Amidst a sharp surge in militant attacks on security forces and civilians in recent months, Pakistan has made it clear that it will not engage in any negotiations with the militants.
The announcement came in response to an offer during the recent talks between Pakistani officials and Afghan representatives in Doha, wherein the later insisted on brokering a deal between the Pakistani government and the outlawed Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). Foreign Office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch told media in Islamabad that her government had “no plans” to enter into talks with the banned terror group.
Islamabad has had many rounds of talks in the past, but were tainted with challenges and limited success – in the form of a ceasefire. Even those agreements were short-lived, and had frequently been breached by the militants, taking the peace process back to square one. Giving the reason for declining the Afghan government’s offer, the spokesperson said that the TTP had been frequently attacking and killing both Pakistanis and foreigners inside the country.
The announcement points to a significant shift in Islamabad’s approach to dealing with anti-state groups operating under the umbrella of the TTP. The group has recently stepped up attacks on the security forces and foreigners, especially Chinese citizens working on various development projects under the Belt and Road Initiative. The militant organization’s resurgence has sparked fears and subsequent instability in the region, forcing the government not to engage in any deal with the TTP.
Blaming the Afghan government for providing safe havens to militants, Mumtaz Zahra Baloch urged rulers in the neighboring country to do more against militants using the Afghan soil to launch attacks on civilians and security forces inside Pakistan. She reiterated that Pakistan expected the Taliban government to act against terrorist groups that have found sanctuaries inside Afghanistan. In the same breath, she said Pakistan respected Afghanistan’s territorial integrity and sovereignty, and urged the neighbors to uphold their sovereignty and take action against militants.
The same tone was adopted by Minister for Foreign Affairs Ishaq Dar a day earlier. At a Senate committee meeting, he rubbished the Afghan Taliban’s claims that neither the TTP was operating from Afghan soil nor the interim government was supporting the group. The minister said the militant group wanted sabotage Pakistan-China relations by attacking Chinese engineers in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Recent reports suggest that Pakistan has taken this hardline stance after repeated ‘warnings’ by Beijing following attacks on Chinese officials and workers inside Pakistan. The neighboring country made it clear that sending its citizens to vulnerable areas would be suicidal. Since many of the Chinese investment projects are located in western Pakistan – near the border with Afghanistan – it has made the areas particularly vulnerable to attacks.
In response, Islamabad announced a “reinvigorated” national counterterrorism strategy, promising a combination of dynamic efforts, new legislation to augment terrorism prosecutions, as well as steps to counter violent extremism. The New York Times newspaper reported the other day that Chinese officials had also requested Pakistan to allow private security contractors from China to protect its projects. Pakistan rejected the idea straightaway.
According to reports, there have been more than 300 attacks in Pakistan this year, with 27 taking place in June and 36 in May. Islamabad’s frustration is evident, as it has expelled more than 600,000 Afghan nationals on the pretext of their involvement in militant activities. Kabul, on the other hand, has rejected these accusations, further straining relations between the two countries. This issue was also covered by Mumtaz Zahra Baloch, who said that Islamabad was committed to implementing the Illegal Foreigners Repatriation Plan (IFRP).
Refuting recent reports regarding suspension of the plan, she clarified that the government had only approved a year’s extension for the illegal Afghan refugees. As Islamabad navigates this complex landscape, both its allies and adversaries will closely be watching how effective are the new counterterrorism measures. One thing is for sure, that the stakes are very high, so there is an urgent need for a comprehensive and sustained effort to combat terrorism.