The writer is Executive Editor of The Express Tribune
It is perhaps the timing of the offer and its language that is significant. It has come soon after the brutal killing of ANP leader Bashir Bilour followed immediately by the kidnapping and later even more brutal killing of 22 personnel of Levies Force. And if one went through the conditions for talks listed in the letter sent earlier to a senior media person, Mr Saleem Safi of Jang/Geo, by the chief of the so-called Punjabi Taliban and later conveyed by the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) chief, Hakeemullah Mehsud, in the video released on December 28, it becomes clear that the party is not interested in talks but wants to create confusion in the ranks of the ‘enemy’ so as to thwart the chances of a national consensus for a decisive military action against the killers. The offer has come camouflaged in the ‘Islamic’ garb, which, for obvious reasons, never fails to win favour among most Pakistanis. But it also exudes a sense of confidence which appears extremely exaggerated.
They have killed Bashir Bilour and the 22 levies in what seems to be sheer desperation as they were finding it increasingly impossible to achieve high-profile successes lately. In the year gone by, their violence had remained confined mostly to the province of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP), their base, and in Karachi where there has been no law and order since December 31, 2009 when the tenure of Mustafa Kamal’s mayorship ended. The TTP’s main source of strength has been the Punjabi and Afghan Taliban. It has always been my considered opinion that once you take care of the Punjabi Taliban, the TTP will wither away on its own. And now it seems that the Pakistan Army has finally succeeded in effectively neutralising the Punjabi Taliban, hence the letter sent from its chief to a senior media man. The TTP Punjab chief’s motive is certainly not peace but publicity to win back the favour of the Pashtuns, which seems to be receding in the face of the senseless and indiscriminate killings. The Afghan Taliban, on the other hand, seem also to have lost their steam and, contrary to the general impression, are seemingly more interested in a negotiated withdrawal than in continuing their unwinnable war. The nation seems to be finally making up its mind to launch a decisive armed campaign against the physical sanctuaries of the TTP. And Secretary of Defence Lt Gen (retd) Asif Yaseen Malik has rightly called for sealing of the Afghan border before the action as, according to his apprehensions, such an action would push the TTP members into Afghanistan where no arrangements have been made so far to net them.
A number of religio-political parties such as the Jamaat-e-Islami, the Jamiatul Ulema-e-Islam and all its factions, the Jamiatul Ulema-e-Pakistan and all its factions and all other similar parties have been freely promoting their Sharia-based ideology since partition and have been voted to parliament a number of times, but so far not in enough numbers to make effective use of the Council of Islamic Ideology, established some 45 years ago, to make all laws in Pakistan conform to Sharia. The Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal, an alliance of seven religio-political parties that formed the provincial government in KP after the 2002 elections and also wore the mantle of opposition leader in the National Assembly, passed a Sharia-compliant law called the Hisba bill in 2005 which, however, was struck down by the Supreme Court. These parties have been working within constitutional parameters and seem willing to continue doing so in a democratic system until they achieve their goals. Interestingly, one of the mainstream political parties, the PML-N, in its last outing had succeeded in getting a Shariat Bill passed by the National Assembly but before it could get it through the Senate, General (retd) Pervez Musharraf intervened and toppled the then government of prime minister Nawaz Sharif. The TTP is also welcome to join them and participate in the forthcoming elections by renouncing violence as KP Information Minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain has suggested. However, if they continue their indiscriminate killings, the chances are that by the time they achieve their objective, no one would be left in the country to force their version of Sharia.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 2nd, 2013.
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"And now it seems that the Pakistan Army has finally succeeded in effectively neutralizing the Punjabi Taliban, hence the letter sent from its chief to a senior media man"
Let us pray and hope that writer's optimistic point of view is vindicated by positive developments in the near future. The past experience of peace talks and agreements with the TTP have turned out to be counterproductive. The agreement of Shakai with militants of south waziristan emboldened and enabled the TTP to extend their sway to other parts of the tribal belt. It was either the policy of masterly inactivity or soft corner of MMA govt. in KPK (the secret staunch ally of Gen(R) Musharraf) that facilitated the non intrusive grip of TTP on the daily life of southern district of the province. In 2007 incidents of their daylight raids in the Peshawar, manhandling the peaceful citizens occurred. In early 2008 alarm bells of the fall of the provincial capital rang when the militant showed their presence in the outskirts of this metropolis.
A pragmatic view of the political situation in Pakistan, thanks for the balanced Op Ed.