Refusing to see the roots of insurgencies, utilizing ‘terrorism’ labels, and scapegoating neighbours aren’t profitable methods.
On March 11, fighters from the Balochistan Liberation Military (BLA) hijacked a Jaffar Categorical prepare travelling from Quetta to Peshawar. After a 36-hour standoff, the Pakistani safety forces had been in a position to kill the BLA operatives and launch a whole lot of hostages. In line with the federal government, at the least eight civilians misplaced their lives through the operation.
Pakistani officers were quick to blame Afghanistan and India for what they referred to as a “terrorist incident”. That is the most recent instance of how the Pakistani authorities more and more deflect accountability and body Pakistan’s relationship with Afghanistan within the language of “conflict on terror”.
Nearly three months earlier than the prepare hijacking, Pakistani fighter jets bombarded Afghanistan’s Khost and Paktika provinces, killing at the least 46 individuals, together with ladies and kids. Lots of the casualties had been displaced individuals from Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa area.
Pakistan justified its violation of Afghan sovereignty and worldwide legislation by claiming that it’s focusing on Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) fighters hiding on Afghan territory. Over the previous two years, Islamabad has been accusing Kabul of harbouring “terrorists” who’ve carried out assaults on Pakistani territory.
This is identical logic the USA employed to conduct air raids, kidnappings, focused killings, and many others all through the Muslim world throughout its so-called “conflict on terror”. In doing so, the US trampled over all of the conventions the world had endorsed affirming state sovereignty, the excellence between civilians and combatants, proportionate response and the rights of prisoners of conflict.
The US military and intelligence noticed civilians as energetic combatants or “collateral injury” that was inevitable when a “high-value goal” was pursued. Complete nations and civilian populations paid the value for “terrorist” strikes performed by armed teams – and so they nonetheless do. That’s as a result of the US might have withdrawn from Afghanistan and Iraq, however the legacy of its practices stays and is instantly embraced by governments within the area. Pakistan’s authorities is one among them.
All through the 20-year US occupation of Afghanistan, Pakistan refused to see the Afghan Taliban as “terrorists” and continued sheltering and supporting the group. But in the present day, the Pakistani authorities label the TTP and BLA as “terrorist” teams and the Afghan Taliban authorities as sponsors of “terrorism”.
They refuse to see these native insurgencies as politically motivated rational actors who might be reasoned with or whose grievances ought to be heard.
How Pakistan chooses to cope with these teams is an inner matter, however there are a couple of classes from the current American adventurism that should be heeded.
The US forged a large definition of “terrorism” through which Muslims at residence and overseas turned suspect. In Afghanistan, it lumped its enemy al-Qaeda with the Taliban and at occasions Afghan civilians.
The imprisonment and torture of alleged Taliban members solely fed the fervour of Taliban fighters and led to an escalation in violence. Indiscriminate drone strikes on civilian communities in Afghanistan and Pakistan not solely violated sovereignty, but additionally inspired younger males to hitch the Afghan Taliban and TTP.
A number of makes an attempt by the Taliban to barter with the US didn’t bear fruit till 2021, when, exhausted by a two-decade occupation and conflict, Washington determined to withdraw, mainly accepting defeat.
It’s simple to dismiss actions as “terrorist” and refuse to see any path of reconciliation. However because the American instance exhibits, this strategy doesn’t finish nicely.
As an alternative of making an attempt to pull the US into one other conflict on “terror” – as US media outlet Drop Site has reported – the Pakistani authorities ought to be taught from the American expertise. They can not feign ignorance about teams like TTP and BLA; they’re coping with their very own residents, who’ve clear grievances.
The Pakistani authorities has to listen to the calls for of those teams and discover a solution to negotiate with them. It has to recognise the struggling of the civilian populations within the areas the place BLA and TTP function. It additionally must put an finish to violating Afghanistan’s sovereignty and scapegoating the Taliban authorities for their very own safety failures underneath the guise of “conflict on terror”.
If the Pakistani army decides to not be taught from current historical past and follows within the footsteps of the USA, it’s fairly probably it’s to satisfy its destiny.
The views expressed on this article are the creator’s personal and don’t essentially replicate Al Jazeera’s editorial stance.
