As Pakistan requested Afghanistan to handover captured Islamic State of Khorasan Province (ISKP) leader Aslam Farooqi, a Pakistani national and a wanted terrorist, rather than responding to the call positively, Kabul started blaming Islamabad for sponsoring terrorism.
According to National Directorate of Security (NDS), the Afghan spy agency, Aslam Farooqi was captured alongwith 20 others militants in Kandahar city. Aslam Farooqi was involved in various terrorism activities inside Afghanistan, according to NDS.
The Deputy Spokesman of NDS Dawa Khan Meenapal while confirming the arrest of Aslam Farooqi claimed that he was heading ISKP.
Islamabad contacted Afghan government and officially requested for handing over Aslam Farooqi to Pakistan due to his nationality and involvement in terrorism within Pakistan, while using Afghanistan soil. As per international relations and diplomatic norms it was Pakistan’s just right but instead of cooperating, Kabul regime let loose barrage of allegations against Islamabad. Afghan media under the Indian influence, called Aslam Farooqi as Pakistan state sponsored agent and claimed that he enjoyed hidden support of Pakistan.
Besides others, Rehmatullah Nabil, the former Head of Afghan NDS and a presidential candidate during recent Afghan elections, in a twitter message blamed Pakistan for the worst law and order situation in Afghanistan.
“PAK military & ISI think that #AFG is in their territory. They never complied with AFG government’s request for handing over of Mullah Baradar, Sadar Ibrahim, Mullah Daoud, Maulvi Mir Ahmad Gul, Mullah Abdul Salam and dozens of high-ranking Taliban, who were arrested in PAK,” he wrote on his twitter wall.
Mr. Rehmatullah Nabil has tried to malign Pakistan and satisfy ‘certain elements’ by concealing facts and blatantly lying about the situation. Actually, it was none other than Pakistan that helped bringing Taliban into negotiation table leading to the signing of Doha peace agreement. To set the record straight, Taliban was accepted as a political force by US, NATO and other countries allowing them to hold political office in Qatar, Pakistan had never offered Taliban its offices or other facilities inside Pakistan.
Afghan President honorable Dr Ashraf Ghani soon after taking charge of his office, in July 2014 tried to start new era of good relations with Pakistan, Pakistan welcomed his offer and invited President Ghani for a state visit. President Ghani visited Islamabad in November 2014, he was given warm reception. President Ghani was invited to Pakistan Army headquarters “GHQ” as well. Afghan President officially requested Pakistan to help Afghan peace process by bringing Taliban to table talks with Afghan government. A month later, in December 2014, Tehreek e Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militants based in Afghanistan attacked Army Public School killing 150 innocent students and teachers, thus sabotaging the environment for good relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan, later it was established that certain elements in Afghan government and Indian intelligence agency RAW had facilitated the APS attack. Similarly, again when President Dr Ashraf Ghani was expected to visit Pakistan in 2018, certain elements in Afghan intelligence leaked the “death” news of Mullah Mohammad Omar to media, founder of Taliban movement, forcing Ashraf Ghani to postpone his Islamabad visit.
President Ghani visited Pakistan three times, every time the anti-Pakistan Indian-lobby played its dirty tricks to sabotage the visits. Similarly, the former Afghan president Hamid Karzai visited Pakistan 21 times but those elements in Afghan government under the Indian influence tried to sabotage friendly relations between two brotherly countries. Therefore, this time again when the historic Afghan peace process has entered into its final phase, the anti-Pakistan lobby is trying to wash out Pakistan’s role in this peace process by exploiting Aslam Farooqi issue and malign Pakistan internationally.
The names (of Afghan Taliban leaders) cited by ex-Afghan spy Chief, as captives or prisoners and asking Pakistan to hand them over to Afghanistan is laughable. All the names in the list are openly operating Qatar political office, Taliban have signed Doha agreement with US led international community, and now Kabul government has also formed its negotiation committee to talk to the very Taliban and move forward the peace process. Again, Afghan president Dr Ashraf Ghani has issued presidential decree for release of some 5000 Taliban prisoners from its jail. So Instead of blaming Pakistan, Rehmatullah Nabil should ask US and Afghan governments to cancel talks with Taliban and put them all in jail.
Secondly, it was United States and NATO that bypassed and excluded Afghan government from its talks with Taliban, the negotiations were held in Russia, in China and in Doha, moreover Taliban travelled frequently and freely across the world’s capitals on passports provided to them by various countries other than Pakistan.
Thirdly, Aslam Farooqi is a Pakistani national, a wanted terrorist and member of a banned group TTP, who was involved in various terrorist activities in Pakistan and fled to Afghanistan with hundreds of other militants in mid-2015 when Pakistan army launched major offensive in Tribal areas. Aslam Farooqi is said to have been in good terms with Afghan intelligence agencies, reportedly he later joined Daesh “ISKP” when Afghan Taliban denounced TTP anti-Pakistan activities from Afghanistan.
Fourthly, a long list of anti-Pakistan group leaders and militants starting from TTP chief Mullah Fazalullah to Baloch insurgents are operating from Afghanistan and not a single militant was killed or handed over to Pakistan.
Similarly the surrendered TTP and later Jamat ul Ahrar “JA” spokesperson Liaquat Ali AKA Ehsan Ullah Ehsan has confessed that Pakistani Taliban had links with Indian intelligence agency RAW with the help of NDS.
Ehsan in his confession statement said that TTP leadership had Indian support, funding and took money for every terrorist activity they conducted within Pakistan. They pushed the TTP members on the frontlines to fight against the Pakistan army. The confession of a former terrorist leader is a clear proof that how Afghanistan soil is being used by terrorists and India against Pakistan.
Pakistan has time and again expressed desire for peaceful and stable Afghanistan as former internal situation directly affects the later; and there could be no stability in Pakistan if things in Afghanistan are troublesome; for example USSR invasion of Afghanistan had extensive impact on Pakistan and even today there are three million Afghan refugees living in Pakistan. Just like Afghanistan, Pakistan has suffered by terrorism, so it is high time for both the neighbors to make a common front against the enemy, terrorism and join hands for establishing peace in the region to benefits people on both sides of the border.
