its image as a peaceful country.
Ironically, this malicious statement has come up, when in the region everyone is looking forward to ongoing struggle for regional peace. This article appeared on the same day as the results of third quadrilateral dialogue and meeting process hit the headlines. Holding Pakistan responsible by saying that till the results of peace dialogue are achieved Afghanistan may not survive is ridiculous.
Afghanistan itself needs to look up at its policies to ensure stability. Pakistan equally suffered with Afghanistan and now when they have their own political government and other supporting units it should show the world how they can restore peace within the country and in region. Providing safe havens to terrorists and later making baseless accusations on Pakistan must end when Pakistan itself supports all efforts for exterminating belligerence.
Proofs of various militant acts in Pakistan have shown other side of the story suggesting that this terrorism is floated through Afghanistan where certain other forces have vested interests to subvert Pakistan. Involvement of Afghan and Indian intelligence agencies are public now and concrete evidences have shown how they support and give monetary aid to terrorist organizations for achieving malevolent aims. Facts are found that India is actively involved for this menace of terrorism in Pakistan particularly Baluchistan and supports TTP. Pakistan even provided these evidences to UN and recently to Afghanistan again after Bacha Khan University attack in Charsadda.
Carlotta Gall in her article has underlined Pakistan’s role in the rise of ISIS, violence in Afghanistan and Chinese province Xinjiang at the same time. However, Pakistan repeatedly has declared that it has nothing to do with ISIS nor any traces of this new terror hype have been found in country. It is
well aware of upcoming threat of IS to region and actually it’s more concerning for Afghanistan where Daesh is getting support of Taliban in some Afghan provinces. India has always tried to carve out ways for its regional hegemony by any means and its involvement in many terrorist activities in China and Pakistan has been ascertained.
China also has verifications and they too were provided to Afghanistan for unrest in China’s Muslim province Xinjiang. So such baseless claims hold no authenticity and indicate baseless fiction of maligning Pakistan image once again. Rather, Afghanistan needs to take care of its own house where after so many years’ breeding grounds and appropriate environment for rise of violence is yet available. Number of foreign militant groups like IMU, ETIM, Ihrar-ul-Hind, Al-Qaeda and factions of TTP operating in Afghanistan with the help foreign hands must not be ignored for regional peace as whatever happens in Pakistan or Afghanistan affects both states.
Belief that these militants are product of madrassas in Pakistan also holds no strong ground today when confronted with the ideology of Al-Qaeda and IS fighters. Pakistan by virtue of its geographic proximity, religious and ethnic affinities with Afghanistan could not escape the fallout and what was someone else’s war has been gradually made ours by taking in our subjects in the Afghan war. For Pakistan’s stability it was necessary to launch an all-out operation against them and communicate to international community that it can stand out against all odds. Thereby, before propagating against Pakistan international media and key players in region must remember that Pakistan knows well how to shield its existence.