It is not that simple to say that Taliban be brought to their knees before negotiations.
LAHORE: This is in reference to the article “Talk to the Taliban — but from a position of strength” (September 19). The writer, while proffering that any negotiations with the Taliban should be from a position of strength, forgets that the Pakistani armed forces have been fighting this war for the last 10 years or so. Thousands of soldiers have already lost their life, indicating that one has already done a lot of fighting with no definite result. Thus it is not that simple to say that Taliban be brought to their knees before negotiations. If this was so easy then the amount of fighting that has so far taken place would have definitely forced the Taliban to their knees.
And once the enemy is on his knees then there is no point in negotiating with it, as it becomes more of a dictation rather than negotiation. With a new political government at the helm of affairs, peace must be given a chance and only when all peace overtures get exhausted should one talk about a final offensive, duly supported by all segments of society.
Brig (retd) Iftikhar Ayub Khan
Published in The Express Tribune, September 20th, 2013.
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