Call for action against ‘Punjabi Taliban’

PESHAWAR: Political leaders have come down hard on the Punjab government and for “ignoring the threat of Punjabi Taliban.” They were speaking at a dialogue on ‘Terrorism and Punjabi Taliban’ arranged by the Amn Tehrik - a conglomerate of political parties and civil society organisations – at the Peshawar Press Club on Friday.

Speakers strongly criticised the Punjab government, saying that proscribed militant organisations were active in Punjab but the provincial government was opposing the use of the phrase “Punjabi Taliban.”

Chief of the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa chapter of National Party Mukhtiar Baacha alleged that most militant organisations were operating from Punjab under official patronage. “The numbers of madrassas in Punjab are three times more than the officially disclosed figure of 20,000,” he claimed. Baacha accused the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz and religio-political parties of supporting Taliban militants.

Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP) leader Said Alam Mehsud termed Punjab as the hub of Jihadi elements. He claimed that Punjabi and foreign militants outnumbered Pakhtun Taliban in the restive tribal regions.

Mehsud claimed that the process of Talibanisation in Punjab started after jihadis failed to find more recruits in Pukhtun areas. He also alleged that Nawaz Sharif also had an alliance with the banned sectarian outfit Sipah Sahaba Pakistan. Citing the recent revelation about the Punjab government’s funding to Jamaat-ud-Dawa centres, Mehsud alleged that the proscribed outfits were also receiving financial support from the provincial government.

He alleged that Punjabi Taliban were operating from a more than 150-kilometre area in the districts of Rajanpur and Dera Ghazi Khan, which has become a “no-go” area for law enforcers. “Eliminating militancy from FATA and Afghanistan will not serve the purpose unless Punjabi Taliban are eliminated,” he added. Mehsud warned that if the authorities did not take action Punjabi Taliban, there would be a mushroom growth of suicide bombers.

Ghani Gul of the ruling PPP  alleged that provincial ministers in Punjab were partying with “militants”, while Pakhtun areas were bearing the brunt of militancy. PkMP provincial president Mukhtar Yousfazai claimed that Pakistan’s economy was a war economy and the government was making money in the name of war on terror. He also demanded the government ban all religious outfits and choke their sources of funds.

Published in  The Express Tribune, June 19^th, 2010.