 Mixed political signals, money, arms and insurgents make for a volatile relationship across the long and porous border between Afghanistan and Pakistan. The latest round in the long-running war of words between the two countries involves allegations that Pakistani "terrorists" have been arrested in Afghanistan. Pakistan's president Pervez Musharraf has warned that these accusations are worsening relations, and that Islamabad may retaliate.
| By arresting Afghan terrs in Pakistan, maybe? Sounds pretty good. |
Afghan Interior Ministry spokesman Lutfullah Mashal was blunt about where the Taliban guerrilla's support base was: "All the weapons, ammunition, budgets, money transfer systems and safe havens for terrorists are located in Pakistan."
U.S.-led forces, along with Afghan soldiers and police, have been facing increasing attacks by fighters of the ousted Taliban regime in the run-up to Afghanistan's planned September 18 parliamentary and provincial elections. Officials in Kabul believe that Islamabad could do something about this.
| I'm actually not sure they could. Pakland seems to have less control of its western border than Afghanistan has of its eastern border. When, 20 or 30 years from now, the ratholes are cleaned out, it'll probably be as a result of Afghan troops crossing the border. The Paks will still be sitting around arguing over turban colors and religion columns on their drivers' licenses. |
According to Mashal, if Pakistan really wanted to help Afghanistan overcome terrorism, the problem could be resolved rapidly. "Pakistan has promised us several times [to help fight terrorism]. But it did not abide by its promises, except for once. That was during last year's [Afghan] presidential election, and that resulted in a peaceful election," he said.
| Quite a coincidence, wasn't it? |
Despite Musharraf's declared aim of helping his neighbors, Mashal said that in the past two months alone, Interior Ministry officials had arrested more than 20 Pakistani nationals. The arrests were accompanied by seizures of weapons, bombs and explosives which were clearly intended for use in attacks. All this material was identified as coming from Pakistan, and had been supplied either by intelligence services or religious groups there, Mashal said.
| Doesn't come as a surprise to anybody here, I'm sure. I repeat: the Taliban aren't an Afghan phenomenon; they emanate from Pakland, and their support comes from Pakistan. |
President Musharraf, who has repeatedly pledged to put a stop to the activities of the Taliban and other radical Islamic groups that espouse violence, is adamant that his policies have worked. As he told a news conference in Lahore in late July, "we did root out terrorism in Pakistan, and no one can use Pakistani territory against Afghanistan."
But even within Pakistan, there are voices accusing the government of deceiving not only Afghanistan but also the United States and the West by helping militants to infiltrate the neighboring country. Earlier this week, Maulana Fazlur Rehman, the Pakistani opposition leader who heads Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal, a coalition of six Islamic parties, told a news conference the government should identify the infiltrators and explain its motives for helping them to enter Afghanistan. "They must also give the nation the identities of the men being moved from Waziristan to militant camps in Mansehra [both in Pakistan]," Rehman said. "This is hypocrisy. The rulers are not only trying to deceive the U.S. and the West, but are also hoodwinking the entire nation." |