Due to complete denial, defiance and non-cooperative behavior of Afghan Taliban towards the controlling, taming and taking some meaningful actions against TTP, BLA, MB, IS-KP and other terrorist organizations operating from the soil of Afghanistan, it was writing on the wall that this situation would escalate.
Moreover, the surge in terrorist activities and suicidal attacks in different parts of KPK, Balochistan and Punjab forced the military establishment of Pakistan and Civilian setup to take some concrete actions against the infiltrators from Afghanistan.
Furthermore, TTP and Taliban unprecedented attacks of EW aircrafts, tactical drones and copter drones on police, paramilitary forces and frontier posts in KPK and Balochistan forced armed forces of Pakistan to take coordinated reply against these evils destroying prospects of peace, stability and infrastructures in the country.
It was not coincidence but incremental because the government of Pakistan tried its best to engage Taliban in Doha, Istanbul, Riyadh and Muscat to resolve the sensitive issues of infiltration and terrorist activities within the soil of Pakistan by these banned terrorist groups. However, Taliban only borrowed time but could not take any substantial actions against these terrorists operating from different parts of Afghanistan. Rather they approached New Delhi to borrow sponsorship and strategic scheme of arrangement against Pakistan which resultantly irked it.
It is pertinent to mention that even the latest report of Russian Foreign Ministry clearly indicates regrouping, rebirth and reactivation of TTP, TTA, BLA, IS-KP and AL Qaeda terrorist groups in Afghanistan posing a regional threat to all the regional countries. Unfortunately, the latest blast in Moscow confirmed that fears of Russia were genuine.
It was not started by Pakistan rather Taliban started this war by attacking different check posts of Pakistan at the border and Pakistan forces only retaliated giving them a befitting response.
Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General (DG) Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry held a comprehensive press briefing and shared details of ongoing “Operation Ghazab lil-Haq” against Taliban.
Afghan Taliban and Fitna al Khawarij opened fire and carried out physical raids on 53 locations along the Pak-Afghan border in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) which was coordinated by Taliban and all these terrorist organizations operating from Afghanistan.
Obviously, Pakistan’s armed forces responded immediately and effectively and the attack was repulsed at all 53 locations. Interestingly, Taliban forces and these terrorist groups came with armed quadcopters and big and small weapons. Evidently, Pakistan forces successfully shot down their quadcopters and silenced their weapons. Hence, the attacks effectively repulsed, but Pakistan, exercising self-defence, responded and gave a befitting reply.
Additionally, “Operation Ghazab lil-Haq” was launched in response to the attacks by Afghan Taliban during which so far 274 Taliban regime personnel and khawarij had been killed and more than 400 were injured.
Furthermore, seventy-three posts of the Afghan Taliban along the Pak-Afghan border have been totally destroyed. Eighteen posts have been captured vividly reflecting military superiority of Pakistan’s armed forces.
As per conservative estimates, 115 tanks, armoured vehicles, and artillery pieces of the Afghan Taliban forces had been destroyed. Destruction of the headquarters and military installations which were providing support to terrorist organisations and helped them plan were targeted and hit by Pakistan Air Force clearly demonstrating our resolve against any external aggressor in the region and beyond.
Pakistan Air Force started airstrikes on 22 locations in Kabul, Kandahar, Paktia, Nangarhar, Khost, and Paktika.
Obviously, all these targets were very carefully selected based on intelligence. They are military targets, and great care was exercised so that there is no civilian collateral damage.
These targets included corps headquarters, brigade headquarters, battalion headquarters, sector headquarters, ammunition depots, logistics bases, and places providing shelter to terrorists and their supporters.
Remarkably, in several places, the cowardly Afghan Taliban forces and the khawarij with them not only fled but also abandoned the dead bodies of their accomplices, which had been “secured” in accordance with the Geneva protocols.
12 Pakistan Army soldiers had been martyred, while 27 were injured and one soldier was missing in action. Afghan media and their proxies were floating lies on social media regarding the targeting of civilians.
At no place was any civilian infrastructure targeted. These are all military targets. These are all the infrastructure from where Pakistan was attacked.
In summary, it is absolutely clear that Indian sponsorship, abetment and design are behind any terrorist incident in Pakistan. The Afghan Taliban sponsored these terrorist groups.
In the recent visit of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Israel and meeting with its prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and extending strategic assistance to Taliban showing their secret alliance against Pakistan and its nuclear program.
Shockingly, Israel’s presence inside Afghanistan has emerged as a conflicting reality in the region particularly as provinces hosting Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) sanctuaries show overlapping activity with Israeli-linked non-governmental organisations.
Grippingly, Kunar, Nangarhar, Khost, Paktika and Paktia provinces have coincided with Israeli-origin NGOs confirming a certain pattern.
Moreover, these provinces along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border serve as key sanctuaries for TTP militants, enabling cross-border attacks into Pakistan. United Nations monitoring reports confirm that the Taliban administration has provided safe havens to TTP, allowing training camps and operational bases to flourish there despite repeated Pakistani demands for action.
The message of the Pakistan government and armed forces is loud and clear that Afghan Taliban regime has to make a choice between Pakistan, and the terrorists and terrorism.
The writer argues that it is high time that armed forces of Pakistan consolidate their military presence at the captured check posts within the soil of Afghanistan and start coordinated efforts by consulting all the regional countries to actually implement the “Syrian Model” alongside the Afghan border (30-40) kilometres to safeguard all their vested interests.
Strategic coordination with the National Resistance Front (NRF) should also be explored and strengthened to successfully marginalize ill designs of Afghan Taliban, TTP, TTA, IS-KP and many other terrorist groups in Afghanistan.
Pakistan should seek the Chinese assistance in terms of constant aerial surveillance by having nuclear drones for their unlimited flight/operation duration to be deployed on the border of Afghanistan. Moreover, deployment of Robotic Soldiers should also be operationalized as soon as possible.
The rudimentary type of drones’ attacks on Rawalpindi, Abbottabad, Swabi is a serious threat which must be controlled by using better anti-drone technologies and jamming apparatus in the country. The policy makers of Pakistan may consider replicating the Iraqi-Libyan Model of human intelligence to eradicate urban terrorist presence in the country.
