Pakistan’s principled position is to give peace a chance, but if the militants are not amenable to a peaceful solution, a military solution becomes the default option.
By Naveed Naqvi
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan is looking to resolve its Afghan Taliban-aligned Islamic militancy through dialogue on principle, but if the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) is not amenable to a peaceful solution, the military option is very much on the table, a top Pakistani diplomat has said.
In a radio interview, Islamabad’s former envoy to Afghanistan Mansoor Ahmad Khan let on that the recent peace talks with the outlawed TTP had not achieved the desired results, and made clear that peace talks and violence could not go hand in hand.
In a wide-ranging interview given to Voice of America (VOA), Mansoor Ahmed Khan discussed several important issues including the recent negotiations with TTP and the role of Afghan Taliban.
He said that before resuming the negotiation process with the TTP, it was important to see if the banned organisation recognises Pakistan’s system, state and law.
Khan said that the Afghan Taliban want Pakistan to be patient on the issue of TTP, and continue to assure Pakistan that they will not allow their territory to be used against any other country.
He said that Pakistan expects the Afghan Taliban to take serious action against TTP and elements using Afghan soil against Pakistan would be crushed.
According to him, the issue of the outlawed group is not so simple for the Afghan Taliban because TTP has pledged allegiance to the Afghan Taliban leader, which makes it a political as well as an ideological issue for them.
Mansoor Ahmed Khan was Pakistan’s ambassador to Afghanistan when the Taliban take over Kabul after the withdrawal of the US and NATO forces last year. It was on his watch that Pakistan started the process of negotiations with the TTP leadership through the mediation of the Afghan Taliban.
In response to the question that no matter who is governing Kabul, there is distrust towards Pakistan, Mansoor Ahmed said that there is constant distrust between Pakistan and Afghanistan, from the public to the highest level.
He said that the geography, history and culture of Pakistan and Afghanistan are similar and therefore Islamabad’s actions are sometimes seen as interference. He said that due to this impression, Pakistan’s good initiatives have also been taken in the context of intervention.
He said both the government and the people of Pakistan have to keep in mind that Afghanistan should be seen as a free and independent country.
Afghanistan’s Defence Minister Maulvi Muhammad Yaqub Mujahid has alleged that American drones are entering Afghanistan through a neighbouring country.
Asked if the government of Afghanistan has made any formal complaint with Islamabad regarding the alleged use of Pakistan’s territory for US drones, Mansoor Ahmad Khan said that according to his knowledge, no complaint has been made in this regard.
Reiterating Islamabad’s policy of not allowing any party to use Pakistan’s territory against Afghanistan, he asserted that Pakistani airspace was definitely not used in the US drone strike inside Afghanistan.
The envoy said that the Afghan minister himself had said in his statement that due to the non-functioning of the radar system, it could not be determined from which direction the drone came flying.
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