The conflict between the Afghan government led by the Taliban and the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is gaining momentum. The contradictions have reached a serious level and will soon spill out into the international arena, including the structures of the United Nations. There are two aspects to the conflict.
First, the Pakistani military seeks to maintain control and dominant influence over the Taliban leaders. It is well known that it was the Pakistani military that played a key role in the emergence of the radical Islamist movement of Pashtuns, graduates of Pakistani madrassas, after the end of the Soviet war in Afghanistan. In 1996, the Taliban won the Afghan civil war and established a new regime – the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. However, the activity of various terrorist groups on Afghan territory, including al-Qaeda militants, led to the rapid overthrow of the regime. After the monstrous terrorist attacks in September 2001, the United States of America launched a military operation against the Taliban and overthrew the Emirate regime. For over twenty years, the Taliban were underground and waged a sabotage war against American and NATO troops. The Pakistani military provided some support in this fight, providing the country’s territory as a refuge for radical Islamist leaders. After the withdrawal of the American forces, which looked more like a flight, and the capture of Kabul by the Taliban, the situation began to change. The Taliban reincarnated the Islamic Emirate and became the sole authority in Afghanistan. Today, the Taliban no longer needs the Pakistani military. Their dependence has significantly decreased, which Islamabad does not like.
Secondly, the territory of Afghanistan is still used by various radical groups as a haven. TTP – the Pakistani wing of the Taliban, consisting of Pashtuns from the western Pakistani provinces, are waging a sabotage and terrorist war against Islamabad. At the same time, this radical organization uses Afghan territory as its base. The unrecognized Afghan government, consisting of the Taliban, denies this. Pakistani officials, in turn, are convinced of the presence of the TTP in Afghanistan. In addition to the Pakistani wing of the Taliban, other radical Islamist organizations fight against Pakistan, for example, Baloch radical groups.
Early last week, militants from the Balochistan Liberation Army blew up a railway line and fired rockets at a train traveling from the Balochistan capital, Quetta, to Peshawar. There were 440 people on the train. The militants said they had taken 214 people, mostly security forces, hostage and threatened executions unless the government released Baloch political prisoners and activists. Pakistani security forces stormed the train the next day, killing all the attackers. A Pakistani military spokesman said the “operation was carried out with utmost care” and there were no civilian casualties in the final stages. The military said more than 20 hostages and four security forces were killed in the standoff. Some of the militants were wearing suicide belts, making it difficult to free the hostages. The special forces first eliminated the suicide bombers and then cleared the remaining carriages. Between 70 and 80 militants took part in the hijacking of the train.
The train incident has caused Islamabad to step up its diplomatic efforts on the international stage. Pakistan has accused «India and the Taliban of terrorism» and announced that it is preparing a resolution for the UN. Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Munir Akram, stressed that Pakistan’s next step will be to expose India’s role in supporting international terrorism. The diplomat noted that Islamabad is stepping up diplomatic efforts to convey to the international community “full information” about New Delhi’s actions. Army spokesperson Lt Gen Ahmad Sharif said “In this terrorist incident in Balochistan, and others before, the main sponsor is your eastern neighbor,” referring to India.
India’s official response was not long in coming. India’s External Affairs Ministry spokesperson, Randhir Jaiswal, said on 14 March: “We strongly reject the baseless allegations made by Pakistan”. New Delhi also said that the whole world knows “where the epicenter of global terrorism lies.” He went on to say: “The whole world knows where the epicenter of global terrorism lies. Pakistan should look inwards instead of pointing fingers and shifting the blame for its internal problems and failures on others.” “We urge Afghanistan to hold the perpetrators, organizers, and financiers of this comprehensive act of terrorism accountable and cooperate with the government of Pakistan to bring all those who are concerned with this attack, including the real sponsors of terrorism, to justice,” Khan had said.
Yet the Taliban rejected Pakistan’s accusations of Afghanistan’s involvement in the attack on the train in Balochistan. The Taliban called the statements of Pakistani officials about the connections of the attackers on the train in Balochistan with Afghanistan groundless. The press service of the Taliban Foreign Ministry emphasized that Kabul expects Islamabad to focus on solving its security problems, and not to make “irresponsible statements.” The official statement of the Taliban says that none of the members of the Baloch insurgent movement are on the territory of Afghanistan and have no connections with the Afghan authorities.
It is worth noting that the province of Balochistan has long been a headache for the Pakistani authorities. Oil- and mineral-rich Balochistan is largest and least populated province. Baloch residents have long accused the central government of discrimination – a charge Islamabad denies. In turn, Islamabad has not been able to establish a decent social and economic life in Balochistan, which leads to growing discontent and radicalism among the local population. In addition, the Pakistanis are pursuing a policy of discrimination against the Baloch minority. Accordingly, the main motives and cause of the acute conflict and the growth of radicalism among the Baloch are rather the policies of Pakistan and not the actions of third countries.
The conflict between Islamabad and Kabul tends to intensify. Pakistan has stepped up the deportation of Afghans amid worsening relations with the Taliban. Thus, earlier the Pakistani authorities announced the expulsion of Afghan migrants. Local media reported that Afghan migrants in Pakistan are selling off their property before deportation. The Pakistani authorities are tightening measures to expel Afghan migrants, which is forcing many of them to sell off their belongings and real estate at bargain prices. The situation is tough in Islamabad and Rawalpindi, where the pressure on Afghans has increased significantly. According to the migrants, despite having a valid visa, they are threatened with deportation. While waiting for expulsion, they are forced to auction off their goods and property. Such tactics of Pakistani authorities are aimed at putting pressure on the Taliban. However, such tactics are unlikely to bring results, since the Taliban government is more focused on the mood of the population.