Introduction
Pakistan is a well known state that supports Taliban fighters in their military war against Afghanistan. Although the nation’s intelligence denies this fact, there are clear evidences that the nation is still in support of the Taliban military. The intelligence department of Pakistan, ISI, is frequently mentioned as the supporters, and financers of Taliban. Therefore, in regard to its objectives and scale of efforts, it is easier to distinguish Pakistan and other nations of the world. This paper asserts that Pakistan intelligence service, ISI, supports Taliban and explores the best strategies to end the Afghanistan war.
Pakistan intelligence, ISI supports Taliban
Pakistan funds and supports the Taliban fighters in Afghanistan. Different authors and reporters try to find evidence for the accusations that Pakistan funds and supports the Taliban in Afghanistan. Although there is no concrete proof, the little information that they gather is evident enough to draw the conclusion. Despite the fact that Pakistan denies the accusations, there are several evidences that are in contrast to this fact. The latest reports and studies in this field are undeniable since it is an open eye proof of the fact. For instance, there is evidence that Pakistan solicits funds and trains Taliban fighters in Afghanistan. Since its formation, it is the role of Pakistan to look for funds and train the Taliban fighters. This is as a result of a belief by many people that the Taliban came into existence as a result of Pakistan. Therefore, it is the role of Pakistan to train soldiers and solicit funds for the nation (Clements, 2003).
Secondly, the nation gives significant influence over the Taliban operations as well as recruiting both skilled and unskilled manpower that aid in serving the military troops. Being the reason for its existence, Pakistan has a significant influence over all operations that Taliban carries out. There is evidence that Pakistan has a voice in the recruitment of manpower in the Taliban. It aids in acquiring individuals with the necessary skills to fill different gaps in the military force of the Taliban. This is because they have experience in the field and the confidence that the Taliban has in it. This implies that there is a strong belief in Pakistan by Taliban (Eide, 2012).
Furthermore, there is evidence that Pakistan provides diplomatic support, plans and directs offensives, provide combat support, facilitate shipments of ammunitions, and fuel to the Taliban. Several reports have it that Pakistan is the sole provider of diplomatic support and director of offenses. A recent report by the outgoing U.S Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Mike Mullen, accuses Pakistan of support providence attack on the Kabul mission. Although Pakistan denies the allegations, their meetings with diplomats might be the reason for the accusation against it. There is also evidence that the nation plans, and directs offensives. Basing on the fact that the nation has a voice in the recruitment of manpower in the Taliban, it is the role of Pakistan to plan and direct all offenses in the nation. All fighters of the Taliban get to their positions through Pakistan, and it is through it that there is determination of the direction of the offenses (Giraldo, 2007).
Moreover, recent reports show that senior Taliban leaders meet with ISI personnel regularly who give them strategic advises. This is a strong evidence that Pakistan cannot deny because there is a strong belief that when these two groups of individuals meet, their discussion might not have limits. During meetings, there are different aspects that will come up in the discussion. The other aspects (Any Other Business) may not be in line with either giving advice or relaying pertinent concerns. Therefore, their meetings can justify the accusations against Pakistan (Coll, 2004).
Additionally, the London School of Economics (LSE) reported that the Taliban is an official ISI policy because several ISI agents attended a supreme council meeting convened by the Taliban. Therefore, it is essential to note that Taliban relies heavily on the ISI and other Gulf countries’ funds to carry out its operations. Basing on the fact that Taliban is an official ISI policy, there is much dependence of Taliban on what the ISI proposes. This Implies that whatever Taliban intends to carry out should be in line with what ISI views as the best practice. The nation also sends out its soldiers to aid Taliban in times of war. However, there is little evidence to this fact (Skeel, 2011).
From the above discussions, there is clear evidence that Pakistani intelligence funds and supports Taliban. It dictates the activities of Taliban in all aspects. The close links between the two nations, which are visible in their meetings, is also a justification of the accusations. The belief that Taliban’s existence is as a result of Pakistan’s operations is also a proof of the same. Therefore, Pakistan’s behavior will at certain time ruin its relationship with other neighboring nations that support it. This implies that unless it changes its ways of doing things, it will lose all the benefits that it receives from foreign countries. Furthermore, the nation might lose most of its soldiers that it sends out to aid Taliban in the war. This will also distort peace in the nation and citizens will live in total fear, which is not healthy for the nation’s growth and development. Therefore, if Pakistan wants to restore its trust in citizens and foreigners who want to invest in the nation, it should change for the better.
Ending Taliban attacks
It is palpable that Pakistan pursues its own national interests. The state of Parkistan is relatively unsecure besides being located in the usecure region. It is bordered by India, its perennial foe and Afghanistan, its ally. Therefore, Pakistani assumes that their regional control is possible by having unstable Afghanistan as an ally. As a response strategy, the state of Parkistan establish the infamous Taliban milita unit to deal with India which is considered as their foe. Pakistan believes it can control Afghanistan through its covert support for and control over the Taliban. Stability of Afghanistan poses another threat to Pakistan in that, if Afghanistan stabilizes, Pashtun is likely to secede and join Afghanistan. Thus, no matter what strategy United States try, Pakistan’s policy on national interests will not change (Giraldo 2007).
This explains why Pakistani government has displayed duplicity and more specifically, the ISI in handling Taliban. The ISI is even perceived to be a state within a state due to its autonomy in its operations. In fact, it functions as a shadow government to stir up trouble not only in Pakistan, but also in Afghanistan and the Kashmir region of India. The civilian government seems unable to control its functions. In this appalling reality, the United States government seems duped and is killing its own citizens. The US government heavily funds the ISI in fighting Taliban insurgence in Afghanistan. However, the funds given by the US government to the ISI through the Pakistani government ends up in the hands of the Taliban. This is so because the support from the ISI in carrying out its operations cannot be ignored. The operations include training recruits, acquiring artilleries, medical aid and logistics. In the end, the Taliban kills American troops in Afghanistan.
In order to establish the national security, the political and security relations of the region must be addressed. It is apparent that the Pakistani government is doing very little to stabulise its iternal security. They do not want to fight against Muslims but Indians who have been the perennial foe. Therefore, Pakistani fears about their insecure position in the region. Thus, trilateral summit must be established to reduce the level of mistrust among the three states. This would help in building a consensus on dismantling the Taliban(Clements 2003).
Therefore, in order to successful tackle the security threat, the CIA should establish its activites along the insecure boarders of Afghanistan and Parkistan. First, the CIA must stop rotation of its officers every three to six months. The officials should stay long enough to master the contours of the Pakistan’s problems. This would enable the officers to speak Pashtun, the native dialect and be more independent in travelling around the region. In addition, the CIA needs to take full control of the internal security in Paksitan by fighting the insurgents through local Pakistan agents. Secondly, the military attack in Pakistan should not be limited to six miles from the border but be allowed into other regions. This would ensure that the officials gain better understanding of the political dynamics of the tribal areas and the rest of Pakistan’s frontier region (Coll 2004).
The white house should give the CIA officials more freedom to operate unilaterally in Afghanistan. This would enable the officials to gather accurate information about the LET camp and many more activities taking place in the region. For instance, the discovery of Osama Bin Laden’s hidout was possible thanks to insider spying without the knowledge of the Pakistani authority. The gorvenrment of the United States of America should be in the front line in supporting peace negotiations and support of democracy in Pakistan. This would limit attacks such as the one witnessed in Bastion camp. This to a large extent, will force Pakistan to cooperate in combating Taliban (Eide 2012).
In addition, reconciliation process should be encouraged and the American government needs to appoint a diplomat to take the peace talks with Taliban forward. This would improve survival chances of Afghan government and regional settlement. This can be strengthened by releasing Taliban held in prisons and providing safe passage for the Taliban who travel for negotiations. In addition, the Taliban names should be expunged from the UN Security Council list which labels them as terrorists.
Conclusion
Conlcusively, it is lucidly clear that the war in Afghanistan is so intricate and complex. It has myriad facets that need to be dealt with. Each country seems to have its own vested interest which thwarts the progress made in ending the war. In order to fully end the war, the competing interests of the various parties must be resolved. The American officials should unilaterally operate and peace talks encouraged at all cost for stability in the region. Countries with large Muslim populations have become more active in clamping down on terrorist cells and networks. Saudi Arabia, Indonesia and Pakistan have suffered terrorist and human rights violations against their citizens because of extremist militants.
References
Clements, F. (2003). Conflict in Afghanistan: a historical encyclopedia. Santa Barbara, Calif: ABC-CLIO.
Coll, S. (2004). Ghost Wars: the secret history of the CIA, Afghanistan, and bin Laden, from the Soviet invasion to September 10, 2001. New York: Penguin Press.
Eide, K. (2012). Power struggles over Afghanistan: an inside look at what went wrong, and what we can do to repair the damage. New York: Skyhorse Publication.
Giraldo, J. K. (2007). Terrorism financing and state responses: a comparative perspective. Stanford, Calif: Stanford University Press.
Skeel, D. A. (2011). The new financial deal: understanding the Dodd-Frank Act and its (unintended) consequences. Hoboken, N.J: Wiley.