The second round of peace talks between Pakistan and Afghanistan will be organized in the first week of November, but before that, provocative statements are continuing from both sides. But amid all this, a strong scenario has emerged that the Pakistani Army’s morale has been demoralized after seeing the power of Taliban and that is why Pakistan Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir is appealing for peace with folded hands. Munir has said that Pakistan wants peace with all its neighboring countries, but will not allow cross-border terrorism. Munir made this comment while interacting with the ‘Jirga’ (council) of tribal senior citizens in Peshawar. According to the Army Headquarters, he was briefed on the security situation along the Pakistan-Afghan border, counter-terrorism operations and the ongoing conflict in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Munir praised the local support received by security forces during the recent standoff with the Afghan Taliban and said Pakistan was committed to liberating the country from terrorists and their supporters.
“We want peace with all our neighbors including Afghanistan, but terrorism should not be promoted in Pakistan from the soil of any neighboring country,” he said. Munir also said that despite the continuing cross-border attacks from Afghanistan, Pakistan has remained patient and has made several diplomatic and economic offers to Kabul.
Read this also: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa IED Blast | Terrorism increased again in Pakistan! 6 soldiers killed by IED in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, suspicion deepens on TTP
Meanwhile, Turkey’s Foreign Ministry has confirmed that a new round of peace talks between Pakistan and Afghanistan will be held in Istanbul on November 6. On the other hand, both the countries have agreed to maintain the ceasefire till then. On the other hand, Taliban Interior Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani accused Pakistan of “playing with war”, saying that “the Afghan people do not want war, but protecting their land is their priority.” Meanwhile, Pakistan’s Defense Minister Khawaja Asif warned that “if there is any terrorist attack in Pakistan, the consequences will be very bitter.”
If we pay attention to all these statements and especially listen to the “peace message” of Field Marshal Asim Munir in the Peshawar Jirga, then the old dual policy of Pakistan will be clearly visible, where there is peace on the tongue and gunpowder in the hands. When Munir says that “We will not tolerate cross-border terrorism”, the question arises whether Pakistan has now realized that it is drowning in the quagmire of terrorism of its own making? The country which described terrorism as a “strategic asset” for decades is now suffering from the same poison. The daily attacks in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, the border conflict with the Taliban and the chaos within the country are all the result of Pakistan’s own policies.
This compulsion of Munir is also clear because the Taliban government in Afghanistan is no longer a puppet of Pakistan. By providing shelter and support to TTP, Kabul has made it clear that it will no longer accept Islamabad’s tricks under the guise of Islamic “brotherhood”. Everyone knows that Pakistan Army and ISI used terrorism as a “strategic asset” for decades. Extremist groups were trained to destabilize India, Afghanistan and even Iran. Today the same poison has spread in the veins of Pakistan. Clashes with the Taliban, more than 70 deaths, and the halt of border trade are all the result of the same policy hypocrisy.
On the other hand, it has been announced to organize Pakistan-Afghan peace talks on November 6 in Istanbul, which is being mediated by Türkiye and Qatar. But history is witness to the fact that whenever Pakistan talks about “peace talks”, there is either strategic pressure or economic bankruptcy behind it. This time there are both. The proposed Pakistan-Afghan talks in Istanbul may temporarily avert the diplomatic crisis, but cannot resolve it. If seen, now there are two fronts in front of Pakistan Army – one, bullets coming from the west; Second, hunger, unemployment and dissatisfaction rising from within.
India should see this entire incident not just as ‘Pak-Afghan dispute’ but as a strategic failure of Pakistan. On one hand Pakistan is not able to control its borders, on the other hand it wants to show the world that “we are against terrorism.” This is the same pretense that it has used on international platforms for decades. But now the circumstances have changed and the world knows that Pakistan wants to be both the “producer” and “victim” of terror.
This is the time for caution for India because Pakistan is now divided on two fronts. The first is internal instability and the second is anarchy on the western border. This will limit Pakistan’s conventional strategic aggression against India. Additionally, tensions between Afghanistan and Pakistan will increase threats to China’s ‘Belt and Road’ (CPEC) project in Central Asia. At the same time, Indian policymakers should understand that Pakistan’s “peace message” is actually an attempt to reduce international pressure—especially when the IMF and FATF are eyeing it.
From a military point of view, Pakistan’s “terror-control policy” is now a complete failure. Its intelligence agencies have lost control over the activities of the Taliban-TTP nexus. A large part of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is gradually going out of the administrative control of Pakistan. In such a situation, for Pakistan Army a statement like “will not allow cross border terrorism” is nothing more than a self-deception.
Overall, Munir’s “peace speech” is actually a statement about the Pakistani Army’s weakening grip and slipping ground. Pakistan should now understand that terrorism is no one’s friend, it ultimately consumes the one who gave birth to it. No matter how many times Munir talks about “peace”, the truth is that Pakistan’s actions, not its words, are full of lies.