Pakistan’s Illness World’s Uneasiness

Karta tha so kyon kiya – ab karke kyon pachtaaye..boya ped babul ka to aam kahan se paaye! What Kabir said centuries ago is relevant even today and our neighbor Pakistan is the latest example here. The Taliban which was raised by Pakistan to spread terror in India, the same Taliban today is not only confronting Pakistan, but is also determined to destroy it.

This extremist organization, known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), is running a parallel government in the northern region of Pakistan in collaboration with Baloch separatists and is responsible for wreaking havoc all over Pakistan. The growing challenge of the TTP has forced the Pakistan Army to enter the fray from within the country itself. The TTP’s spirits are so high that in response to the military operation against it, the outfit has openly issued a warning to target the top leaders of the country, including Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Bilawal Bhutto. It has gone so far to that extent that the TTP threatens to do the same to Pakistan what India did in the 1971 war by creating a new Bangladesh.

The growing terror of the Taliban in Pakistan has pushed back time by a decade. Today, Pakistan is scrambling to rein in the terrorist activities of the same organization which it once sheltered. Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan has been emboldened by the Taliban’s unchallenged takeover of Afghanistan which is almost unchallenged. For years Pakistani security forces turned a blind eye to the TTP’s terrorist activities. Pakistan woke up when the TTP captured Swat Valley in 2008. Even then, for the next six years, the Pakistani government did not see the need for any major action against the Taliban.

In 2014, when the Taliban killed 132 children and 17 teachers in the Peshawar Army Public School, the Pakistani army started its biggest operation against the Taliban. After the army operation, most of the leadership and cadre of the TTP fled to Afghanistan. In September 2021, when the Ghani government fell in Afghanistan, the TTP once again turned to Pakistan. In June last year, there was a ceasefire agreement between the Government of Pakistan and the TTP, still a permanent solution could not come out. Then in next five months, the patience of the Pakistani Taliban completely ran out.

The TTP attacks against security forces and civilians in Pakistan have increased by 51 percent since the end of the ceasefire. In the year 2022, there were 250 terrorist attacks in Pakistan in which around 440 people were killed and more than 700 were injured. The TTP’s name was seen associated with most of these attacks. The revelations of the Islamabad-based think-tank Center for Research and Security Studies, are even more shocking. In its annual report for 2022, the Center has termed the rise of the TTP as the biggest threat to Pakistan. According to this report, in just one year, 282 personnel of Pakistani security forces have lost their lives due to its IEDs, suicide bombings and Taliban attacks on security posts around Pakistan-Afghan border areas.

It is clearly visible that Pakistan is now stuck in the quagmire of Afghan-Taliban and Tehreek-e-Taliban. With instability in Balochistan, as well as in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa region, extortion and kidnapping for ransom have become so common. Now even American help to Pakistan is not able to overcome the instability. While the US troop withdrawal from Afghanistan has left Pakistan alone to face threats from across the border, the internal proxy war between various factions has broken the back of its security apparatus. If China sponsored CPEC projects get affected due to the TTP attacks, it will create a new headache for Pakistan. With security at stake amid severe political instability and a shrinking economy, Pakistan today seems to be sitting on a time bomb that could explode at any moment.

When there is so much turmoil in the neighborhood, how can India be relaxed? Amidst the ongoing crisis with China, the growing terror of Taliban in Pakistan can create double trouble for us. There are also apprehensions that a strong TTP will open doors for the entry of Islamic State Khorasan into Pakistan which could also pose a challenge to India in the days to come. In recent times, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has expressed India’s concern on several public forums.

Last month, in an interview with Austria’s ZIB2 podcast, the Indian foreign minister described Pakistan’s role as a hub of terror. Even during a joint press briefing with the Austrian Foreign Ministry, S Jaishankar did not name Pakistan, but in clear context he did warn the world that since the epicenter of terrorism is located close to India, our experiences and insights can be significant for others. Prior to this also in the United Nations, Indian Foreign Minister had reminded the world of Hillary Clinton’s historic statement about a decade ago when Clinton compared Pakistan’s policy of harboring terrorists to keeping snakes in the courtyard of the house. Clinton had then said that if you keep snakes at home, don’t expect them to bite only your neighbors. One day or the other, these snakes will bite their keepers as well.

But history clearly tells that Pakistan has never been ready to follow good advice. This is the reason why this time this country itself is facing the consequences. The snakes that grew up in the courtyard are now preparing to bite him. It was created by the ISI to help the Afghan Taliban capture Kabul. Inspired by the success in that mission, Tehreek-e-Taliban is now dreaming of annexing Pakistan. Pakistan’s internal situation and deteriorating relations with Afghanistan have given Tehreek-e-Taliban an opportunity to consolidate its hold on both sides of the border. The Taliban’s power in Afghanistan has also given it easy access to modern technology military equipment and foreign land weapons.

After the Taliban’s occupation of Afghanistan, the form of Tehreek-e-Taliban has also changed. Many of its smaller factions have merged into one. The terrorist organizations that Pakistan has been nurturing for use against India, have also joined hands with Tehreek-e-Taliban. In such a situation, if the Taliban sitting in power in Afghanistan, also joins it, for how long will then the Pakistani army be able to stop this alliance?

The most worrying fact among all is that Pakistan also posses a nuclear bomb. An occupation over Pakistan would mean that this destructive power could also reach within the hands of the Taliban. Of course, this situation seems far-fetched at the moment, but there is no guarantee that it will not happen in the future.