While tensions between Kabul and Islamabad continue, Maulana Fazlur Rehman, leader of Pakistan’s Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam, has questioned his government’s policies toward Afghanistan in an unusually sharp tone.
Raising a sarcastic question, he said it is strange that not even a single pomegranate can be imported from Afghanistan into Pakistan, yet claims are made that terrorists are coming from there.
These remarks, delivered on Sunday at a gathering in Rawalpindi, were not limited to the current situation but also touched on the history of relations between the two countries.
He said that from the era of Zahir Shah to the communist governments, the Mujahideen, and the Islamic Emirate, various governments have come to power in Afghanistan; however, in his view, Pakistan has never been able to establish stable and tension-free relations with Kabul.
In another part of his speech, Maulana Fazlur Rehman added: “You say terrorists are coming from there into Pakistan. Brother, if they are coming, stop them. If they are coming, eliminate them. The strange thing is that an Afghan pomegranate cannot come, a melon cannot come, yet you say terrorists are coming.”
Fazlur Rehman also described insecurity in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan as the result of flawed domestic policies and warned that the scope of this instability has now reached Islamabad as well.
He said: “Now the effects of this situation have reached Islamabad and Rawalpindi too. Even inside mosques, worshippers are being targeted. This means the government lacks authority. Making big statements is easy, and issuing fine declarations is easy. Some people create narratives as if we are the only victims in the world and the only wise ones as well.”
Analysts insist that despite the closure of border crossings between Afghanistan and Pakistan, attributing Pakistan’s internal insecurity to Afghanistan is illogical. In their view, such claims are mostly made to cover up Pakistan’s internal security challenges.
Samiullah Ahmadzai, a political analyst, said: “Despite the fact that Pakistan has security posts along the so-called Durand Line and there is no movement, such claims are still made. These claims are mostly aimed at portraying Afghanistan as an insecure country.”
Another political analyst, Bilal Omar, added: “This actually reflects the weakness of Pakistan’s security institutions. Whenever a crisis emerges inside the country, the responsibility is placed on neighboring countries.”
This comes as Pakistan linked Friday’s deadly ISIS attack at a mosque in Islamabad to Afghanistan. In response, the Ministry of Defense of the Islamic Emirate immediately said that attributing the attack to Afghanistan has no logical basis and cannot conceal Pakistan’s security failures.
