Addressing the Munich Security Conference Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa stressed the repatriation of 2.7 million Afghan refugees can greatly improve the security situation in Afghanistan and Pakistan. The Army Chief said that world is harvesting what had been sown 40 years ago. He called for repatriation of Afghan refugees from Pakistan and better management of Afghan border as a way forward to curb militancy. The COAS said that Pakistan has denied the Islamic State militant group any foothold in the country.
It is an established fact that terrorists belonging to different militant groups, having sanctuaries in Afghanistan, cross the border and get morphed with Afghan refugees to carry out terrorist attacks in Pakistan. Pakistan needs the assistance of the United States and other Western Countries to effectively implement the repatriation process. But at the sometime the Ministry of SAFRON should also demonstrate its firm commitment for the early preparation of refugee repatriation plan and it should not be on hold to appease the vested interest. The repeated extension in the deadline in the stay of Afghan refugees does not augur well for the national security. The Afghan ambassador in Pakistan Umar Zakelwal had also told the refugee elder Afghan refugees should remain mentally prepared for return journey to their homeland. Once the repatriation plan is in place then the international community can be asked for providing funds to the UNHCR for the repatriation of Afghan refugees.
General Qamar Javed Bajwa has rightly reminded that world is harvesting what had been sown 40 years ago. After the withdrawal of Soviet troops, the United States and its allies in the war against the Soviet Union dumped Afghanistan and never looked back. They even did not effectively support the UN efforts for arriving at an agreement between the Dr. Najeeb Ullah regime and Afghan Tanzimat who fought a war against the Soviet forces. The continued civil war, rise of Taliban and the power struggle between Taliban regime and Northern Alliance benefited the militant outfits to create safe heaves inside Afghanistan. Hence the 9/11 incident which prompted the United States to invade Afghanistan, but they could not defeat the Afghan Taliban by using their military might. The key to restoration of peace and stability in Afghanistan lies in a diplomatic solution of this conflict.
The entry of Islamic State militant group in the Afghan conflict has further complicated it. China Russia and Central Asian States are particularly worried about this new dimension. The United States was invited to 12 parties Afghanistan Peace Conference hosted by Russia in Moscow in April last year but the United States skipped that crucial moot. It should have supported the regional diplomatic initiatives on Afghanistan. The Islamic State militant group threat in Afghanistan should not be underestimated by the US Resolute Support Mission Forces. This militant group has carried out terrorist attacks in the high security zone of Kabul. It is time to bring Afghan Taliban to the negation table and smash the Islamic State and other militant groups who are a real threat to peace in the world.
