Time to disband and crush Pak terror groups: Editorial

Karachi, June 18(ANI): After the Pakistan intelligence agencies revealed that a dirty nexus exists between banned outfits in the country and their counterparts in Afghanistan, an editorial in a leading newspaper has said that the country should rethink its policy of nurturing them.

The editorial in The Daily Times admits that "for years the Afghan Taliban have been considered an 'asset' in Pakistan's establishment circles", and says that recent attacks on the country is quite alarming.

"It is about time that the so-called assets of the state like the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, Jaish-e-Mohammad and Lashkar-e-Tayyaba are disbanded and crushed," the editorial said.

"These groups have enjoyed state patronage for years. Pakistan has suffered enough at the hands of its skewed foreign policy goals. We cannot afford to do so anymore. Enough is enough. Let our soil be finally cleansed of our sins of the past," it added.

It has also compared the Taliban with the Frankenstein's monster, and accused it of disrupting peace in the country.

More than 30 Pakistani troops are reportedly been held captive by the Afghan Taliban following an attack on a border checkpost between the Mohmand and Bajaur agencies of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA).

"They must have intervened at the behest of the local Taliban in order to put pressure on the army. Pakistan must now reverse its 'strategic depth' policy, which has proved disastrous," the editorial said.

"This attack by the Afghan Taliban on our forces leaves room for scepticism whether they would ever prove to be an asset for Pakistan," it added. (ANI)