ISLAMABAD - Despite repeated accusation of terrorism the US will not declare the Haqqani Network a terrorist entity, not in the interest of peace and stability in the region but for the safe exit of its troops from Afghanistan.
Background discussions with diplomats and security analysts suggest that US is currently in contact with the Haqqani Network to secure guarantees that they would stop targeting the US troops in Afghanistan.
“Pakistan would not react even if the US declares the Haqqani Network a terrorist organisation but would want that all the Afghan resistance groups including the Haqqanis are pushed into the peace process,” a senior Pakistan diplomat told The Nation.
He was of the view that Haqqanis, being Afghan citizens, operate from within Afghanistan and they have no presence in Pakistan. Pakistan supports Afghan-owned and Afghan-led peace and reconciliation process and is committed to facilitate it to make it fruitful process, he added.
Some foreign policy experts and security analysts believe that Pakistan do not have much leverage when it comes to Haqqanis as they operate independently. But they said that “like other resistance groups, including Afghan Taliban, Haqqanis are equally key stakeholders in Afghanistan”.
They believe that it is a complex situation where besides al-Qaeda, Afghan Taliban and other resistance groups like Haqqanis were operating in Afghanistan. They questioned the intention and combat capacity of Afghan and US-led forces in sorting out non-state entities like these and their continued accusations against Pakistan, which itself is victim of terrorism.
“The US-led foreign troops together with Afghan security forces should have overcome this challenge by now. But their policies’ ineptness, partly because of their political compulsions, has rendered them ineffective,” a security analyst who wished not to be named maintained.
Pakistan they believe has been doing it best to contain the defunct TTP and its remnants who always find refuge in Pak-Afghan border whenever Pakistani security forces launch operations. In return, the TTP and its Afghan associates have been mounting fatal attacks on Pakistani security forces from across the border.
“Therefore, there is a greater need for a meaningful reconciliation process in Afghanistan to resolve this problem collectively,” sources said, adding that measures like counter terrorism or military solutions would not help in establishing lasting peace and stability.