By Zabih Ullah Khattak (Pakistan)
The recent standoff between Pakistan and Afghanistan caused long-lasting impacts on the trade sector of both countries. Pakistan is at the cusp of terrorism, and every dawn brings vengeful news of terrorist attacks. In this extremely mired situation, Pakistan repeatedly asks for the help of the Taliban administration, but the Taliban administration does not heed an ounce of attention. Here are a few reasons that make the Taliban reluctant to abandon their claims.
Firstly, the Taliban serve TTP and similar terrorist groups because they had been helped by them during America’s presence and repelled America, which traditionally is not supposed to expel those who were their helpers.
Secondly, Afghanistan is not in a position to combat or wage war with terrorist groups and does not want to push the country once again into a quagmire. Although several members of the Shura and other clerics have declared any action un-Islamic if it is taken without the decree of the emir or the central command, they still hesitate to take any concrete action against the evil voices emanating from Afghanistan.
Thirdly, in Afghanistan there are still many people who are sympathizers of terrorists, and so-called Sharia law is misrepresented. Several debates have been conducted not to declare any war against Muslims across the globe, and those who are leveraging such types of atrocities will not be entertained as good Muslims.
Adding to this, Afghanistan is never considered an ironclad neighbor and has always remained tumultuous at the corner. Afghanistan was the leading nation that opposed the recognition of Pakistan in the United Nations and tried to manipulate the credibility of Pakistan in the eyes of the world. An ounce cannot be expected from Afghanistan despite unimagined help poured in by Pakistan.
Moreover, the vengeance of Afghanistan is not a day-one phenomenon, but it started when the Durand Line dispute began. Meanwhile, the Afghans remained poisoned due to their claim that Afghanistan’s land has been captured by Pakistan and claim that the boundary of Afghanistan is up to Attock, KPK, which is an ill-laced demand being attributed.
A report published in The Nation claimed that $100 million has been lost by both countries due to the skirmishes being slated. As of today, Afghanistan has no other way to interact with the rest of the world, as it is a landlocked country. Despite financial constraints and a diabolical economic situation, the hardliners of Afghanistan are not to surrender their ego and are still reluctant to profess the legitimate demands of Pakistan to wrap up the remnants of the hostile faces (TTP, IS, Al-Qaeda, etc.).
Along with these factors, the air is filled with the internal disagreement of the Afghan Taliban. Analysts attribute this to two factions of the Taliban, namely Kandahari and Central, which believe in two distinct views about ruling. The Kandahari faction’s followers are stringent towards Pakistan and are less likely in favor of peace with Pakistan. On the other hand, the Haqqani faction tries to emulate the stance of Pakistan because certain central figures’ alma mater is in Pakistan, and they revere their teachers and entertain them.
