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20-07-2021
By SJA Jafri + Bureau Report + Agencies
ISTANBUL/ DOHA/ KABUL/ ISLAMABAD: Anti-Pakistan terrorist and jihadi groups aligned in varying degrees to the Taliban on both sides of the border are angling to carry out new lethal attacks inside Pakistan, a drive that could intensify if Islamabad allows the US new access to its military bases, writes Salman Rafi Sheikh in the Asia Times.
According to a recent UN report, at least a dozen different anti-Shia militant groups are now active in both Pakistan and Afghanistan, with at least 6,500 Pakistani nationals reportedly involved.
According to the report, Pakistan-based jihadi groups such as Jaish-e-Muhammad (JeM) and Lashkar-e-Tayyiba (LeT), Daesh (Pakistan Chapter), Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan (SSP), Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), Ahl-e-Sunnat wal Jama’at (ASWJ), Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) etc continue to fight alongside Taliban groups against Afghan national forces.
“If and when Afghanistan’s conflict intensifies, Pakistan will inevitably be drawn more deeply into the fight,” says Sheikh.
Islamabad’s response so far has been to literally fence itself off against the rising threats that exist on both sides of the border while fencing stretches of the 2,670-kilometer border may curb cross-border infiltration to a degree, the multi-billion-dollar policy will ultimately have a limited impact on preventing groups from launching attacks in Afghanistan and fleeing back to sanctuary in Pakistan, reported Asia Times.
With anti-Pakistan Taliban-aligned groups already active in Pakistan’s Balochistan province and Karachi, the escalating situation presents a huge dilemma for Pakistani policymakers who 
had earlier hoped to shape Afghanistan into a satellite state that it controls to its advantage vis-a-vis rival India while Pakistan has historically followed a “strategic depth” policy towards Afghanistan, whereby it attempts to control the country as a political pawn and strategic hedge vis-avis India, a role the Taliban served in the 1990s, in the present context Islamabad can’t readily revert to the doctrine as Taliban-influenced groups are pitted against the Pakistan state, writes Sheikh.
Indeed, the Taliban’s drive to re-establish an “Islamic Emirate” in Kabul will provide new ideological fire for the thousands of Islamic militants in border regions to pursue similar objectives in Pakistan.
Afghanistan could thus quickly morph into a proxy theatre for India-Pakistan rivalry after US and NATO troops fully withdraw by September 11 this year.
It is once again mentioned here for the remembrance and record for our readers, policy makers, national and global media outlets and authorities mainly all immigration authorities of the world that one of the world most credible Karachi-based Pakistani English dailies known as “Messenger” and Press Media of India (PMI) have already been flashing, highlighting, printing, reporting and on-airing details, information, stories, news and views as well as publishing that who are Taliban and anti-Shia terrorists, why and who targeted and martyred Shia and pro-
Shia Muslims, where they live, who are there sponsors, supporters, facilitators, financers and protectors, why the former and present regimes remain silent yet, why they issue fake press releases and incorrect official statements and why the global immigration authorities, review tribunals and other concerned forums (particularly inexperienced, illiterate, immature, uneducated, unaware and so-called independent and impartial case/visa officers) believe in fake, incorrect, absolutely opposite, planted and bogus official press releases, statements and news….
Meanwhile, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan on Monday said that the Taliban should “end the occupation of their brothers’ soil”, and show the world that peace is prevailing in Afghanistan right away.
Talking to journalists before leaving for a trip to northern Cyprus, Recep Tayyip Erdogan played down a warning from the group of consequences if Turkish troops remain in Afghanistan to run the Kabul airport.
“(The Taliban) need to end the occupation of their brothers’ soil and show the world that peace is prevailing in Afghanistan right away,” he said.
The Taliban ruled Afghanistan with an iron fist from 1996 to 2001 and have fought for 20 years to topple the Western-backed government in Kabul. They are making a fresh push now to gain territory as foreign forces pull out.
He said the Taliban’s approach was not the way Muslims should deal with each other.
Ankara, which has offered to run and guard Kabul airport in the capital after NATO withdraws, has been in talks with the United States on financial, political, and logistical support for the deployment.
Last week the Taliban warned Turkey against those plans to keep some troops in Afghanistan to run the airport, calling the strategy reprehensible and warning of consequences.
“In the statement made by the Taliban, there is no phrase ‘We don’t want Turkey’,” Erdogan said when asked about the comments.
Separately, Erdogan said that he hoped to rise in talks with US President Joe Biden at this year’s UN General Assembly the issue of international recognition for Kosovo and would propose joint work on the issue to increase the number of countries which recognize it.
Earlier, the latest round of talks between the Afghan government and Taliban in Doha ended without any progress on Sunday despite the group’s supreme leader throwing his weight behind a political settlement to the conflict.
Senior representatives of the Kabul government including head of the High Council for National Reconciliation Abdullah Abdullah flew in for two days of intensive talks as Taliban pushes a sweeping offensive across Afghanistan.
They had sought to revive long-stalled peace talks, but in a joint statement agreed on the need to reach a “just solution” and to meet again “next week”.
Ahead of the second day of talks, Taliban supreme leader Hibatullah Akhundzada had said “the Islamic Emirate strenuously favors a political settlement” despite the groups lightning victories on the ground but the Qatari facilitator of the talks said at the end of the two days that the sides had merely agreed to “work to prevent civilian casualties”, far short of previously agreed ceasefires.
“The two sides agreed to continue negotiations at a high level until a settlement is reached. For this purpose, they will meet again next week,” said Qatar’s counter-terrorism envoy Mutlaq al-Qahtani who oversees the talks for Doha.
For months, the two sides have been meeting intermittently in the Qatari capital, but have achieved little if any notable success. The discussions appear to have lost momentum as the militants made enormous gains on the battlefield.
Complex military campaigns
Taliban leader Akhundzada has said his group remained committed to forging a solution to end the war, but slammed the group’s opponents for “wasting time”.
The group capitalized on the last stages of the withdrawal of US and other foreign troops from Afghanistan to launch a series of lightning offensives across the country.
The group is now believed to control roughly half of the nation’s 400 districts, several important border crossings, and has laid siege to a string of vital provincial capitals.
A spokesman for the Afghan security forces said that pro-government fighters had conducted 244 operations, killing 967 “enemy” fighters including key commanders.
“We have recaptured 24 districts so far, our goal is to retake all the territories… We are ready to defend our country,” Ajmal Omar Shinwari told reporters.
The Taliban have long appeared to be united, operating under an effective chain of command and carrying out complex military campaigns despite perennial rumours of splits within their leadership but questions remain over how much control the Taliban’s leaders have over commanders on the ground, and whether they will be able to convince them to abide by a potential agreement if signed.
Despite coming days ahead of the Eid holiday, the leader’s statement notably made no mention of a formal call for a ceasefire.
Over the years, the Taliban have announced a series of short truces during Islamic holidays, initially spurring hopes for a larger reduction of violence.
However the group has been criticized for using the temporary ceasefires to resupply and reinforce their fighters, allowing them to launch withering onslaughts on Afghanistan’s security forces once the truce expires.
Temporary ceasefires
In another sign of the threats facing the Afghan government, on Sunday it said it was recalling its ambassador to Islamabad and all senior diplomats over “security threats”.
The top envoy’s daughter was briefly kidnapped in the Pakistani capital this week.
Islamabad has touted a conference of regional leaders to address the violence after the Eid al-Adha holiday, due to start Monday.
Many in Afghanistan are planning for a subdued Eid festival.
“This year we will not be slaughtering” sheep or goats, as per tradition, said Abdullah, a resident of Jalalabad in Afghanistan’s east.
“It’s because the situation of our country is not good. The fighting is ongoing. We are concerned,” he added.
“People are poor and most of them are worried about the increase in violence.”
The US-led military coalition has been on the ground in Afghanistan for nearly two decades following an invasion launched in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 attacks.
Fears are growing that Afghan forces will be overwhelmed without vital coalition air support, allowing for a complete Taliban military takeover or the start of a multi-sided civil war in a country awash with weapons following nearly four decades of fighting.
