Pakistan can no longer afford to harbour Afghan Taleban

When it comes to bilateral ties between Afghanistan and Pakistan, frustration and attainment are inseparable.

The frustration centres on the perception in Kabul that Islamabad is not doing enough to halt the incursions of the Afghan Taleban, whose militants are based inside Pakistan.

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani slammed Pakistani authorities this week for failing to curb cross-border attacks originating from its soil.

The statement came as Ghani was reaching out for Pakistan’s help in facilitating peace talks with Taleban leaders. The Afghan president has been at loggerheads with many in his own country over the idea of involving Pakistan, or giving Islamabad a greater role in the process.

However, the participation of Pakistan is vital to progress towards peace given the fact that the Afghan Taleban operate from its soil.

Ghani is essentially telling Islamabad that something has to give. Pakistan can’t have it both ways – be an honest broker, and at the same time permit Taliban militants to operate with impunity from its territory.

“We had hoped for peace, but we are receiving messages of war from Pakistan,” Ghani said. “We don’t want Pakistan to bring the Taleban to peace talks, but to stop the Taleban’s activities on their soil.”

Abdullah Abdullah, chief executive in Afghanistan’s unity government, was just as harsh: “[Pakistan says] Afghanistan’s enemy is Pakistan’s enemy. What kind of enemy is this? They commit crimes here and then hold meetings there [in Afghanistan].”

Abdullah was responding to a vow made by Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif during his trip to Kabul in May, that “Afghanistan’s enemies will be treated as Pakistan’s enemies.”

Abdullah’s anger was fuelled by a spate of deadly attacks last week in the capital Kabul and in the northern province of Kunduz. They were followed on Monday by a car-bomb attack near the entrance to Kabul’s international airport that left five people dead and injured more than a dozen others.

This latest wave of insurgent violence has so far killed 57 people in the capital and dozens more elsewhere, shattering a period of relative calm in the country.

Accusations that Pakistan is aiding, or at the very least turning a blind eye to, the Afghan Taleban’s cross-border activities are nothing new. Anti-Pakistan sentiment is growing steadily in Afghanistan, fuelling concerns that leaders in Kabul might be tempted to exploit the anger for political gain. 

Pakistan and Afghanistan have reached a critical crossroads in their bilateral relationship. Whatever decision Islamabad takes with regard to the Afghan Taleban and Pakistan’s role in the peace talks will shape its ties with Kabul for decades to come. 

Each side must forego the temptation to make short-term domestic political gains and instead act in the broader interests of both and forge a common goal of eliminating the militant extremists in their midst.

A secure Afghanistan would be good for Pakistan, and vice versa. The future of these two neighbours is entwined. Unfortunately, however, that understanding is not yet reflected in the actions of their respective leaders.

Now is the time for Pakistan to act on the pledge made by its prime minister in May. A crackdown on the Afghan Taleban in Pakistan is in the pipeline, but Islamabad needs to push ahead quickly. The longer it delays taking action, the more difficult it will be to defuse the differences it has with the government in Kabul, not to mention the growing ire among ordinary Afghans.