Pakistan is on the verge of breaking up : Internal conflicts aplenty and economic situation dire

(Retd) Brigadier Hemant Mahajan

1. Afghanistan claims Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa region

Will there be internal conflict in Pakistan ? Will ‘Afghanistan Taliban’ and ‘Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan’ from outside and within Pakistan’s border respectively, come together and break Pakistan ? Will Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Waziristan, or what is known as North-West Frontier Province be separated from Pakistan and merge with Afghanistan ? These are some of the questions being raised as of now.

When the Taliban took over Afghanistan in 2021, it initially declared that it did not accept the ‘Durand Line’ (border between Pakistan and Afghanistan). Taliban feels that a part of Afghanistan was still in Pakistan. Imran Khan was elected from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa region where the majority population is Pathan, Pakhtun or Pashtun; therefore, Afghanistan feels that this part should be joined to it.

Since the same people have formed Taliban and are ruling there, all Pathans should come together under one country. Of course, Pakistan doesn’t agree with this because it will break up into pieces if this part is separated. There are training camps, administrative camps and bases of ‘Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan’ in Afghanistan from where they carry out terrorist attacks on the Pakistan military and its paramilitary forces in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa area. Recently, such attacks and violence have increased and caused huge losses to Pakistan.

2. Pakistan’s helplessness before ‘Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan’s’ attacks

Earlier, about 85% of Pakistan’s military was deployed on the India-Pakistan border, while only one contingent of its military was deployed on the Afghanistan-Pakistan border. Pakistan is scared of Afghanistan’s military and that the Taliban would take over Pakhtunkhwa; hence, now larger numbers are deployed in this area. Pakistan’s military started erecting a fence on the ‘Durand Line’, but Afghanistan attacked and broke it on a number of occasions. The Pakistan military was not allowed to erect the fence. ‘Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan’ keeps attacking Pakistan’s military. Pakistan has asked Afghanistan to stop such attacks, which the latter has not agreed to.

3. Pakistan’s state is very bad due to internal conflicts and its dire economic situation

‘Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan’ and the Pakistan military had called for a truce last year, but it got over in December. ‘Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan’ has now resumed attacks on Pakistan. In fact, it is not the only group that wants to separate from Pakistan; however, only two such factions are mentioned here.

A freedom struggle is transpiring in Baluchistan, since it wants to be a separate country. You will remember that in 1947, Baluchistan was keen to join India, but it was not possible since their borders are not joined. A freedom movement called ‘Jio Sindh’ is springing in Pakistan’s Sindh province. Pakistan is facing internal conflicts while its economic condition is also very bad. Pakistan has decided to stop electricity supply in the evenings as per recent news. There are continuous skirmishes between Pakistan and Afghanistan.

4. Taliban rule in Afghanistan, causing harm to Pakistan

On the creation of the Taliban, Pakistan felt that the Taliban Government in Afghanistan would result in adding strength to its military. If India attacks Pakistan, Pakistan’s military would be able to go to Afghanistan and fight India from there because Pakistan’s width is only 150-200 km. Now, however, the Taliban has military strength in Pakistan. Pakistan is deteriorating since Taliban’s rule began in Afghanistan, although Pakistan had hoped that its strength would increase, its economy would improve, and it would become an important country in the world after Taliban took control, which never happened. Moreover, Pakistan’s condition is worsening due to a rise in violence. Afghanistan Taliban’s threat to Pakistan seems to hold true, as the possibility of Pakistan’s division is quite high. If Pakistan is divided, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa region would become a part of Afghanistan and Pakistan’s strength and economy will further spiral down.

– (Retd) Brigadier Hemant Mahajan, Pune.

We want to reunite with India : PoK citizens

New Delhi – The people of Gilgit-Baltistan in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) have been protesting recently against the Pakistan Government and Military in the backdrop of an economic crisis in Pakistan. They have demanded that Gilgit Baltistan be reunited with the Kargil District of Ladakh in India.

“The Government of Pakistan is discriminating against us, but now we will take the decision of Gilgit-Baltistan ourselves”, they said. Videos of people protesting are surfacing in which slogans such as ‘Aar-par jod do, Kashmir ka dwar khol do’ (Open the gates of Kashmir and connect this land with the land beyond our areas) can be heard.

Locals allege that people from Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa are encroaching on their land. They are supported by Pakistani soldiers who are being deployed for their security. The Pakistani Army is grabbing people’s land to earn money illegally. “They will be responsible for any untoward incident”, citizens say. The citizens are also demanding India’s intervention on this issue. (The people of India feel that India should recapture PoK through military action without delay. India should not miss this opportunity. – Editor)