Why Pakistan needs to stop flirting with terrorists

On Nov 17, Sartaj Aziz, Pakistan PM's adviser on national security, in an interview to BBC had said that there is no need for Pakistan to take action against all militant groups because some of them are not against Pakistan.

“Why should we antagonise all groups (of militants)? Why should America's enemies unnecessarily become our enemies?” Aziz had said.

In one sense, Aziz had confessed that Pakistan had turned a blind eye to the activities of those terrorist groups who were working against America or India. Aziz meant that Pakistan will continue to provide safe havens to those terror groups who are killing innocent civilians of other countries including US, Afghanistan and of course, India.

How can a government be so partisan in dealing with terrorism which has emerged as the biggest threat to the peace and security across the world?

How can you differentiate between good terror and bad terror?

Unfortunately, it has been Pakistan's state policy to differentiate between friendly terrorists and enemy terrorists because it suits their diplomatic objectives.

This policy is responsible for the barbarism displayed by the terrorists in the Army school of Peshawar when they massacred 141, including 132 children.

Pakistan knows it can't wage a war against India and therefore they are pursuing this ‘bleed India' policy, using Jihadi terrorists as the tool.

They want to have a proxy government in Afghanistan but are aware of their limitations. Therefore, they provide all kind of support to the anti-govt terrorists in Afghanistan.

Sartaj Aziz, seems to be only confessing something that the world already knew, but Pakistani political and military leadership never acknowledged it in public.

A closer look at history clearly reveals that using terror as a tool to achieve diplomatic objectives might succeed in the short run but has always backfired in the long run.

America is a glaring example.  The friend turned foe, Osama Bin Laden became a Frankenstein's Monster for the US which paid heavily for its dalliance. No one can forget the sight of plane crashing into the twin towers.

Similarly, dead bodies of the school children will continue to haunt many in the Pakistan.

According to an estimate, around 20,000 civilians and 6,000 security personnel have been killed in terrorism related violence in Pakistan since 2003. But it seems Pakistan has not learnt any lessons and its obsession with terrorism as a state tool continues .

After innocent children paid for the sins of Pakistani decision makers on Dec 16, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif came up with a statement saying Pakistan will not differentiate between good and bad Taliban.

But why is the Pakistani PM silent on those terror groups waging the so-called Jihad against India?

Pakistani premier did say that he will ensure that terrorism is wiped out from the region and that both he and Afghanistan President have agreed to join hands in the fight against terror.

The ‘region' also includes India which is facing Pakistan sponsored terrorism on a daily basis.

The anti-terrorist court has today granted bail to Zakiur-ur-Rehman-Lakhvi, one of the seven Pakistani nationals accused of planning and abetting the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks. For how long will Pakistan continue to shield the perpetrators of 26/11?

Does it mean that Pakistan will continue to use terror as a tool against India? If yes then the Pakistani leadership and its Army have failed miserably in reading the real message of Peshawar school attacks. The militants who carried this attack wanted to manifest their anger against Pakistani military's offensive in North Waziristan.

The sooner Pakistani understands the larger message that there is no good and bad terrorism, the better it is for them and rest of the world.

It's time to remind Pakistani Army what the then US secretary of state Hillary Clinton had told them in 2001.

Advising Pakistanis to desist from supporting terrorism, Hillary had said "you can't keep snakes in your backyard and expect them only to bite your neighbors because eventually those snakes are going to turn on whoever has them in the backyard."