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In a candid assessment of the Afghan situation, the Nato secretary general has asked the allies to ‘do more today’ if they want to ‘do less tomorrow.’ Speaking at a security conference in Bratislava on Thursday, Anders Fogh Rasmussen appeared aware of the growing resentment in Europe and America against the war in Afghanistan when he said the coalition forces needed ‘other international actors’ to help with the country’s reconstruction and development. The speech at the Slovak capital dwelt on the situation in Afghanistan, emphasised the need for training the Afghan National Army and warned of consequences for Pakistan and the region if the allies failed to win and the country fell to the Taliban.
The Nato chief’s views need to be examined from Pakistan’s point of view at a time when a military operation is going on in South Waziristan. For years, authorities across the Durand Line have urged Islamabad to ‘do more’ without bothering to examine their own record. The terrorists cross the border freely, but for some reason it is left only to Pakistan to seal the border. More important, the drug trade is a major source of arms purchases for the Taliban but the Karzai regime has failed to root it out.
Pakistan’s hands are already full, and it cannot be expected to remove what US Defence Secretary Robert Gates calls ‘the modern epicentre’ of jihad on the ‘Afpak’ border if the other side is unable or unwilling to carry out its part of the joint responsibility. More worrisome, Mr Rasmussen places too much hope on training and equipping the new Afghan National Army. While this is necessary to curtail the Taliban presence, the corrupt Karzai regime has shown itself to be incapable of rebuilding Afghanistan and carrying the people along. Electoral fraud and the run-off vote expected next month have added to the uncertainty. In view of the political crisis, the need for decisive military action accompanied by development efforts has become crucial. The Taliban are not on the run and an abandonment of Afghanistan will put pressure on Pakistan, causing, as Mr Rasmussen says, ‘instability throughout Central A
