Vishwakhabram: Taliban is busy defeating Pak security forces, will Pakistan Army Chief reach US get help?

Security forces are continuously being targeted in Pakistan. The Pakistani people are shocked to see the continuous attacks on their army, air force and police forces and are worried about what will happen to the security personnel themselves when they are not safe. Let us tell you that in the latest incident in Pakistan, on Tuesday, Pakistani Taliban terrorists hit a security forces post with an explosive-laden vehicle in Dera Ismail Khan district of the restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, killing two dozen Pakistani soldiers. After this incident, the already ongoing tension between Pakistan and Afghanistan has further increased. While Pakistan has asked Afghanistan to cooperate in the investigation of this matter, Afghanistan has shrugged it off by calling this incident an internal issue of Pakistan. Let us also tell you that this incident has happened at a time when Pakistan’s Army Chief has reached America to complain about Afghanistan. He was busy convincing America that Taliban was spreading unrest in Pakistan when this incident came to light.

As far as this incident is concerned, let us tell you that the Pakistani Army has said that the terrorists had ‘effectively foiled’ their plans to enter the troubled Dera Ismail Khan district bordering the South Waziristan tribal district. A vehicle filled with explosives hit the police post building. This attack was followed by a suicide attack due to which the building collapsed and many people were injured. The Pakistani army said security forces killed all the attackers while fresh police contingents were rushed to the spot and a search operation was later launched. Let us tell you that Tehreek-e-Jihad Pakistan (TJP), a newly formed terrorist organization affiliated with Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), has taken responsibility for this attack. Its spokesperson Mulla Qasim has termed the attack as a suicide mission (fidayeen attack). Pakistani police have also said that the death toll is likely to rise as the condition of many people injured in the attack is critical. Due to the attack, emergency was declared in the hospitals of the district while all schools and colleges were closed.

Let us tell you that the terrorist organization Tehreek-e-Jihad Pakistan has been behind some major attacks in Pakistan. On November 4, its terrorists attacked Pakistan Air Force’s Mianwali training air base, about 300 km from Lahore, in which three aircraft were damaged. Additionally, in July this year, TJP militants attacked Zhob Garrison in the restive Balochistan province, killing four soldiers and injuring five others. If seen, Pakistan is facing an increase in violence since the Taliban took power in Afghanistan in August 2021. This entire year, terrorists and separatists have been targeting security forces in Pakistan. Terrorists have repeatedly launched attacks on security and military installations in Pakistan.

As far as the Pakistan Army Chief’s visit to America is concerned, let us tell you that he is in Washington this week and is demanding American assistance, accusing neighboring Afghanistan of being a haven for terrorists. General Asim Munir is trying to convince US security and defense officials that terrorist groups like Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and the Khorasan branch of Islamic State (IS-K) are a threat not only to Pakistan but also to US and global security. Also pose a threat to. There are reports that Pakistan has suggested to America that if it wants, it can set up its drone bases in Pakistan to target terrorist sanctuaries in Afghanistan. It is being told that America is showing sympathy with Pakistan but it is not considering military action against TTP bases in Afghanistan. Apart from this, it is also believed that America is fed up with military involvement especially in South-Central Asia.

America also knows that the Taliban that Pakistan is complaining about today was also nurtured by Pakistan. Since emerging as an extremist Islamic movement in Afghanistan in the 1990s, the Taliban has been viewed as a proxy group for the Pakistani military and intelligence. Even during America’s two-decade war in Afghanistan, former Afghan and US officials have consistently accused Pakistan of providing shelter and support to Taliban insurgents. Also, America has not forgotten how Pakistanis celebrated the return of Taliban to power in Afghanistan in 2021. Imran Khan, who was the Prime Minister of Pakistan during that time, had also expressed happiness that Afghans had broken the “shackles of slavery”.

Pakistan is understanding that America will not believe its words so soon but still it is continuing its efforts. Indeed, Pakistan knows that despite the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan two years ago, the US has retained what US officials call over-the-horizon capabilities in the region, the ability to strike targets in response to security threats. Let us remind you that former al-Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahiri was killed in a US drone strike in Kabul in July 2022. Therefore, Pakistan wants America to help it in dealing with the terrorists attacking it from Afghan soil. Although the Pakistani army chief has visited the US with many big objectives, a brief statement from the Pentagon only said that Munir met Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Wednesday and discussed “recent regional security developments and the potential for bilateral defense cooperation.” Areas” discussed.

On the other hand, if we talk about Afghanistan, the Taliban officials ruling there have continuously rejected Pakistan’s allegations. They say that they do not allow groups and individuals to pose a threat to any country from Afghan soil. After the recent attack, the Pakistan government had issued a demarche to Afghan in-charge Sardar Ahmed Shakib. In response to the demarche, the Afghan interim government promised to investigate the terrorist attack but also asked Islamabad to refrain from blaming Kabul for all problems. Taliban chief spokesperson Zabiullah Mujahid asked Afghanistan to increase its security instead of pointing fingers at it.

However, there is no doubt that Pakistan has been struggling with TTP insurgency for almost two decades. Pakistani officials claim that the group has increased its terrorist activities since the Afghan Taliban took power in Afghanistan in 2021. Let us also tell you that the recent dispute between Pakistan and Afghanistan came to the fore even when Pakistan started deporting thousands of Afghan refugees and undocumented migrants. It was believed that the purpose of this step of Pakistan was to put pressure on Taliban. There were reports that about 3 million Afghan citizens live in Pakistan and Pakistani officials say that some of them are involved in terrorist and criminal activities but Afghanistan has completely rejected this report.

-Neeraj Kumar Dubey