Let Kabul go its way

http://blogs.rediff.com/mkbhadrakumar/2014/06/09/let-kabul-go-its-way/

The Time magazine report on the Pakistani Taliban’s strike on early Monday at the Karachi international airport aptly noted that the attack has been “a brazen demonstration of its (Taliban's) powerful reach… as terrorists proved their ability to penetrate deep into the country’s commercial nerve centre, far from their tribal strongholds.”

Let Kabul go its way

One cannot but agree with that estimation. The report also suggested that Uzbek and/or Chechen terrorists were involved. If so, the dividing line between certain groups known as Pakistani Taliban and the al-Qaeda has disappeared.

This is yet another deadly reminder for Pakistan as to what can happen to its internal security unless it moves heaven and earth to bring the new leadership in Kabul and the (Afghan) Taliban to a settlement within the limited time available till the US drawdown by end-2016.

The best hope for Pakistan hinges on three factors. One, the release of the 5 prisoners from Guantanamo Bay amounts to a confidence-building measure, which the Taliban has been seeking as a precondition for entering into serious peace talks.

Two, both Dr. Abdullah Abdullah and Ashraf Ghani, the two contenders in next week’s runoff, have hinted that they will robustly seek peace talks. Three, the Taliban have been somewhat circumspect in its attitude toward these two leaders, quite unlike their dismissive stance toward President Hamid Karzai, which suggests a degree of anticipation on its part regarding the new dispensation in Kabul on August 2.