Now that the US is slated to leave Afghanistan, Pakistan stands to acquire a much larger degree of freedom on how it deals with the Taliban and other terrorist groups.
The writing is on the wall: Just yesterday, Pakistan freed a top Talibani commander in a move to 'pacify' Afghanistan. Pakistan claims the move was made to jump start the peace process with Afghanistan, but if that is the case, why one of the top Taliban fighters? Is that what the government in Kandahar wants? Or are the demands of the Taliban now superseding those of Kandahar, or in a circuitous way, are the demands of the Taliban influencing or playing a major role in the 'peace' process between Pakistan and Afghanistan?
In the muddled arena of Pakistan-Afghanistan politics, one should not be surprised if the arrangements made are not to the Western liking. After all, Pakistan is having a very substantial problem with Taliban terrorism within its territory. But is this the right move to appease the terrorist group?
In addition to the Taliban chief, 26 other members of the group have been released so far this year, and 7 more will be soon. Between the ones that have escaped from the prison earlier this year and the ones let go by government will, there seems to be no further willingness to hold or prosecute Taliban members in Pakistan.
Pakistan has historical ties with the Taliban, since most of the Taliban is composed of fighters who took part in the Russia-Afghan conflict in the 80's, but why it would arrest these fighters and then release them is under question.
Karzai did visit Pakistan only a couple of weeks ago, and Karzai's willingness to include the Taliban in the government to achieve some measure of peace in his country is no secret. But at the same time, Karzai scoffed at the idea of the Taliban having any voice in the Qatar meeting in which the US, Karzai and the Taliban were to sit down to hash out a peace agreement.
The issue here is whether the Taliban is accepting the possibility of joining the government without giving up its long term plan to make Afghanistan into a radical islamist republic or not. In fact, it is counterintuitive that Afghanistan would accept the release of the prisoners when it has accused, and still does, Pakistan of harboring some of the worse of the Taliban fighters.
In 1996, it was Pakistan who aided the Taliban in taking complete control of Afghanistan, with the ruinous consequences everyone is aware of today. When the US invaded in 2001, most of the top fighters sought and received refuge in Pakistan.
Pakistan for its part, insists that the gesture is a pacification of the Taliban, which will help Afghanistan from falling into chaos once the US leaves. But that is disingenous. What seems to be happening, is that Pakistan is willing and happy to let the Taliban take control of Afghanistan again, as long as it stops its incursion into Pakistan. But the Taliban does not, in principle, have to respect any peace arrangement, and their goal has been and will probably always remain to transform all of Asia into an Islamist region.
Op-Ed
Partial Source: France 24/ 9.10.13
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