It can keep protesting against US drone attacks
The killing of Afghan Taliban chief Mullah Akhtar Mansour by a US drone strike in Pakistan highlights yet again how that country remains the global hub for terrorism. With regard to the Taliban specifically, Mansour’s Pakistani connect, underlined even in death, is a reminder of how Pakistan was the chief architect of the Taliban and has remained its centre of gravity. Pakistan played an active role in installing the first Taliban Government in Kabul, and has since then been covertly and overtly backing the Afghan Taliban elements, often at the cost of peace and stability in Afghanistan. When Mullah Mansour took over the reins, he enjoyed the support of the Pakistan Army. Whether the latter was also complicit in his death some have suggested that the Army traded the Talib chief’s life possibly for concessions on the F-16 deal which is stuck with the US Congress is unclear. However, what is clear is that yet another dreaded terrorist was found enjoying Pakistani hospitality after Al Qaeda chief Osama bin laden. And much like after Bin laden’s death, this time also Pakistan has loudly protested the violation of its sovereignty. Yet the fact of the matter remains that the abuse of Pakistan’s sovereign territory has happened for decades with the full cognisance of its Government, Army and intelligence officials. This irks Washington, DC, which is gradually getting around to the idea that Pakistan has been playing a double game for decades especially on the Afghan peace process. For years, US lawmakers have sought to persuade Pakistani Generals to shift their security posture and prioritise operations against Islamist militants. Over the past 13 years, the Pentagon has pumped $13 billion to the Pakistan Army for counter-terrorism efforts but the money has gone down the drains. Recently, a former American Ambassador to Afghanistan singled out Pakistan as the potential spoiler in the long road to Afghan peace. Note that Pakistan couldn’t bring Mullah Mansour to the negotiating table this time around.
Mansour's death will only complicate the peace process led by the Quadrilateral Coordination Group comprising Afghanistan, Pakistan, the US and China. The QCG talks have been a non-starter anyway, and now they might as well be shelved. Pakistan may see the resultant flux as yet another opportunity to wriggle its way back into a position of power and tighten its control over the militant groups but there’s no telling whether it will succeed. The Obama Administration clearly sees this as a big win, with the President himself confirming Mansour’s death and hailing it as an ‘important milestone' in future efforts to herald peace to Afghanistan. Be that as it may, Washington needs to be more pragmatic in its fight against terror in Afghanistan. It must understand that the Taliban, Al Qaeda, the Haqqani network, the Islamic State as well as anti-India groups such as the lashkar-e-Tayyeba are part of the same terror stock, and it cannot cherry-pick.