Under the Doha peace agreement, the Afghan Taliban had assured that Afghan territory would not be used to spread unrest in the region.
After the Afghan Taliban came to power in Kabul on August 15, 2021, Pakistan has made it clear that the Afghan Taliban will abide by this international agreement.
Pakistan’s civilian and military leadership has repeatedly called on the Taliban to believe in the government and urged the international community not to doubt their government.
On August 23 last year, Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi called on the international community to maintain relations with the Afghan government, saying: “The statements of the Afghan Taliban are encouraging that they are not using their territory against anyone. Let it happen, and let the international community keep in touch with them. “
Also, on September 20, 2021, Maj. Gen. Babar Iftikhar, the head of the Pakistan Army’s Public Relations Department (ISPR), said in an interview with Urdu News that “Pakistan has the Taliban’s Afghan territory in another country, including Pakistan. There is no reason to doubt the assurances that it will not be used against him.
The Taliban has repeatedly stated that no group or terrorist organization will be allowed to use Afghan territory for any terrorist activity against any country, including Pakistan. We have no reason to doubt their intentions. “
However, in the wake of recent incidents on the Afghan border in Pakistan, Pakistan has accused Afghan territory of being used against Pakistan for the first time since the formation of the Afghan Taliban government.
According to a statement issued by the Pakistan Army Public Relations (ISPR) on February 6, “as a result of firing by Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) terrorists from Afghanistan in Kurram district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. At least five Pakistani soldiers have been martyred.
“Pakistan strongly condemns the use of Afghan territory by terrorists against Pakistan and expects that the interim Afghan government will not allow such activities against Pakistan in the future,” the statement said.’
Pakistan’s Foreign Office also condemned the incident, saying “Pakistan strongly condemns the use of Afghan territory by terrorists for operations against Pakistan.” Pakistan urges the Afghan government to take immediate action against terrorists and terrorist groups seeking refuge in Afghanistan to target Pakistani security forces.
Earlier on February 3, the ISPR had said in a statement that “the terrorists who attacked the security forces in Panjgur and Noshki and their handlers were in touch with RAW in India and Afghanistan.”
Afghan Taliban have no intention of taking action
Defense analyst Major General (retd) Ejaz Awan while talking to Urdu News said that the Afghan government is bankrupt at present. It has neither the army nor the police to secure its borders and implement the Doha Accords with the international community. However, they are doing their best.
“The Afghan Taliban tried to negotiate with the TTP and the government of Pakistan, trying not to use their territory for terrorism, but the condition put forward by the TTP was not acceptable,” he said. Negotiations could not proceed and the TTP terminated the ceasefire agreement.
According to Amir Rana, director of the Pakistan Institute for Peace Studies and a security analyst, “Pakistan’s policy towards the Afghan government has not changed but Pakistan’s expectations from the Afghan leadership have not been met. The Afghan Taliban have no plans to take any action against the Baloch militants and the TTP.
“There is a critical situation for Pakistan at the moment that if they put pressure on the Afghan Taliban, the pressure from the international community on the Afghan Taliban will also increase,” he said. Right now, Pakistan is trying, through backdoor channels, to persuade the Afghan government to cooperate with Pakistan to take action against the TTP.
“Iran’s territory is also being used against Pakistan”
Former Secretary of Defense Lt. Gen. Asif Yassin said, “The people of Afghanistan are operating from Iran. The change is that the state of Afghanistan no longer supports the TTP but the Taliban are in trouble so they are not able to control them completely.
Referring to recent events, he said, “Indian sponsorship and Western agencies are involved and they are part of the campaign against China.”
According to Major General (retd) Ijaz Awan, “Iran’s territory is also being used against Pakistan and this issue has been raised with Iran at the governmental level and the Iranian government has taken action against such elements in the border area.” Has been assured.
In case of non-cooperation of Taliban, there is no solution other than operation.
According to Major General (retd) Ijaz Awan, “Pakistan has sent a clear message to the Afghan government at the diplomatic level that if you do not control, then Pakistan itself will strike against them and cross the border to take action against Pakistan.” They will kill the people.
He said the Afghan government had responded to Pakistan’s message that “we are trying not to use our territory against Pakistan. We want to resolve this issue diplomatically.”
Major General (retd) Ejaz Awan said that if the Afghan Taliban did not succeed in stopping the terrorists from using their territory, then Pakistan would defend itself and Pakistan would launch a ‘hot positive’ operation regardless of the Afghan government. Whether Pakistan’s relations with Pakistan are bad or not.
Pakistan is doing for them (the Afghan government) what no other country in the world is doing and the Afghan Taliban also appreciate Pakistan’s efforts.
According to security analyst Amir Rana, the Afghan Taliban is of the view that these issues should be resolved through dialogue but Pakistan is of the view that the issue of terrorism is not going to be resolved through dialogue.
Talks are ongoing and efforts are being made to enlist the help of the Afghan Taliban, and there are reports that operations are being carried out in some areas. If the Afghan Taliban do not cooperate, Pakistan will have no choice but to launch an operation.
By: Usman