In the early hours of March 18, the Pakistan Air Force conducted strikes
The strikes were carried out after seven Pakistan Army soldiers, including two officers, were martyred in a terror attack
‘Radd-ul-Fasaad’ Plus?
Sources report that fighter jets as well as unmanned combat aerial vehicles (UCAVs or “armed drones”) were deployed in the March 18 strikes, which have yet to be given an operational codename like “Operation Marg Bar Sarmachar
Escalation: Pakistan Strikes At Militants Inside Afghanistan Pakistan's transactional approach methodically ignored the symbiotic affiliations between the Afghan and Pakistani Taliban, which are now evident with the Afghan Taliban retaliating against Pakistan after the Pakistan Air Force struck TTP targets inside Afghanistan.
The Foreign Office (FO) asserted that since 2022, Pakistan had “repeatedly conveyed its serious concerns to the Interim Afghan Government over the presence of terror outfits including TTP inside Afghanistan” who “pose a grave threat to Pakistan’s security and have consistently used Afghan territory to launch terror attacks inside Pakistani territory”. However, the FO press release reiterated that it “accords prime importance to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Afghanistan” and “has great respect for the people of Afghanistan”, ostensibly to prevent any escalation of the ongoing asymmetric conflict with TTP and allied terrorist factions into a full-fledged confrontation with the Afghan Taliban.
Escalation by the Taliban
These diplomatic proclamations proved futile, as the Afghan Taliban attacked Pakistani checkposts
Gaza Genocide: 7 Killed, Dozens Wounded As Israel Army Hits Khan Younis House The Pakistan Army, paramilitary and police forces are stuck in a reactive posture instead of a proactive one, mostly responding to terror attacks instead of actively rooting out terrorist cells and networks, thereby rendering them incapable of reversing the state's losses even in the kinetic domain.
On the diplomatic front, the Afghan interim ministry of foreign affairs summoned
The Taliban Nexus
The Afghan Taliban’s takeover of Kabul on August 15, 2021 was hailed
Lost FBR Hits A Dead End Behind the scenes, Khan’s government was negotiating a ceasefire
It is now painfully obvious that Pakistan’s purported policy of “strategic depth” in Afghanistan has been a catastrophic failure. Pakistan's approach towards a negotiated settlement with TTP was either foolishly optimistic or absolutely ill-advised.
Pakistan then witnessed a sharp increase in terror attacks in 2022 – many of which went unreported due to the mainstream media’s focus on political upheavals in the country since April 2022, and also perhaps due to lack of clarity or “permission” from the “relevant quarters”. This vicious trend continued throughout 2023
Pakistani Couture Hits Regent Street It is now painfully obvious that Pakistan’s purported policy of “strategic depth” in Afghanistan has been a catastrophic failure
Preventing a ‘Strategic Death’
It was only a matter of time
5 Labourers Gunned Down Inside Under-Construction Police Station In South Waziristan The Pakistan Army, paramilitary and police forces are stuck in a reactive posture instead of a proactive one, mostly responding to terror attacks instead of actively rooting out terrorist cells and networks, thereby rendering them incapable of reversing the state's losses even in the kinetic domain. During the 2021-2022 “ceasefire”, TTP was able to reorganize itself and attain sufficient respite to pose a serious threat
Most importantly, the Pakistan Army – and more specifically, the Pakistani deep state or the so-called “military establishment” – must relinquish its primacy in matters of national governance which have neither relation to nor impact upon security affairs, and focus emphatically on its constitutional role of protecting Pakistan’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
In essence, harsh rationality and evidence-based, stoic policymaking must guide Pakistan’s security strategy: meetings of military commanders
Gaza Crisis: Protest Staged Inside Centaurus Mall To Condemn Israel’s War Crimes Most importantly, the Pakistan Army – and more specifically, the Pakistani deep state or the so-called “military establishment
Reactionary tactical responses are woefully insufficient in terms of the hard calculus of deterrence
Operation Marg Bar Sarmachar: Army Says It Targetted BLA, BLF Hideouts Inside Iran
Pakistan Hits Taliban Inside Afghanistan: What’s Next?
22
5
19.03.2024
In the early hours of March 18, the Pakistan Air Force conducted strikes
The strikes were carried out after seven Pakistan Army soldiers, including two officers, were martyred in a terror attack
‘Radd-ul-Fasaad’ Plus?
Sources report that fighter jets as well as unmanned combat aerial vehicles (UCAVs or “armed drones”) were deployed in the March 18 strikes, which have yet to be given an operational codename like “Operation Marg Bar Sarmachar
Escalation: Pakistan Strikes At Militants Inside Afghanistan Pakistan's transactional approach methodically ignored the symbiotic affiliations between the Afghan and Pakistani Taliban, which are now evident with the Afghan Taliban retaliating against Pakistan after the Pakistan Air Force struck TTP targets inside Afghanistan.
The Foreign Office (FO) asserted that since 2022, Pakistan had “repeatedly conveyed its serious concerns to the Interim Afghan Government over the presence of terror outfits including TTP inside Afghanistan” who “pose a grave threat to Pakistan’s security and have consistently used Afghan territory to launch terror attacks inside Pakistani territory”. However, the FO press release........
© The Friday Times
visit website
login
who are we?
contact us
qosheapp
Toi Staff
Gideon Levy
Belen Fernandez
Rami G Khouri
Mort Laitner
Donald Low
Ali Fathollah-Nejad
Nikkei Editorial
