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In Afghanistan, Pakistan is the naked aggressor. There is case for UNSC sanctions

Pakistan is acting against international law. Sanction the country every time the Taliban refuse to listen to the UNSC.

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The United Nations Security Council held an emergency meeting on Afghanistan Monday. To many, it is too little too late as images of desperate Afghans trying to flee the country flood social media. But it’s still possible for the so-called ‘international community’ to act quickly, and present itself in a less pathetic light. That requires facing up to the reality that has been ignored for forty years. To stop escalating violence by the Taliban, sanction Pakistan first. It has never been about the Taliban themselves who have long fought each other. It is about the extremist and violent mindset that has been engendered from the Pakistani madrassas that provide cadres and leadership. That, and the fact that every single bullet fired has come from Pakistan. This is naked aggression. Let the aggressor be held accountable.


Also read: Escape from Kabul: How I negotiated with Taliban to make it to the safety of Indian embassy


This ‘Made in Pakistan’ label

First, the UNSC surely has to be blind and tone deaf in not knowing that the Taliban are entirely a Pakistani-backed force. US officials  have gone on record to say so, and there is reams of research available to establish that link. Besides, this is a repeat performance. In 1994, after the Taliban first entered Afghanistan to protect truckers, they were beaten back several times by veteran Afghan forces, but now mysteriously seem to have acquired sudden command and control capabilities. That was the Pakistanis ‘embedding’ its military advisors within the unruly force. Following that was the same headlong rush to power that is being seen today. There is a whole Human Right Watch report detailing this. Then there is the open secret of the Kunduz airlift when Pakistani aircraft were allowed to fly out its military and intelligence personnel, together with the Taliban leadership. The US allowed this, in return for Pakistan backing off from the fight. That, in turn, was prompted by the threat of being “bombed back into the stone age,” according to General Pervez Musharraf. That worked then. It could have worked a few weeks ago to stop the Taliban onslaught. But given the general spinelessness, a more realistic threat is to sanction Pakistan every time the Taliban refuse to listen to the UNSC.


Also read: Chinese people debating Taliban on Weibo but Beijing still hesitating on Afghanistan


The rationale for sanctions

The basis for sanctions is simple – the present Taliban force owes its onward rush to the logistical tail that snakes into Pakistan. For instance, each fuel guzzling Humvee carrying Taliban cadres across the country, literally, needs hundreds of litres of gas. Afghanistan is not exactly littered with fuel stations, and Taliban convoys are certainly not stopping to refuel at local gas outlets. The surprisingly few images or videos of Taliban weaponry indicate no lack of not just guns, but also ammunition. No trained force will go to war without adequate ammunition stocks.

Many will point to the Darra arms markets of Pakistan. But here’s the thing. Darra markets are still inside Pakistan. And no, they are not able to supply the kind of quality ammunition needed for bored weapons. Then, consider communications sets that require commonality across at least parts of the force, and batteries to power them. Then there is food for the 60,000 ‘troops’. Many do forage. But ask any ex-army official on the difficulties of provisioning for even half that number.

You also have the question of cash to pay commanders, and bank accounts of leaders at lower levels. All of this would already have been worked out by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). None of this means that it is Pakistan who pays the Taliban. Instead, they’ve been allowed to raise finances through narcotics, illegal mining, and real estate in Pakistan. Then there is the recent spurt in fund raising within Pakistan, just before the offensive. The point is not the sources of finance, which are multifarious. It’s the institutions and system that allow it to be ‘banked’ and then moved to the pockets where it is needed. No war can be fought without all of the above.


Also read: Afghanistan is a hard country and India has focussed more on soft power


International law and aggression

Aggression is condemned not just by the UN Charter, which in its very first Article calls for suppression of all acts of aggression by collective action; ‘wars of aggression’ are also prohibited under customary international law. Further, consider the UN’s own Resolution in 1974 that defines “aggression”. Article 3 of that Resolution includes “The sending by or on behalf of a State of armed bands, groups, irregulars or mercenaries, which carry out acts of armed force against another State of such gravity  as to amount to ( acts listed)..”. In 1986, the International Court of Justice opined that the Resolution could be said to reflect “customary international law”.  There’s more in terms of court rulings and past cases. But you don’t need an international lawyer to tell you that aggression of any kind is completely against the basis on which relations between States are governed. In addition is the UNSC Resolution 1267 and its successor resolutions, all of which are legally binding on member States, and bar assistance to terrorists.


Also read: Taliban is hoping to fool America twice, it’s only pretending they’re no longer barbaric


Sanctions à la carte

Given the spinelessness of major powers, there can be no expectation of tough sanctions. A calibrated policy, however, may serve everyone’s interests. This could begin with restrictions on the movement of Pakistan Army officers outside the country, ramped up at any time, to include movement of politicians and others. The idea is not to punish the Pakistani people, but push the Pakistan State into getting the Taliban to agree to major international demands.

At the recent UNSC emergency meeting, Chinese representative Geng Shuang made it clear that support was conditional to the Taliban “making a clean break” with terrorists.  Chinese analysts  also point out that Taliban triumphalism is making China uncomfortable, given its past record. Russia, whose embassy in Kabul is working “normally”, did point out the “important role” played by China, Moscow, and Pakistan. But Moscow will want a ‘handle’ on the Taliban, and its own ‘Taliban friendlies’ taken on board. The Afghan representative made a passionate appeal to the UNSC to step in to stop the mass executions and targeted killings. But what each player wants is their own national interests addressed, which primarily centres around terrorism. The Taliban record on that is abysmal, with the UN Monitoring Committee report concluding that all terrorist groups, including China’s bugbear, the East Turkestan Islamic Movement, are interwoven with Taliban activities, with the main ISI-backed Sirajuddin Haqqani group occupying a central role. Since this has been brought out repeatedly in earlier reports as well, Pakistan clearly has no intention of doing anything at all about it.

Islamabad’s usual tearful plea of lack of influence no longer stands scrutiny. He who pays the piper must play the tune — this time, one that is agreeable to even the new players like Russia and China, and not just to Rawalpindi. Sanctions are aimed at setting the words to that tune. It will also help the UNSC regain some of its gloss that it has lost so heavily in the unfolding tragedy of Afghanistan.

The author is a Distinguished Fellow at the Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies, New Delhi. She tweets @kartha_tara. Views are personal.

(Edited by Anurag Chaubey)

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