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| Militancy is rising in Afghanistan | | |
BL KAK
NEW DELHI, FEB. 4: The government of India has strong reasons to closely monitor happenings across the country's border, in Pakistan and Afghanistan. New Delhi is aware of the prevailing difficulties the ruling political class in Islamabad and Kabul continues to be confronted with. If the Afghan President, Karzai, finds himself in an unenviable position with the growing threat from the Taliban, Pakistan President, Gen. Parvez Musharraf, is also best with a set of handicaps.
But Gen. Musharraf's biggest handicap must relate to his own controversial position as head of the military and Pakistan's civilian government. His failure to resolve the discord surrounding Pakistani politics is indeed central to the challenge he faces in uniting Pakistan behind a common national cause of meeting a major security objective. Gen. Musharraf cannot be faulted for his latest defence against a tirade of criticism claiming that the country has fast growing links to Afghanistan's resurgent Taliban movement.
This February 2 Gen. Musharraf squarely tackled a question at a crowded press conference about his opinion on suggestions that the Pakistan military and the country's intelligence services are helping the Taliban make a comeback. "Preposterous," he said, as he put up a strong defence with a slight tinge of emotion. To press his case further, he shared an image which he said was provided by NATO sources, pointing towards a graph which noted the rising militancy in Afghanistan. His conclusion was indeed an obvious one--the Taliban are reviving but only in Afghanistan, and any move to curb them must be undertaken on Afghan soil.
The General's remarks notwithstanding, he is yet to convince many of his critics. There are several challenges faced by Pakistan as it seeks to rebut increasingly unhelpful international opinion. Pakistan has had a history of previous ties with the Taliban. Many have still not forgotten the days where there was only one fully operational embassy in Kabul and that was the Pakistan mission to the Taliban government. Pakistan also remains a victim of its geography. The country's 1,500-mile border with Afghanistan is roughly equivalent in distance to all of Afghanistan's border with its other neighbours. Consequently, it is near impossible for Pakistan to fully seal its Afghan border unless backed by some of the world's most sophisticated gadgetry for close surveillance across remote terrain.
According to Pakistan-watchers, the challenge faced by Pakistan today in confronting the onslaught from Afghanistan has to be seen from two inter-related dimensions. On the one hand, the rise of the Taliban and Gen. Musharraf's own admission that at times Pakistani border guards are overwhelmed by large groups of militants crossing the border, underlines a significant difficulty for Pakistan.
For months, Western officials have privately and, in some cases, publicly questioned Pakistan's sincerity in helping tackle the Taliban. The Pakistani leader has chosen to rebut these claims. But his rebuttal alone cannot be a substitute for other more significant actions such as overseeing a large scale campaign based on public support in favour of the Pakistani government.
Ironically, such support is nowhere to be seen. This, as Gen. Musharraf not only presides over an unpopular policy by supporting the US but is also seen as widely detached from the public mood at a time when his own political credentials and those of his regime appear suspect. On the other hand, the Pakistan military is in the driving seat as it conducts the Pakistan side of the war on terror. But fighting terror through military means alone does not provide an enduring and long term solution to this challenge.
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