A perpetual threat

An uneasy deal with TTP has come to an end. Unravelling of this much-contested peace accord has posed grave threats, though. The militia has called for attacks inside Pakistan, and the security forces are in a quandary. Reportedly, Islamabad has launched efforts to strike a renewed understanding with the TTP, and the hurried air-dash of Minister of State Hina Rabbani Khar to Kabul was apparently a step in that direction. To what extent she has been able to make inroads is anybody’s guess, but the point is that it is quite an unnerving situation and has to be handled with utmost caution and upping of the guard.

The non-state actor is thinking big, and has not lived up to its promises either. This renunciation of agreement unilaterally from the TTP has put the ruling Taliban in an embarrassing position, as the latter had vowed to ensure that Afghan soil shall not be used for launching attacks against any of the neighbours. Thus, with the TTP’s major manpower sitting in the restive southwest Asian state and plotting terror attacks, it will foment into a perpetual bilateral confrontation. This delicate situation demands touch-basing assets and making use of goodwill contacts to persuade the TTP to reconsider their malicious agenda against Pakistan.

This new scenario poses a question on the desire on the part of the state of Pakistan to deal with the militants across the table. The military leadership had briefed parliamentarians that the fear of TTP militants joining Daesh was the primary reason for seeking a negotiated deal with them. The army was, nonetheless, categorical that any peace deal would be strictly in conformity with the Constitution. That is no longer the case. The TTP, by making undue demands such as reversal of the ex-Fata merger with K-P and release of hardened criminals, has made the spirit of accommodation quite unbecoming. So is the case over the issue of TTP laying down arms and returning to their homeland. This impasse and imminent threat demands immediate action. It’s time to go back to the resolve of saying no to any kind of appeasement. Only then can sovereignty and security be guaranteed.