Ever since the newly announced grand military operation against the threat of terrorism, the executive is in for a tight line of questioning about the extent, scope and main objectives of Azm-e-Istehkam. Because Islamabad blames most of the recent uptick on the interim government in Kabul due to the thriving support and training camps provided to the TTP, whether its military leadership would engage in a head-on, across-the-border collision lingered on everyone’s mind. Some reassurances were guaranteed by a string of diplomatic efforts confirmed by the National Action Plan’s advisors to re-engage Afghanistan for a collaboration against terrorist sanctuaries. Similarly, boiler-plate was the demeanour of PM Sharif, when he described the operation as a “multi-domanin, multi-agency and national vision” to establish sustainable peace, unlike the previous military operations (Operation Zarb-e-Azb and Operation Rah-e-Nijat). Nevertheless, the fiery rhetoric of Defence Minister Khwaja Asif tells a different tale altogether.
‘No Dialogue,’ he cautions, emphasising that the country would not hesitate to launch unilateral attacks within Afghan territory to hit the perpetrators of terrorism. This bold declaration, coming at a time when Pakistan has been facing a spate of terrorist attacks, might make sense to the masses who wish to get done with the monstrosity, for once and for all. However, policies are not made on emotions alone. Despite the heart-wrenching loss of human lives as blast after blast, grenade attack after grenade attack, forces all of us to walk on eggshells, any such action could lead to a breach of international laws and norms – further straining already fragile relations. Any such prospect is bound to raise the spectre of a potential escalation of conflict in the volatile region.
These risks cannot be overlooked. There’s no denying the protection of Pakistanis, which should be a paramount concern in any decision-making. Still, significant progress might be possible if the two administrations engage in constructive dialogue to address the root causes of cross-border terrorism. With a perpetually precarious eastern front, Pakistan is in no shape to miscalculate the implications of a troubled Western border, that too, with a country rightly nicknamed as the “graveyard of empires.” *