Afghanistan Times
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Appreciating the US President Donald Trump’s tougher approach on Pakistan that acknowledges the very obvious truth, the Afghan masses have honored President Trump with a ‘Bravery Medal.’ The initiative was taken in informal Jirga in which at least 300 tribal elders and youth from Logar province gathered and expressed their gratitude to the President Trump for his realistic and widely popular stance against Pakistan—a country that has been harboring, sheltering and exporting more than 55 terrorist and extremist groups, including the Afghan Taliban and the notorious Haqqani network—the two groups and their Pakistani masters have been responsible for tens of thousands of Afghan casualties and more than 3,500 US soldiers and civilians fatalities in a bid to destabilize its neighbors and undermine US mission. President Trump scored a high level of popularity among the Afghan masses when he announced his tougher, but realistic approach on Pakistan over its lies and deceit with little help in war on terror with receiving billions of dollars in aid. The Afghan government also welcomed the US decision on Pakistan. Moreover, the ethnic Pashtun, Baloch and Sindhi populations in Pakistan that have been going through the worst type of suppression and brutalities by the Pakistan’s security agencies have also warmly appreciated President Trump for his tougher and win-win line towards Pakistan. A number of elders and youth from FATA, Balochistan and Sindhuedsh in their video and twitter messages have extended their good wishes to President Trump and wished him long life. Now, it’s up to the Trump’s administration to safeguard US interests in the region by holding Pakistan accountable for its continued lies and deceits, or proves it a tactic of pressure building measures. Times has arrived for the US and NATO member countries to be no more deceived at the hands of Pakistan through its so-called military incursions in various parts of Tribal Region, known as FATA, unfortunately. We have long witnessed that a number of Pakistan’s minor and major military incursion in FATA, resulting only in sufferings of innocent Pashtuns, but more strength and space to terrorist groups—enjoying safe and luxury havens in big cities of that country. The Haqqani network, Afghan Taliban, Jaish-e-Muhammad, Lashkar-e-Taiba, Sepah-e-Sahaba, TTP, Jamaat UD Dawaa and its leader Hafiz Saeed—UN designated terrorist still remains untouchable. As far as concerned to the Afghan government and people, Kabul’s official policy of genuinely trying to make peace with its neighbors and changing Pakistan’s Taliban game was initiated at the beginning of 2015. Our neighbor, and a major supportive of the Afghan government, China, a long-time ally of Islamabad and the US, the biggest donor of it got on board and the Quadrilateral Group—along with Kabul and Islamabad launched a fresh round of peace efforts. This along with several regional economic cooperation initiatives involving Central, West and South Asian countries provided Pakistan with the perfect opportunity to turn around and abandon its project of terrorism, but Islamabad stubbornly stuck to its old Afghan course and its war proxies expanded and intensified its onslaught in Afghanistan. Suspending military aid to Pakistan, exercising tougher approach on it, expansion of military role in Afghanistan and recognizing India as a major strategic partner in South Asia are positive signals in the US policy on Afghanistan and South Asia, staying the course will be the determining factor in changing Pakistan’s behavior. If not, the US and NATO military operations against safe terror havens in Pakistan could not be ignored. In first phase, the US drone strikes should be increased in FATA and later on extend to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan, Punjab and Islamabad to kill terrorists in their havens and revisit the so-called Durand Line to bring durable peace and stability to the region.
