Testing times for Nawaz as Afghan soil used to sabotage dialogue

 

 

 

 

 

 

ISLAMABAD: The Monday’s Islamabad attack is a test of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s nerves and his capabilities both to secure the future of the peace process and unmask and counter those who are hell-bent to sabotage the talks.
Ironically, it is an Afghanistan based Pakistani militant group that has claimed responsibility for the Islamabad attack which yet again exposed the failure of our intelligence and security agencies as well as the vulnerability of soft targets for terrorists all over Pakistan.

Within 48 hours of the TTP’s unilateral ceasefire announcement and after 14 hours of the government’s reciprocal gesture of halting its air strikes against the Taliban targets, the Islamabad terrorist attack came as a shocker for the whole nation.

It was a “drone” of a different type. Though the government has not yet concluded who did it, the militant group Ahrarul Hind has claimed responsibility. It is a splinter group of the TTP based in Kunar, Afghanistan. This militant organisation used to operate from the Mohmand Agency first.

On Feb 13, 2014, The News, Rawalpindi, had published the statement of Ahrarul Hind’s spokesman in which he had announced to dissociate itself from negotiations between the government and the TTP and had warned that it would continue with its terrorist attacks inside cities and settled areas.

The report had identified the group as “hitherto unknown splinter group of the Taliban”, which announced that it would not abide by any ceasefire agreed to between the TTP and the government of Pakistan unless the Islamic Shariah was enforced throughout Pakistan.

Quoting a statement issued by Asad Mansoor of the group, the report said that the TTP mujahideen were their brethren but the group was not bound to follow a ceasefire of any kind with the government if they agreed to it.

According to the statement, the Ahrarul Hind has been assembled under Amir Maulana Umar Qasmi, who will lead the group independently if the talks between the govt and the TTP succeed.

The News report of Feb 13th clearly said this militant organisation was earlier active in Mohmand Agency but now its centre had moved to Kunar, Afghanistan.

“We will now continue our activities (previously conducted with other Jihadi organisations including TTP) on our own by the grace of God,” the last month statement as published in The News said, adding, “We belong to the urban areas of Pakistan and so will restrict our activities to the urban areas.” The Ahrarul Hind statement was dated February 9 and written in Urdu.

This statement of Ahrarul Hind was issued in the backdrop of the setting up of committees by the government and the TTP to find a negotiated solution to terrorism. However, the talks process was suspended last month after the FC men’s killing was owned by Umar Khalid Khurasani led Taliban group of Mohmand Agency.

Now the ceasefire has already been announced, but an Afghanistan based militant group has claimed responsibility for the Islamabad incident. The reported last month execution of FC men was also done in Afghanistan. Last year’s peace effort got derailed following the killing of Hakeemullah Mahsud by a US drone.

At the very initiation of the dialogue process, it was feared that the process would face serious challenges, particularly from those forces internal and international elements who did not want the talk process to succeed.

This is what seems to be happening and from across the border. It has become a diplomatic and international challenge for the Nawaz government though Sartaj Aziz had asked Kabul not to allow its soil as a launching pad against Pakistan.