The attack on bases in Afghanistan belonging to the Hafiz Gul Bahadur Group should have sent the message to the Taliban government there that Pakistan is capable of taking on those forces responsible for the escalation of terrorist attacks in the country. The immediate trigger would have been the attack on a post in Mir Ali in KP’s North Waziristan district, in which seven soldiers were killed, including a lieutenant-colonel and a captain. That attack shook the establishment, and the President and Chief of Army Staff gave a shoulder to the coffin of Lt Col Kashif at his funeral. The Prime Minister missed the funeral, but visited the homes of Colonel Kashif and Captain Badar where he condoled with their families. The attacks on the bases were reminiscent of those on Balochistan Liberation Army bases in Iran’s Balochistan in response to Iran’s having launched missiles against Jundullah bases in Pakistan’s Balochistan.
The episode makes it clear that Pakistan does not intend to tolerate any attacks on its law-enforcing agencies by forces which think that the Taliban government in Afghanistan can provide safe havens to the Tehrik Taliban Pakistan or anyone else. While shattering the myth of the Taliban being under Pakistan’s control, the attack shows that no one is protected by connections. Hafiz Gul Bahadur, it should be remembered, is supposed to be the Pakistani contact of Interior Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani. At the same time, all the boastfully self-congratulatory celebrations about the replacement of the Ghani government by the Taliban are shown to have been premature. The attack was preceded by a telephonic contact between the countries’ Foreign Ministers, and the topic of TTP militancy in Afghanistan, and the safe haven it enjoyed there, was an important part of the conversation.
Pak-Iran relations have not fully recovered, and now Afghanistan is added. Pakistan had first propounded that a return to power of the Taliban would bring an end to terrorism. This proved over-optimistic. Now it remains to be seen whether the current strikes will bring about an end to the terrorism, which is what the whole exercise is about. It is clear that Pakistan needs a fresh approach to Afghanistan, and those in charge of it should make way for other forces, and more input must be sought from recently elected representatives.
