Pakistan has long treated Afghanistan as a safe haven for its terrorists. An unstable Afghanistan being run by the Taliban is exactly what Pakistan wants as it wants to use Afghanistan as a launchpad for its terrorists to carry out attacks against India. However, thanks to India’s swift diplomacy, Imran Khan backed terrorists now face the prospect of being extradited to India as India and Afghanistan have inked a historic treaty as both the nations agreed to extradite Pakistan backed terrorists.
The move holds great significance as India steps up its efforts to destroy Pakistan backed terrorists. “Ambassador @vkumar1969 and Acting Foreign Minister @mfa_afghanistan HE Idrees Zaman @IdreesZaman took a step closer to cement bilateral relations by exchanging Instruments of Ratification of #India-#Afghanistan Extradition Treaty today,” the Indian Embassy in Kabul tweeted after development. The extradition treaty was first signed in 2016 when President Ashraf Ghani visited India. The operationalisation of will enable India to extradite Pakistan-origin terrorists from banned groups who operate from Afghan soil. It is a known fact that LeT and Jaish terrorists take refuge in Afghanistan thanks to the tacit support from the ISI and Pakistani Army.
Instruments of Ratification of Extradition Treaty between 🇦🇫Afghanistan and 🇮🇳India got Exchanged
🔗https://t.co/Iu2AJMqzeJ pic.twitter.com/xpL7RDertT
— Ministry of Foreign Affairs – Afghanistan 🇦🇫 (@mfa_afghanistan) November 24, 2019
Ambassador @vkumar1969 and Acting Foreign Minister @mfa_afghanistan H.E. Idrees Zaman @IdreesZaman took a step closer to cement bilateral relations by exchanging Instruments of Ratification of #India–#Afghanistan Extradition Treaty today. pic.twitter.com/6FVLICeHS2
— India in Afghanistan (@IndianEmbKabul) November 24, 2019
It is no secret that Pakistan is wary of the close ties shared by India and Afghanistan as it fears India will encircle it strategically and hence, the revanchist state prefers an unstable Afghanistan which is overrun by Taliban as pointed out in a US Congressional report. The report stated, “Pakistan’s security services maintain ties to Afghan insurgent groups, most notably the Haqqani Network, a U.S.-designated Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) that has become an official, semi-autonomous component of the Taliban. Afghan leaders, along with US military commanders, attribute much of the insurgency’s power and longevity either directly or indirectly to Pakistani support.” It further states that, “US officials have long identified militant safe havens in Pakistan as a threat to security in Afghanistan, though some Pakistani officials dispute that charge and note the Taliban’s increased territorial control within Afghanistan itself.”
Needless to say, India’s diplomatic and commercial presence and the US’s support is making Pakistan jittery especially at a time when President Trump has encouraged India to play a greater role in Afghanistan’s economic development. The treaty is sure to scare the living daylights out of Pakistan backed terrorists as they face the prospect of spending the rest of their lives in Indian jails.
