News analysis |
Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa on Sunday said Pakistan would not allow the Afghan war to spill into its territory. He enunciated this while meeting his Afghan counterpart, General Sharif Yaftali on the sidelines of a conclave of the Quadrilateral Counter-Terrorism Coordination Mechanism (QCCM) in Dushanbe, Tajikistan.
Trump’s tirades against Pakistan have not been bought by regional stakeholders in China, Russia, and Iran, which effectively means that the Pakistani narrative on the situation is gaining more traction
General pledged full support to peace efforts in Afghanistan but categorically said that the war must not spread out into Pakistani territory. After the rejection of allegation leveled by President Trump regarding the presence of safe havens in the country, Pakistan is selling its counter-terrorism efforts and successes by robust military diplomacy.
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General Bajwa told General Yaftali that Pakistan has cleared all its territory from miscreants and has taken border security and management measures on its own. He further said that the dignified repatriation of Afghan refugees is also vital to long lasting peace in the region. General Bajwa proposed the institution of a joint Pak-Afghan military working group, which was agreed upon by General Yaftali.
The ball is in your court
Pakistani civilian and military leadership has asked the US to “do more” and that too effectively. Now, it has also called upon Afghanistan to shoulder responsibility and not to shy away from controlling militancy in its soil
The Pakistan Army has ramped up its campaign to apprise the international community about its fight against terrorism, which is unprecedented. Pakistan has implored the US and Afghanistan that there are terrorist havens inside Pakistan. The security forces have indeed carried out major CT military operations to dispossess miscreants of their hideouts and other sources of strength.
Pakistan has also asked the US and Afghan forces to act against anti-Pak militants who are using Afghan soil to launch attacks against Pakistan. The statement released by the National Security Committee stated: “More specifically, we would like to see effective and immediate US military efforts to eliminate sanctuaries harboring terrorists and miscreants on the Afghan soil, including those responsible for fomenting terror in Pakistan.”
Read more: “India has succumbed to extremism”, COAS
Kabul has welcomed Trump’s offensive wordings against Pakistan but this is the second time in the past few days when General Bajwa has asked Afghanistan not to indulge in blame game
Hence, the exchange between General Bajwa and General Yaftali is meaningful. The former has explicitly asserted that Pakistan has done its part, now the onus is on Afghanistan. Kabul has welcomed Trump’s offensive wordings against Pakistan but this is the second time in the past few days when General Bajwa has asked Afghanistan not to indulge in blame game. Earlier, he expressed these thoughts to an Afghan military delegation that visited the General Headquarters in Rawalpindi.
General pledged full support to peace efforts in Afghanistan but categorically said that the war must not spread out into Pakistani territory
The mood in Islamabad is defiant, to say the least. The thrust of Islamabad’s line is that it has done beyond its capacity sans much-needed support from other stakeholders. Pakistani civilian and military leadership has asked the US to “do more” and that too effectively. Now, it has also called upon Afghanistan to shoulder responsibility and not to shy away from controlling militancy in its soil.
Read more: General Bajwa wants an end to “timed blame-games”
Trump’s tirades against Pakistan have not been bought by regional stakeholders in China, Russia, and Iran, which effectively means that the Pakistani narrative on the situation is gaining more traction. Cooperation is the key but by the looks of things, confrontational approaches will mar peace in the region.