Afghanistan Times
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Hard on the heel of the deadliest blast in Shah Shaheed locality, yet Kabul is rocked by another deadliest blast. The blast, believed to be a car-bombing, has triggered alarms across the capital and it is feared AfPak ties will reach a new low. There are contrasting reports about the casualties caused by the blast as the ministry of interior said six people lost their lives and 105 were injured while the ministry of public health said 15 people were killed and 66 wounded.
The extreme of the cruelty and inhumanity is that this time a busy residential area has been targeted. This capital city recently has become the center of a deadliest series of attacks launched by the Pakistan-nurtured Taliban. The blast took place in the Fourth Macroryan residential neighborhood. Whenever there is terror incident, fingers are being pointed at Pakistan, as this eastern neighbor has been sheltering the Taliban, Haqqani Network and al-Qaeda without any sense of fear from the international community let alone from Kabul. This is the reason, a man like President Ashraf Ghani, who was believed to be too friendlier towards Pakistan, had to launch scorching criticism against Pakistan. The reason is obvious. Pakistan is a rouge state and has lost the credibility to be trusted. This neighbor never let any opportunity missed when it comes to destabilizing Afghanistan. This month, political commentators, clerics, traders, civil society activists, all came together against Pakistan for its blatant interferences in Afghanistan. When Kabul is screaming because of pains, Islamabad seems to be in no mood to change its attitude and abandon the Taliban. As the lenient President Ashraf Ghani has taken a rare but truly a brave approach against Pakistan, he must also build pressure on the United States to go after terrorists hideouts on the other side of the Durand Line lest the “bilateral security agreement” with Washington means nothing for Kabul, except failure on security and diplomatic fronts. This is because of an emasculated United States in front of Pakistan that Kabul warned Islamabad if it fails to dismantle terrorist sanctuaries, Afghan security forces will directly hit militant hideouts across the Durand Line. This is what the United States must have done way back in 2002. Yet if the United States wants to subdue terror and protect its interests in the region, it is not too late and it can do it now as unlike Kabul they have the capacity to go after terrorists wherever they are. The international community knows that Pakistan doesn’t demonstrate sincerity in fighting terrorism but a spineless international approach regarding Pakistan’s role is not only confusing but perturbing. Kabul must ask Washington who waged the war on terror, who is bleeding profusely, and whose responsibility it is to take the war to a logical end? The answer is quite simple. The United States waged this war, but it is Afghanistan that is bleeding profusely. It is the United States that is responsible for taking this war to a logical end. Kabul has been paying a heavier price for the foreign policy games of the major world powers but the problem is the United States has been supporting a perfidious ally—Pakistan. Instead of holding it responsible for sheltering Haqqani Network and the Taliban, the United States has been too generous in civilian and military aid to Pakistan. Since 2002, the United States has given $30 billion to Pakistan and what is the result? The result is bomb blasts on daily basis in Afghanistan. The stark fact is that Afghanistan has been the victim of a failing war of the United States. Kabul has been abandoned by Washington. If the US was a true ally she should have dismantled all Pakistan-sponsored and fed terrorists group.
