Pak-Afghan border clashes

• Malik Muhammad Ashraf

Since Friday mid-night intense fighting is raging between Pakistan security forces and Afghan Taliban supported by Indian-backed fitnat-al-Khawarij in response to unprovoked assault on Pakistani posts from across the border.

These attacks were launched from Afghan posts located at AngoorAdda, Bajaur, Kurram,Dir and Chitral areas in KPK and Zhob district in Balochistan.

Afghanistan government on Friday had accused Pakistan of carrying out air strikes on its territory and warned of “consequences. The Afghan military in a statement said,in retaliation for the air strikes by Pakistani forces Taliban border forces in the East engaged in heavy clashes against posts of Pakistani forces in various border areas.

Reportedly Pakistan forces have given a strong and decisive response to the aggression by Afghan forces and as per sources of the security forces almost all posts from where attacks were initiated against Pakistan have been annihilated and 19 of them have been captured resulting in killing of several Afghan soldiers and TTP terrorists.

Pakistani security forces believe that these attacks were aimed at facilitating the cross-border movement of the formations of “Khawarij” — TTP operatives. Till the writing of these lines the action continues and Pakistani authorities have rejected appeal for ceasefire by the Afghan government and rightly so. The attacks occurring on the eve of Afghan foreign minister’s visit to India surely have sinister strategic objectives.

While Pakistan’s effective and intense counter-terrorism offensive continues the Pakistani forces are making sure that their retaliatory attacks target only hide-out of the militants, their training facilities and the Afghan posts. Pakistan has made is clear that it will continue to attack those targets and avoid assaulting the civilian areas and targets. It has further said that the ongoing clashes should not be misconstrued as a war against the people of Afghanistan. The security sources also claimed that this aggression against Pakistan has been unleashed by interim government of Afghanistan, Afghan Taliban and FitnaulKhawaraj at the behest of India.

It is indeed a regrettable situation. Pakistan in the bilateral as well as multilateral engagements with Afghan leaders has been urging them to prevent terrorist entities based on its soil, particularly TTP from carrying out terrorist attacks in Pakistan as per its obligations under the Doha agreement and during talks between the two countries at different levels. But the results have been entirely to the contrary. The statement by Afghan foreign minister that terrorism was internal matter of Pakistan really sounds bizarre in view of the fact that in the Doha agreement they have accepted the presence of terrorists on its soil and committed to eliminate them. During the last two years, more so during this year there has been an exponential increase in terrorist attacks on security forces in KPK and Balochistan resulting in number of casualties of the security forces and law enforcing agencies. During the last week also a number of such attacks were carried out.

So in the backdrop of the failure of diplomatic efforts to persuade the Afghan government in controlling the terrorist entities based on its soil, Pakistani security forces could not be silent spectators and allow the status quo to continue. Using its right for hot pursuit against the terrorist as also allowed by international law it hit some targets within Afghanistan. Pakistan probably has also informed the US about the permeating situation and the factors leading to it.

The hostilities between Pakistan and Afghanistan do not augur well for peace and security in the region. Saudi Arabia and Qatar have justifiably expressed grave concern on the snowballing situation urging restraint and resolving the issues through diplomatic channels. I think under the circumstances it is incumbent upon them and other Muslim countries to play a mediatory role and impress upon Afghanistan the desirability of meeting its international obligations and bonhomie with Pakistan.

Pakistan wants cordial relations with Afghanistan and has always shown unswerving commitment towards that goal but unfortunately the response has not been positive. Afghanistan must realize that its proxy war against Pakistan on behalf of India will ultimately harm her own political, economic and strategic interests. Pakistan is a nuclear power which cannot be cowed down through such nefarious acts of aggression. It has inflicted memorable defeat on India in direct clashes with her and will not hesitate to take similar action against her proxies. Capitulation to such antics by Afghanistan or for that matter any other country is not an available option. Sooner this realization sinks in the minds of the enemies of the country the better.

—The writer is contributing columnist, based in Islamabad.

(ashpak10@gmail.com)