New Delhi: A major misadventure is in the making in Pakistan as it gets set to send Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists to Afghanistan to battle against the Taliban. The Pakistan army is stressed with its never-ending battles with the Tehreek-e-Taliban (TTP) and the Balochistan Nationalist Army (BLA).
Apart from battling these two groups, it is also fighting against the Afghan Taliban. With these battles getting too hard to handle, it decided to send the Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists to Afghanistan.
Experts say that this may not go down too well in the long run. The Lashkar-e-Taiba is known to have plenty of cadres who are sympathetic towards the Taliban. Many in the ranks back the Taliban and its style of functioning. Even top leaders within the Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed are unhappy with the ongoing tensions between the Taliban and Pakistan.
These leaders view the Taliban as a natural ally, which had taken on the West. Even before the Mumbai 26/11 attacks, many within the Lashkar-e-Taiba were planning to quit the outfit and fight alongside the Taliban against the Western forces. At that time, the ISI stepped in and prevented this from happening. Instead, the Mumbai 26/11 attack was staged so that it could divert the attention of the Lashkar-e-Taiba cadres.
Officials say that this decision to send the Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists to fight against the Taliban will backfire. Many within the outfit will rebel against the leadership, and this could lead to a massive split. It would also hurt the recruitment process as many would be reluctant to fight against the Taliban, whom they view as their brothers, experts say.
The Lashkar-e-Taiba is already reeling under severe losses after many of its bases, training facilities and cadres were hit during Operation Sindoor. There have been attempts made by the cadres to quit the outfit since they felt let down by the Pakistani establishment and also their leadership.
While terrorists are used during encounters, Operation Sindoor took them down cheaply. They were caught off guard, and before they realised it, a lot of infrastructure had already been taken down. The cadres had even questioned the lack of Intelligence ahead of the operation.
All these factors and the fact that their top leadership has remained silent had demoralised the cadres immensely. At such a time, the desperate decision by the Pakistan army to deploy the Lashkar-e-Taiba against the Taliban is only going to make matters worse.
Intelligence Bureau officials say that this shows how desperate the Pakistan army is. Between the Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed, the latter is a much more powerful group. This is because the group lays heavy emphasis on guerrilla warfare and fedayeen strikes. The army had, in fact, wanted the Jaish-e-Mohammed to battle against the Taliban. However, Masood Azhar, the chief of the outfit, did not agree only because he did not want his men to battle against the Taliban.
The army had no choice but to approach the Lashkar-e-Taiba, and the top leadership readily agreed. This outfit has never rebelled against the establishment and hence remains Pakistan’s most favourite proxy. Ideally, the army would not have wanted to be in a situation like this. It is rapidly losing its soldiers to the BLA and TTP.
The Afghan Taliban is not easy to battle, and fighting on three fronts and that, too, against very strong opponents, is not the Pakistan army’s cup of tea. Hence, this desperate call had to be taken, despite knowing that the plan could well backfire, another official said.
The Lashkar-e-Taiba’s relations with the army can be seen in the statement made by the terror outfit’s commander, Qari Yakoob Sheikh. He praised Field Marshal Asim Munir after he was elevated as Pakistan’s first Chief of Defence Staff (CDS). He even remarked that his outfit is ready to fight alongside the Pakistan army if Kabul does not stop alleged anti-Islamabad activities.
(IANS)
