Kabul attack

If there is any sentient being who still takes seriously the claim by extremists that they represent a pure, austere version of religion, the suicide attack on Tuesday on a gathering of religious scholars should disabuse them of that ridiculous notion. At least 50 people were killed and close to a hundred injured in a suicide bombing at a banquet complex in Kabul that was hosting a gathering of scholars to mark the occasion of Eid Milad-un-Nabi. Even on this auspicious day, the militants could not refrain from violence; if anything they went out of their way to target the faithful. No one has claimed responsibility for the attack yet but the Afghan Taliban have denied any involvement. The public nature of the attack, which was obviously trying to maximise casualties, bears all the hallmarks of the Islamic State. This group, which is so extreme that even the Taliban are opposed to it, was behind two major attacks in Kabul and has managed to carve out space for itself in Afghanistan. The order of the day for the government, which has tentatively reached out to the Taliban for peace talks at a conference in Russia, is to take on and defeat the IS. This is not a group that can be reasoned or has any goals beyond murder and mayhem.

Unfortunately, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani did not even wait for anyone to claim responsibility before launching a fusillade of harsh words. He said that the bombing was carried out by an entity that was conducting suicide attacks in Afghanistan for the first time. He then went on to assail an unnamed neighbouring country for providing militants with safe havens, training and logistical support. The implication was obvious. For both Afghanistan and Pakistan, there has been a temptation to blame each other whenever there is an attack in either country.

The solution is not for both countries to instantly play the blame game, but to realise that all militant groups have the same destructive ideology and the only way to defeat them is by working together. Verbal attacks like that of Ghani’s may be cathartic but they do not achieve anything. Pakistan is in a standoff with US President Donald Trump over how much we are to blame for the situation in Afghanistan. Rather than fighting over how to apportion responsibility, the mature way to respond would be for everyone to make peace and cooperation a priority.