Talks, no talks?

After all the hype we have been hearing regarding talks with the Taliban, it now seems the whole process may be dead even before it has started. In a statement made just days after a bomb blast in Upper Dir killed two senior military officials, a spokesman for the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan has said it has no intention of stopping its actions, that more attacks on security personnel will be carried out whenever the opportunity arose and that it had not received any formal proposal regarding negotiations. The stance is a somewhat unexpected one, given that the TTP had previously put forward an extensive list of demands, indicating they may be planning to get involved in the peace process. But then the minds of terrorists are always difficult to read and the TTP’s reputation for unreliability has been well established on the basis of past experience.

Without even making an attempt to analyse all that has happened, we can say that things are now essentially back to square one. Short of some series of unexpected events, there will be no talks. General Kayani’s firm words following the killing of senior officers, had already pointed this way. The ‘pro-talk’ political elements will, perhaps, be feeling just a little embarrassed following the rather rude Taliban refusal of the dialogue proposal and their assertion of continued murderous intent.

Looking at things from a national perspective, what we need to do is to go back, as they say, to the drawing board. Those whose illusions about the Taliban may have been shaken need to pull themselves together and face facts. If there are to be no talks, then other options need to be considered. Force alone is not the answer. We should also be thinking about offering development, employment and opportunity and bringing them into the game in areas of conflict to offer people an alternative, as a means to sideline the Taliban and make it just a little easier to deal with a war that has exhausted us all and which badly needs to end.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 19^th, 2013.

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