“We will eliminate all remnants of terror, whatever the cost,” vowed Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Bajwa as he addressed concerns about rising incidents of terrorism in the country. The security situation has clearly worsened since Kabul fell to the Taliban and TTP got a free hand to orchestrate attacks inside Pakistan once again, even though it was widely claimed that it was the previous Ghani administration that gave them safe haven and the Taliban would sort them out. Now the deteriorating situation and the government’s resolve to restore order, rightly echoed by the military high command, means that this issue will have to be taken up very strongly with the interim Afghan government without wasting any more time. It’s unfortunate that the Taliban haven’t yet even tried to live up to any of their core promises ahead of the US departure from their country. They’ve not helped Pakistan’s case by controlling TTP even as Islamabad has been their leading advocate in the international community. They’ve not done anything to ensure women and minority rights despite the whole world’s refusal to recognise their government, or even restore their aid, till they do so. And now the UN has also raised concern that the country once again become fertile ground for terror outfits like al Qaeda and TTP. A number of prominent security analysts are also of the opinion that the Taliban are not interfering with the activities of numerous terror groups primarily because they don’t want more enemies attacking state institutions at this sensitive time for them. Now that the Taliban have moved from insurgents to holding the formal government, they are also the biggest targets on the ground. Therefore, they could be giving solidifying their own position priority over watching out for the interests of others or even honouring their earlier promises. Either way, Pakistan has already suffered enough from terrorism to allow it to happen again without attempting to nip it in the bud with full force. For that the government, and the military, will do whatever needs to be done. Hopefully, the statements from Islamabad as well as the GHQ would have been interpreted correctly in Kabul. *