Daily Times

According to the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), the civilian death toll in Afghanistan has risen by one percent since last year to 1,692. This is the highest number of dead civilians since 2009.

Much of this carnage has been attributed to the Islamic State (IS). The terrorist group refused to be a part of the Eid-ul-Fitr ceasefire last month. 52 percent of casualties resulting from suicide attacks and complex strikes involving more than one attacker have been attributed to IS.

However, forces fighting the IS aren’t blameless either. Air strike related casualties are up by 52 percent since last year. Afghan Air Force has caused over half of these casualties. The worst such incident took place in April when an Afghan airstrike hit a religious gathering in the Taliban controlled Kunduz province, killing scores of civilians. It goes without saying that such incidents only make it harder for the Afghan government to establish control over Taliban or IS occupied territory. Ultimately this creates space where groups like the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and IS can attack other countries, including Pakistan.

Terrorism has also returned to Pakistan. 157 Pakistanis were killed in four separate terrorist incidents over the past few days. The July 10 attack in Peshawar, which killed Awami National Party leader Haroon Bilour was claimed by the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). The Mastung attack, which killed at least 137 people, was claimed by IS. These attacks will continue as long as there is chaos in Afghanistan. Furthermore, while the Mastung attack highlighted once again the threat posed by IS, the Peshawar attacks showed that the TTP remains a significant security threat to Pakistan despite the killing of Mullah Fazlullah in a US drone strike.

Therefore it is imperative that both the Afghan and Pakistani governments take joint action against terror groups in the region. Intelligence sharing between the two countries can drastically increase the chances of success, and prevent needless tragedies like the one that transpired in Kunduz this April.

Unfortunately, any gains made are likely to be marginal as long as the Pakistani state continues to pursue its policy of differentiating between good and bad terrorists, and the Afghan government allows anti-Pakistan terror groups to regroup on their soil. We need to break this vicious cycle.  *

Published in Daily Times, July 16^th 2018.