Pakistan is fighting battles on more than one front. It’s infamously using home-bred terrorists to inflict a thousand wounds on India through the Kashmir Valley and beyond; and engages in border skirmishes with Indian forces every now and again along the international border and along the Line of Control. It waged wars with India repeatedly – from the very start of Independence and till recently on the Operation Sindoor front. Now, Pakistan’s generals are concentrating their attention more on Afghanistan, targeting both terrorists and key installations there. An air-strike on Kabul has resulted in the death of more than 400 innocent persons in a rehabilitation-cum-medical facility and injuries to around 250 more there. Possibly, the generals missed their target and hit the large number of hapless people.
Curiously, when the Americans left Afghanistan after a long period of their military presence there, in 2021, and the Taliban took control of the nation, the Pakistani generals were the first to attempt to cozy up to them. Their aim was to wean Afghanistan’s new rulers from the likely influence of India, and collectively take on India thereafter. But the script did not progress that way. Indians engaged in various developmental and humanitarian activities there faced major trouble, and the new rulers thought they could dictate terms with New Delhi. Soon, word went from here that military jets were waiting to take off from here if the Taliban did not behave. With no airpower, and practically no military to back them, the Taliban sensed trouble ahead. Eventually, their honeymoon with the Pakistani establishment lasted only a few months. Terrorists from Afghanistan caused mayhem in Pakistan repeatedly, which Pakistan alleged was done at the behest of India’s military intelligence network. Pakistan sent its own terror gangs to cause destruction to life and property in Afghanistan. The proxy war continued. In recent weeks, a war-like situation developed between Pakistan and Afghanistan. Pakistan should not be allowed to get away with the heinous act of striking at a rehabilitation centre and killing innocent people by the hundreds. This amounts to a war crime and the generals should be held accountable for their reckless acts.
It is common knowledge that the generals rule Pakistan and cause disturbances to the entire subcontinent through repeated play of mischief. The political leadership there is weak and at the beck and call of the generals. The government does not have any voice in matters of security. The United States deals directly with the generals and through them gets its things done through overt or covert operations in the region and beyond. The beauty of India’s democracy is the power that the elected representatives hold in their hands. The military takes orders from the elected leaders. It’s another thing that the political leadership is found wanting when serious situations emerge –- as in Operation Sindoor, wherein India could not do a fraction of what it was capable of, and suffered major losses. That gave a new clout to Pakistan’s army chief, Asim Munir, who eventually was catapulted to the status of Field Marshal. It’s a pity that he’s now setting his sights on hapless Afghans.
