TNSM a thing of the past, analysts argue

TIMERGARA: The Tehrik-e-Nifaz Shariah-e-Muhammadi (TNSM) seems to have lost much of its support base in the Malakand division, of which Swat is a part, where it once virtually ruled, local people and analysts agree.

The organisation, which virtually dominated the entire region for over two decades, is no longer in a position to play an effective role in the area’s politics, they said, arguing that its clout began eroding right after the 2009 military operation.

The main reason cited by many is the public belief that the octogenarian chief of the black-turbaned brigade called the TNSM, Maulana Sufi Mohammad, was directly responsible for the military operation. They blame the cleric for the heavy cost they paid.

Dr Fazl Rahim Marwat of the Area Study Centre at the University of Peshawar and author of Talibanisation says that the TNSM can no longer take part in the politics of Malakand because the local populace has seen its true face.

Initially, the TNSM promised Shariah for Malakand, but when they had an opportunity to implement the system, they started demanding the same for the rest of the country, he argues.

Now with Sufi Muhammad and his sons being in prison and the TNSM having gone underground, there are little hopes for the organisation’s revival in the agency, says Rehmat Khan, a resident of Swat.

TNSM’s headquarters in Amandarra have been closed for several months now and most of the organisation’s workers have stopped wearing the characteristic black turban and cut their hair short. Others have gone underground.

Many also feel that Sufi Muhammad’s leadership is essential for TNSM’s survival. Rehmat argues that militancy in Maidan only gained momentum following Sufi Muhammad’s release in
April 2008.

Meanwhile, a local journalist, speaking on the condition of anonymity, says that militancy owes its genesis to Sufi Muhammad. “Sufi is behind bars and his early release is not in sight. And in case he is released, he will not be able to play any role because of his old age,” he says. No one besides the “dynamic” Sufi Muhammad can resurrect the organisation, he believes, adding that Sufi Muhammad’s sons created trouble for their father because of their clandestine dealings with the Taliban.

At the same time, the journalist cautions that the government should pay heed to the people’s demands for quick justice, otherwise somebody else could exploit peoples’ sentiments just like Sufi.

Now that Sufi’s and the TNSM’s shadow over the area is lifted, the people are not ready to give them another chance, a local elder says.

Yet the organisation is responsible for shaping the views of a whole generation, including some of Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan’s (TTP) central figures. “TTP’s Bajaur Agency chief Maulana Faqir Mohammad and Swat chief Maulana Fazlullah were both a part of the TNSM in the past,” he explains.

Nevertheless, with two of TNSM’s main leaders, Maulana Mohammad Alam and Amir Izzat Khan killed, and Sufi and his sons arrested, the TNSM does not have any organisational reach left. He also agrees that the locals blame Sufi for the military operation and the militancy, citing it as a reason why the organisation is unlikely to be able to regroup.

Analyst and researcher Khadim Hussain is also of the view that the TNSM has exhausted its organisational reach, social power and networking capability and cannot regain its status. However, as the TTP in Malakand was an ideological legacy of the TNSM, it is possible for a new organisation to come along and continue with the TNSM’s legacy, Hussain adds.

Published in the Express Tribune, June 12^th, 2010.