Someone from MQM leadership leaked Tariq Mir’s statement: Sethi

LAHORE: Tariq Mir’s statement is 100 per cent credible as he signed the document with a copy given to his lawyers. It has been leaked by those in the MQM leadership, and not Metropolitan Police or Mir, who want to leave the party, said Najam Sethi in Geo News programme ‘Aapas ki Baat’ on Saturday.
He said only the MQM terrorism and the linkages with India had been highlighted in the leaked document, as other information would have confused the people or not in the benefit of those who made that public.
About the MQM’s approach, he said the allegation was related to concrete money laundering and sponsorship of violence and any denial was going to create problems for the party when the matter would be presented before the British courts.
About the recent attack on Afghan Parliament triggered a blame game especially by NDS, he said the process was being derailed as the Afghan security agency accused Pakistan of the terror strike.
According to Sethi, Afghans say the attack was planned and executed by a person Bilal in Peshawar. They also say that the MoU between the intelligence agencies of the two countries by their respective governments and hence not operationalised.
The Afghan Taliban have intensified their attacks in the southern and northern parts of the country, including the capture of some districts in Helmand and Nooristan. These developments are a source of anxiety for Kabul, especially President Ashraf Ghani who has taken two new steps after the assurances given by different quarters of Pakistan are not being materialised.
One June, Ghani at the Doha conference said Pakistan had imposed an undeclared war on Afghanistan despite his commitment to the people of his own country and Pakistan that he wanted peace. It seemed that he would have to become a fighter president, not of peace.
Ghani’s statement is of huge significance as India has launched a comprehensive propaganda against Pakistan’s security establishment. The situation is very alarming as Pakistan’s ties with India and Afghanistan are deteriorating, which will also lead to worsened relationship with the US.
The Afghan Taliban are not ready for any change in their stance. Pakistan, Afghanistan and the US are mistaken in assuming that Haqqani network and Mullah Omar will accept your viewpoint.
Sethi said there had been progress from Pakistan’s side, as three meetings have held in China with the Pakistani support. It meant that Pakistan wanted to convince some top Taliban leaders to use using them for dialogue with Kabul and Islamabad, he added.
However, Sartaj Aziz on two or three occasions, Sethi said, had stated that it wasn’t an easy job for Pakistan as the Taliban did not agree to every point of them. The adviser also said that Pakistan’s intentions were good and more time was required for the purpose, he added.
But the increase in Taliban attacks had weakened the position of Ghani and highlighted the weaknesses of Afghan National Army, he said, adding that it seemed Pakistan would have to pressurise Haqqani network and Afghan Taliban.
But according to Sethi, Pakistan thinks that it would be difficult to backtrack once they are targeted and thus not ready yet and the Afghan Taliban are currently focusing on their own country. There would be negative repercussions, if the Afghan Taliban decide to shift their attention to Pakistan, given that there is India on the eastern borders with Afghanistan on the west as well as the situation in Karachi and Balochistan. The army would not be able to sort out things on all these fronts.
Also, there are many Taliban factions and bringing them to the negotiating table is big issue.According to Sethi, there is only one option that requires courage and support by Pakistan and the international community.
He said Pakistan would face real backlash, if Taliban managed to form government in Afghanistan, because of Daish and other radicals. There were similar tendencies and groups in Pakistan, which would unite, he said, adding they would also claim Fata and other areas by rejecting the Durand Line.
They would move southward away from Afghanistan while Pakistan was already facing Baloch insurgency with the increase in foreign intervention, he added.About action against Haqqani network and Afghan Taliban, Sethi said Pakistan’s position would improve, if the local Taliban were defeated. All the fronts could not be opened simultaneously while the real objective was convince them for talks, he added.