Time for Pakistan to take decision on Haqqani network: Editorial

Islamabad, July 29 (ANI): Pakistan should bolster the security apparatus to cope with the rising terrorist challenge in the country, which could be achieved by bringing together all the security agencies, an editorial has said.

It said that the joining of the military, paramilitary, military and civilian intelligence, federal and provincial security agencies, police, etc, in an overarching coordination body, sharing data and resources, could crush the terrorist menace from a central vantage point.

Pakistan must now realize that it must finally close the chapter on the Haqqani network, and understand and prepare for the potential blowback. It now behooves both governments to find the common ground to take this crucial decision in as non-confrontational a manner as possible. Both sides must converge on the acknowledgment of a common enemy dedicated to working against their mutual interests, the editorial in the Daily Times said.

The U.S. Senate's unequivocal endorsement of a bill demanding a terrorist label for the Haqqani network was widely expected, yet it will impact the Pak-American equation in ways that both would like to avoid, especially considering the seven month political impasse that was just recently overcome, it said.

With the combined weight of the House and Senate coming down on this particular policy, coupled with the Pentagon's open calls for action against the network, it is unlikely that the Obama White House can fend off the pressure, particularly in an election year, it further said.

Nearer home, just this week the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan's (TTP's) leadership threatened to mount savage attacks against the state should Islamabad submit to mounting international pressure to move against the Haqqanis. The open threat confirmed that the nexus between the Haqqani network and the TTP is only too real, that the former, the intelligence agencies' nurtured proxy, is in bed with the state's existential nemesis in the shape of the latter, the editorial added.

Should Obama sign the bill into law, which is very likely, Islamabad could face UN-imposed international sanctions for harbouring a terrorist organisation on Pakistani soil. On the other hand, should the Pakistani security establishment decide to cut its ties with the Haqqani network, there is a very real possibility of a violent blowback, which the security agencies do not seem equipped to handle presently, it concluded. (ANI)