Shift in strategy

After months of debate about the situation of militancy in the Punjab and the growing might of the Taliban in the province, security agencies engaged in directing the war on terror have reportedly decided to hone in on the region. In a distinct change in strategy, the northern strongholds of the TTP will be ignored while an attempt is made to end the nexus between the Taliban and jihadi outfits based in southern Punjab. The changed plan is, of course, an acknowledgement of the existence of militancy centred in the country’s largest province. It is unclear how involved the Punjab government is with the strategy. Till now it has denied a base for the Taliban in the province, with a senior adviser to the chief minister recently stating that while recruitment by terrorist forces took place in the southern Punjab, federal government statements about the Taliban were inaccurate. Any troop action against militants will require cooperation from the Punjab set-up and we must hope efforts are on to acquire it.

There are also a few other matters to ponder. Any action against outfits based primarily in the congested urban centres of the south will need to be meticulously thought out and backed by prime intelligence. We must also hope that the shift has been carefully thought out. While the dangerous links that have evolved between the Taliban and groups in the Punjab, including those who pursue a primarily sectarian agenda, present an immense threat there should be no compromise in the north either. Conjecture of a new ‘agreement’ between commanders in North Waziristan linked to the Afghan Taliban and the Pakistan military is somewhat disturbing. Such ‘deals’ have failed to control militancy in the past and indeed are one reason for the acute dangers that they pose now. It is quite true that state forces cannot fight on too many fronts at the same time. But for the long-term there must be clarity in thought about the need to take on militants everywhere, rather than chisel out compromises that are likely only to allow militants to regroup and strengthen themselves.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 22^nd, 2010.