For years Pakistan supported radical elements in Afghanistan, first the loose alliance of the mujahedeen against the Soviets and then the Taliban. We called them our strategic assets and turned a blind eye to their atrocities in Afghanistan, because as long as they were on the other side of the border, why should we worry? Post 9-11; Pakistan decided to side with the US against its former allies and the chickens came home to roost in 2004, the year in which the Afghan War spilled over into Pakistan with a wave of suicide bombings. Unfortunately, 8 years and hundreds of Pakistani martyrs later, we still refuse to believe that this war is very much our own.

It’s common to see people arguing about Pakistan’s role in the War on Terror. Some maintain that the Taliban are going after Pakistanis just because we sided with the US, that this is not our war and that the Taliban and Al Qaida, if left alone by us will stop targeting our countrymen. I don’t understand how people justify this argument in light of what happened in Swat; because the attempt of the TTP to set up a shadow government in the region was certainly more than just revenge against Pakistan for siding with the US. The Taliban were already running a parallel justice system in the area, enforcing their own version of Shariat and had the army not intervened, we might now have been recognizing the independent Caliphate of Swat.

Everyone agrees that the Americans should withdraw from Afghanistan, but it’s silly to think that all problems will magically disappear as soon as they leave. The US may or may not come to an agreement with the Taliban before withdrawing, but it’s highly improbable that any peace treaty will carry much weight with either the Taliban or the heavily armed warlords after the Americans leave; in all probability, a civil war like the one after the Soviet War will follow the American departure. There’s a lot of talk about preparing the Afghan army for an eventual takeover, but I think it’s pretty clear to everybody that the only thing propping up the Afghan Government is the presence of American troop. Take that away and the house of cards collapses.

It is naive to think that the TTP will just disband when the Americans leave, or that they will just pack up their bags and march over to Afghanistan. There can be no doubts that the Taliban and Al Qaida wish to export their version of Islam to neighboring countries, in any case they do want to expand their influence and frankly, Pakistan is ripe for the picking. Even now, the state is hard pressed to exert any control in the tribal areas, indeed, sometimes one wonders if they are a part of the country at all and also, many Pakistanis are receptive to the Taliban ideology. In addition to this, they say that Al Qaida has infiltrated the Pakistani military. If that’s true, as it seems to be in light of the attack on the Mehran Base last year, we can hardly expect Al Qaida to give up everything and just leave Pakistan alone after the US withdraws. Considering the current instability of the country and the growing power of extremist religious organizations, the Taliban and Al Qaida are a very real threat to Pakistan. And unless we wish to be ruled from Kabul, we must fight, regardless of whose war it is.

"And unless we wish to be ruled from Kabul, we must fight, regardless of whose war it is."
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Agreed.
Instead of wasting time and energies on deciding whose war is this, some concrete action must be taken to end it.
But how?
The talibaan-ish thinking has such deep roots in our men's minds, it seems almost impossible to free the society from its claws. Every now and then i come across a person who has a kind of soft corner for these extremists!
USA stays or leaves, our condition wont change. Bura phansey hn hum.

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I am a great believer in luck and I find the harder I work, the more I have of it .

War against Russia in Afghanistan is our war. War against afghanies is our war.War against Al qaida is our war.All these wars are made our war by American orders and the only purpose behind OUR WAR is to earn dollors from USA.

We are indeed the only country in the world which is waging a full-scale war on its own territory and rightly or wrongly against its own people. Much we have lost in this so-called war on terror in the form of precious lives and material, yet our position is being labeled with suspicions. One thing is noteworthy that we have been friend of US almost since our independence, but it never happened that it has treated us with respect and dignity.
Every time when it achieved its goal it left us in lurch. Soviet invasion and following war is its best example. When soviet union was defeated in Afhan by the pivotal role of Pakistan and they pulled out their troops from there, the US walked away, leaving the people on the mercy of their fate. We had to pay by tolerating heavy influx of refugees. The only heinous design of US behind this whole scenario was to bring down the power and influence of Soviets which was the emerging power. US only used pakistan's geo-strategic position for the decisive win in its pursuit of power. Afterwards we were made to bear a heavy brunt in the form of sanctions.

Similar has been the case in this on going war. first, we were pressurized to come into alliance with US in its endeavor to eradicate terrorism. Which, in fact, was its own creation during war against soviets. when we allied ourselves with them, our own territory was converted into battlefield, killing of innocents by drones, suicide attacks, and likewise. Notwithstanding this, we were frequently reminded that our role in this war is not satisfactory and suspicion-free.

THIS war has gain nothing but indeed lost heavily. Unless the useful negotiations are carried out with Talibans, Unrest and civil war is unavoidable in both Pak and Afhan after the withdraw of US troops: Something which was also happen in past.

I was not talking about how the Americans see us, indeed, that doesn't matter in the slightest because Pakistan hasn't reaped much benefit from America anyhow.

I was just saying that the war is now very much our own. Maybe we shouldn't have got into it, but that's a moot point because we did and now there's no easy way out.

And how will you negotiate with the Taliban brother? Its a game of give and take; what are you prepared to give them? We already have minimal control of our tribal areas, should we hand them over to Mullah Omar?

And about Pakistan fighting its own people, they are the people who live on Pakistani soil, yet refuse to acknowledge Pakistani authority, preferring instead to launch attacks on the Pakistani state


The mindset you talk about is a weakness that the Taliban do exploit and will continue to do so. Even putting aside the Taliban, this sort of a mindset is highly counter-productive to the normal development of a society. Its a product of the Zia era, but the Pakistani state, instead of discouraging it actually seems to be encouraging it!