THE terrorist attack on an imambargah earlier this month — the worst in the federal capital for over a decade — prompted Pakistani leaders to again accuse Afghanistan of providing sanctuary to violent groups that threaten Pakistan’s security. The militant IS-K (Islamic State-Khorasan) group that claimed responsibility is based in Afghanistan and estimated to have 2,000 fighters. Initial investigation by Pakistan’s security agencies found that the mastermind of the Feb 6 bombing belonged to Da’esh and trained in Afghanistan.

In a statement, President Asif Ali Zardari called out the Taliban regime for harbouring terrorist organisations. In similar vein, several ministers pointed the finger at Kabul and alleged that its ‘collusion’ with India was behind the attack. For its part, Kabul condemned the mosque bombing, saying it “contradicted Islamic and humanitarian values”. This was unsurprising as IS-K is the Taliban’s bitter foe. But the denunciation did nothing to lower tensions between the two neighbours.

Relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan have continued to deteriorate in the past several months and remain in a frozen state. Diplomatic engagement has ground to a virtual halt, though embassies are open in both countries. Trade is suspended and the border has been closed since last October, when deadly clashes erupted and led to open hostilities.

That followed a major TTP attack in Kurram in which several Pakistani soldiers were killed. After this, Pakistan launched air strikes against militant targets in Afghanistan, including in Kabul. Afghan military forces then attacked multiple border posts in response. The situation escalated further with fierce cross-border retaliatory strikes by Pakistan.

A ceasefire was........

© Dawn