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THE landmark agreement between Islamabad and Kabul to take action against all militants and their hideouts on either side of the border without any distinction signifies an important shift in our short-sighted security outlook. Never before had the security of the two nations been so intertwined as it is today.
So it is about time they shed their age-old legacy of using proxies against each other with disastrous consequences for regional security. The war of sanctuaries has only benefited the militants who have sought to establish their barbaric rule on both sides of the border. We may have learnt it the hard way, but it is never too late.
In a significant move, Pakistan and Afghanistan have also agreed to establish a joint working group on security to develop closer cooperation and coordination to deal with a common menace. The accord was signed last week following the visit to Islamabad of Dr Rangin Dadfar Spanta, the national security advisor to the Afghan president. The working group comprising representatives of security agencies of the two sides is scheduled to meet on July 3 in Islamabad.
This initiative could not have come at a more opportune time as Pakistani security forces fight their most critical battle against local and foreign militants in North Waziristan. Such cooperation between the two neighbouring countries is imperative for the success of the operation. The fleeing insurgents using sanctuaries on the other side of the Durand Line for cross-border attacks has been Pakistan’s biggest security nightmare.
Many top Pakistani Taliban leaders including Mullah Fazlullah, the new TTP chief and Omar Khalid Khorasani, the chief of the group’s Mohmand chapter, are now operating from their bases on the Afghan side of the border. Cross-border attacks have become a major source of tension between Islamabad and Kabul.
Equally dangerous for regional security are the Afghan insurgent sanctuaries on Pakistani soil. Islamabad’s ambivalence on cracking down on them has largely been blamed for the continued instability in Afghanistan. In an apparent policy shift, the Pakistan military has now for the first time declared that the latest offensive will target all militant groups without discrimination, including the Haqqani network.
Making a distinction between ‘good militants’ and ‘bad militants’ has been a major factor contributing to the rising violent extremism in Pakistan. This policy of appeasement and patronising so-called good militants has also threatened regional security.
Since the start of the war in Afghanistan, the tribal regions had become home to a dangerous nexus of Al Qaeda operatives, Pakistani and Afghan Taliban and jihadists from across the globe. The largest number of fighters based in North Waziristan is associated with the Haqqani network led by the legendary former Afghan Mujahideen commander Jalaluddin Haqqani and his son Sirajuddin. The group not only has strong ties with Al Qaeda but also is closely linked with the Pakistani militants.
For Pakistan, the network remained a useful hedge against an uncertain outcome in Afghanistan. The deep reluctance to take action against the Haqqani network is a reflection of Pakistan’s worries about the events that would transpire after the eventual pullout of foreign forces from Afghanistan. The group is blamed for some of the most spectacular terrorist attacks in Afghanistan.
Pakistan’s patronage of the Haqqani network became a convenient rationale for the Kabul government for allowing sanctuaries for Pakistani insurgents on Afghan soil. There is strong evidence of close links between some TTP factions and the Afghan intelligence agencies. This tit-for-tat policy has had disastrous consequences for both nations.
Most of the fighters associated with the Haqqani network are believed to have moved to Afghanistan before the offensive in North Waziristan began. The military has said the group will not find Pakistani territory a safe haven anymore. There is, however, no likelihood of the Haqqanis engaging in any confrontation with their old patrons.
One hopes this change in Pakistan’s stance will encourage the Afghan government and the coalition forces to take action against Mullah Fazlullah’s headquarters in Kunar province.
Both countries need each other to cooperate more than ever at this critical juncture as the Western forces plan to end their combat mission in Afghanistan by the end of this year. Any continued instability in Afghanistan is bound to have severe spillover effects in Pakistan.
The North Waziristan offensive was long overdue and any further delay would have made things much more complicated. The continued hold of militants on a large part of the territory would have made the country’s security much more vulnerable. An unsecured border would have allowed the militants to move around both sides of Durand Line with much greater ease after the withdrawal of the coalition forces from Afghanistan.
A major worry for the security establishment is that an open Afghan side of the border could become a revolving door for Pakistani Taliban fleeing the latest offensive as has happened during past operations. More militants entering the cross-border sanctuaries would make the success of the operation under way in North Waziristan more problematic. For this reason, Islamabad has requested the Afghan government to take measures to prevent the entry of militants fleeing the offensive.
It is now for the Afghan security forces to respond to Pakistan’s call for reinforcing security along their side of the border. There is no other option left for the two countries but to cooperate with each other. Both face the same threat and it is only through cooperation that they can deal with the daunting security challenges confronting them.
The decision to establish a joint security working group is surely a positive step. But the two countries also urgently need to take practical steps to achieve the required results. Kabul and Islamabad now have to move beyond statements and implement the bilateral security agreement with all sincerity. It is in the interest of both countries to close the revolving door on the common enemy.
The writer is an author and journalist.
Twitter: @hidhussain
Published in Dawn, July 2nd, 2014
