The Afghan Taliban are reportedly financing Pakistani militants who are at war with Islamabad. They are also providing sanctuary to them in their territory. Pakistan had long been pursuing a policy of differentiation between the Afghan and Pakistan Taliban, between the good Taliban and the bad. The Pakistan army has been waging a war against the Pakistani Taliban who seek to replace the country’s democratic system with one based on Islamic law. But it has held off on targeting the Afghan Taliban who are focusing their attacks on US- led troops in Afghanistan. Pakistan has historic ties with the Afghan Taliban and looks upon them as a useful ally in Afghanistan, especially after US withdrawal in 2014. But now the dangerous nexus between them in Afghanistan and their Pakistan wing has been exposed. It was thought that the success of the Taliban in Afghanistan would enable Pakistan to put down the Taliban menace on its soil. That is now not possible.
Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani teenager who is a front –runner for the Nobel Peace Prize has said that dialogue with the militants is the only way forward for peace. But now both sides in Pakistan have been stopped in their tracks. The army which was gunning at the Pakistan Taliban can no longer look favourably at the parent body in Afghanistan. The retirement of General Kiyani has caused transitional problems in the Pakistan army. On the other hand, the Nawaz Sharif government’s plans to come to terms with the Pakistani Taliban have come to naught. If there is a tie between the Pakistani Taliban and the Afghan Taliban, rapprochement with the former is not advisable. Dialogue is always the best means of wiping out hostilities but there must be a spirit of compromise in both parties.
