Daily Times

Pakistan has been a strong proponent of peace in Afghanistan, helping to arrange talks between the Taliban and the US that resulted in the Doha Agreement. On February 29, 2020, the historic Doha Agreement was signed between the US and Interim Afghan Government (IAG) with the goal of bringing stability and peace to the area and putting an end to the two-decade-long strife.

The fundamental principle of the Doha Accord was that terrorists would not be permitted to use Afghan land against any State. The Doha Agreement called for no safe havens, no encouragement, and no export of terrorism from Afghanistan to other countries; however, the current situation in Afghanistan is exactly opposite of what was intended.

On the fourth anniversary of the Doha Agreement’s signing United States declared that the Taliban had broken their promises. Concurrently, the White House has been accused by the Taliban of breaking the pact. Recent events have cast doubt on the Interim Afghan Government’s (IAG) dedication to the accord.

Afghanistan has always caused troubles for Pakistan since the beginning. Sometimes, the Durand Line conflict is exacerbated, while at other times, innocent Pakistani tribes are being duped into believing they are part of Pakhtunistan. Refugees from Afghanistan migrated to Pakistan following the invasion. Afghanistan still trades with India through Pakistan.

Afghanistan is a veritable cesspool of chaos and anarchy where terrorism of all stripes is found.

After all of this, the question remains: Why does Afghanistan favour our enemies over us? These days, Afghanistan is a veritable cesspool of chaos and anarchy where terrorism of all stripes is found.

Nobody can deny that numerous covert actors are also rinsing their hands in this tidal wave of terrorism. India in particular is utilising this territory against Pakistan. Furthermore, India is continuously encouraging them to exacerbate the rift in Pak- Afghan relations. Relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan deteriorated as a result of these Indian machinations.

In recent past Pakistan has been victim of TTP attacks perpetrated from Afghanistan. In fact, there has been a marked upsurge in terrorist operations in Pakistan since the Tehreek-e-Taliban Afghanistan (TTA) took over in August 2021.

Over 300 troops and officers have been killed by TTP militants and terrorists in attacks on Pakistani military bases on Afghan soil. Ironically, IAG is not only rejecting the facts but also IAG officials are facilitating TTP for attacks in Pakistan. IAG is exhibiting hypocrisy by failing to uphold their social, moral, and religious responsibilities to prevent terrorists from using its soil.

Terrorist organisations, such as ITOs, are now permitted to operate on Interim Afghan Government (IAG) territory in order to launch terrorist attacks on nearby nations as evidenced by a number of recent reports.

Numerous independent international organisations have confirmed this. This fact is supported by a recent United Nations Security Council (UNSC) monitoring report that highlights the proliferation of Al Qaeda (AQ), Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP), Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and other terrorist organisations operating inside Afghanistan. There has been a concerning rise in terrorist attacks targeting neighbouring nations from Afghanistan.

The Afghan Taliban have consistently disregarded the long-standing issue of terrorism as an internal matter of Pakistan, despite Pakistan’s evidence of TTP terrorists’ presence on Afghan soil and their repeated demands for their extradition.

There is no way that the TTP or any other violent organisation opposed to Pakistan could operate from Afghan territory without the approval of the IAG. Although Pakistan does not intend to play the blame game with IAG as Afghanistan is a fraternal brother but the reality on the ground cannot be disregarded.

As per credible sources, the Afghan Taliban administration is providing full assistance to the TTP and its affiliated terrorists. This support is intended to carry out terrorist acts in Pakistan, hence causing instability and unrest and clearly violating the Doha Agreement.

Pakistan has asked IAG to put an end to militant strikes coming from Afghan territory on multiple occasions. In fact, Pakistan firmly believes that there won’t be any militancy in the country if IAG takes strong action to subdue TTP and other militant groups hostile to Pakistan.

Given the terms of the Doha Agreement, the Interim Afghan Government (IAG) is morally obligated to take action against terrorist organisations that are based in Afghanistan. This include groups that have sought sanctuary in Afghanistan, including the ISKP and the TTP.

In addition to endangering regional stability, ignoring this issue will also hinder Afghanistan’s overall development and economic expansion. Resurgent terrorist groups on Afghan soil raise concerns about the IAG’s capacity to maintain total control over the nation and function as a responsible state, which has long been a source of concern for the international community.

The Taliban government must meet the demands of the international community and carry out the commitments made in the Doha Agreement, which called for an Afghanistan free of terrorism.

The writer is a freelance columnist and can be reached at rakhshandamehtab@gmail.com