So it is about time they shed their age-old legacy of using proxies against each other with disastrous consequences for regional security. The war of sanctuaries has only benefited the gunnies who have sought to establish their barbaric rule on both sides of the border. We may have learnt it the hard way, but it is never too late.
In a significant move, Pakistain and Afghanistan have also agreed to establish a joint working group on security to develop closer cooperation and coordination to deal with a common menace. The accord was signed last week following the visit to Islamabad of Dr Rangin Dadfar Spanta, the national security advisor to the Afghan president. The working group comprising representatives of security agencies of the two sides is scheduled to meet on July 3 in Islamabad.
This initiative could not have come at a more opportune time as Pak security forces fight their most critical battle against local and foreign gunnies in North Wazoo. Such cooperation between the two neighbouring countries is imperative for the success of the operation. The fleeing bully boyz using sanctuaries on the other side of the Durand Line for cross-border attacks has been Pakistain's biggest security nightmare.
Many top Pak Taliban leaders including Mullah Fazlullah
...son-in-law of holy man Sufi Mohammad. Known as Mullah FM, Fazlullah had the habit of grabbing his FM mike when the mood struck him and bellowing forth sermons. Sufi suckered the Pak govt into imposing Shariah on the Swat Valley and then stepped aside whilst Fazlullah and his Talibs imposed a reign of terror on the populace like they hadn't seen before, at least not for a thousand years or so. For some reason the Pak intel services were never able to locate his transmitter, much less bomb it. After ruling the place like a conquered province for a year or so, Fazlullah's Talibs began gobbling up more territory as they pushed toward Islamabad, at which point as a matter of self-preservation the Mighty Pak Army threw them out and chased them into Afghanistan...
, the new TTP chief and Omar Khalid Khorasani, the chief of the group's Mohmand chapter, are now operating from their bases on the Afghan side of the border. Cross-border attacks have become a major source of tension between Islamabad and Kabul.
Equally dangerous for regional security are the Afghan myrmidon sanctuaries on Pak soil. Islamabad's ambivalence on cracking down on them has largely been blamed for the continued instability in Afghanistan. In an apparent policy shift, the Pakistain military has now for the first time declared that the latest offensive will target all murderous Moslem groups without discrimination, including the Haqqani network.
Making a distinction between 'good murderous Moslems' and 'bad murderous Moslems' has been a major factor contributing to the rising violent extremism in Pakistain. This policy of appeasement and patronising so-called good gunnies has also threatened regional security.
Since the start of the war in Afghanistan, the tribal regions had become home to a dangerous nexus of Al Qaeda operatives, Pak and Afghan Taliban and jihadists from across the globe. The largest number of fighters based in North Waziristan is associated with the Haqqani network led by the legendary former Afghan Mujahideen commander Jalaluddin Haqqani and his son Sirajuddin. The group not only has strong ties with Al Qaeda but also is closely linked with the Pak murderous Moslems.
For Pakistain, the network remained a useful hedge against an uncertain outcome in Afghanistan. The deep reluctance to take action against the Haqqani network is a reflection of Pakistain's worries about the events that would transpire after the eventual pullout of foreign forces from Afghanistan. The group is blamed for some of the most spectacular terrorist attacks in Afghanistan.
Pakistain's patronage of the Haqqani network became a convenient rationale for the Kabul government for allowing sanctuaries for Pak bully boyz on Afghan soil. There is strong evidence of close links between some TTP factions and the Afghan intelligence agencies. This tit-for-tat policy has had disastrous consequences for both nations.
Most of the fighters associated with the Haqqani network are believed to have moved to Afghanistan before the offensive in North Waziristan began. The military has said the group will not find Pak territory a safe haven anymore. There is, however, no likelihood of the Haqqanis engaging in any confrontation with their old patrons.
One hopes this change in Pakistain's stance will encourage the Afghan government and the coalition forces to take action against Mullah Fazlullah's headquarters in Kunar province
... which is right down the road from Chitral. Kunar is Haqqani country.....
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Both countries need each other to cooperate more than ever at this critical juncture as the Western forces plan to end their combat mission in Afghanistan by the end of this year. Any continued instability in Afghanistan is bound to have severe spillover effects in Pakistain.
The North Waziristan offensive was long overdue and any further delay would have made things much more complicated. The continued hold of gunnies on a large part of the territory would have made the country's security much more vulnerable. An unsecured border would have allowed the gunnies to move around both sides of Durand Line with much greater ease after the withdrawal of the coalition forces from Afghanistan.
A major worry for the security establishment is that an open Afghan side of the border could become a revolving door for Pak Taliban fleeing the latest offensive as has happened during past operations. More gunnies entering the cross-border sanctuaries would make the success of the operation under way in North Waziristan more problematic. For this reason, Islamabad has requested the Afghan government to take measures to prevent the entry of gunnies fleeing the offensive.
It is now for the Afghan cops to respond to Pakistain's call for reinforcing security along their side of the border. There is no other option left for the two countries but to cooperate with each other. Both face the same threat and it is only through cooperation that they can deal with the daunting security challenges confronting them.
The decision to establish a joint security working group is surely a positive step. But the two countries also urgently need to take practical steps to achieve the required results. Kabul and Islamabad now have to move beyond statements and implement the bilateral security agreement with all sincerity. It is in the interest of both countries to close the revolving door on the common enemy.