Afghanistan once again has blamed Pakistan for the terrorist attack in Kabul on May 31. This accusation is baseless and an attempt to tarnish Pakistan’s image as usual, covering up its own lack of planning and ineffective security system.
The Prime Minister’s Adviser on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz, gave a statement to Afghanistan on Sunday that hateful campaigns will not help the peace efforts. Pakistan and Afghanistan have enjoyed good diplomatic ties and such accusations will only lead to deterioration of the relationship that the countries have built over the years.
Terrorism is a problem that equally effects both the countries. Countless citizens have lost lives on both sides. When the problem is the same and the enemy is the same, the Afghan policy makers should not find it difficult to understand that the answer lies in cooperation and a joint effort against the extremists.
But this rhetoric is clearly falling short to convince Afghanistan of anything. We continue to site a history of friendship, they continue to blame us for horrific murders committed by their home grown militants. Pakistan has been fighting this war against terror in the region alone for quite a while, and the situation did not turn around till we took initiative and ownership of the war. Terror attacks have reduced and Pakistan’s economy is also reviving itself. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said about Afghanistan; and that says a lot about their efforts towards countering terrorism.
It is not Pakistan’s responsibility to get rid of extremists in the world. We do not support terror anywhere – diplomats like Sartaj Aziz need to make this clear, with facts – and all accusations from the likes of Afghanistan should be taken action against. We have closed borders before, and we will fence the border to check incoming terrorism from Afghanistan, and it is only the Afghans who complain when this happens, yet throw accusations when we act in friendship.