Taliban: the good, the bad, the divided?
The government must recognise that the TTP is in violation of the law of the land and needs to be taken to task.
Since the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) reared its ugly head in Pakistan in 2007, it has done nothing but wreak havoc, although its sympathisers will have you believe one can still make a distinction between ‘good Taliban’ and the ‘bad Taliban’. It now appears that despite vehement denials on the part of the TTP, there may be divisions within the ranks though one should treat this news with caution as it is not a group one can trust. And for good reason: it reneges on deals and has zero value for life. Its leaders have risen from the dead, like Hakeemullah Mehsud who was presumed dead in 2010 in a drone strike (and once before that) but is at present leader of the TTP. He is said to be losing control to his deputy, Waliur Rehman, who is believed to be more amenable to a peace deal with Pakistan, similar to those struck by Taliban factions in North and South Waziristan, respectively. This report first surfaced in December last year but was denied a few weeks later by both men who appeared together in a 45-minute video in which they rubbished talks of a rift between them and said that they were open to talks with the Pakistan government (provided “it was free of foreign pressure”) and added that the laying down arms was out of the question. However, a recent news report says that the two leaders “are at each other’s throats”. “You will soon hear that one of them has eliminated the other,” a TTP commander is quoted in the story as saying.
One terrorist outfit’s loss could be Pakistan’s gain. Rifts within the TTP leadership have occurred before but the government has not used them to its advantage, preferring to negotiate with the TTP, thinking that they will be able to reason with a group of men incapable of reason. In the process, thousands of Pakistanis have lost their lives. The government must recognise that the TTP is in violation of the law of the land and needs to be taken to task. There can be no negotiation with terrorists on issues that concern Pakistan’s sovereignty and the safety of its citizens. The government is the highest authority and everyone must take its cue from it; the matter is that simple.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 14th, 2013.
murder for murder... the only deal that will stop them from killing is to finish them .. "the only good TALIBAN is a dead taliban"
"Rifts within the TTP leadership have occurred before but the government has not used them to its advantage, preferring to negotiate with the TTP, thinking that they will be able to reason with a group of men incapable of reason."
The government has used and abused Pashtuns for 65 years now and the Pashtuns have come to the realization that the establishment is not honest in its dealings with the Pashtun people and Afghanistan.
The government prefers to pit the Pashtun people against their own brethren within Pakistan and Afghanistan as a buffer to contain Pashtun nationalism and this policy is fast becoming a liability for the state.
I wonder who is incapable of reason here the Pashtuns or the government whose colonial policies against the Pashtuns and Afghanistan has brought them to this impasse.
Taliban is bleeding Pakistan to slow death and any negotiation with such a hard core militant organisation can only be undertaken on the position of strength which is not the case now. Pakistan military can only defeat them if it mounts operations using proper counter-insurgency tactics which would take at least one year to completely eliminate them. Negotiations with TTP cadres is like surrendering to them without a fight and half-hearted operations also wont do, the military needs to fight them like SL army fought LTTE.
@Voice of D.I.Khan: Sir, this is easier said than done. Please chalk out the steps needed.
What about all those who staged protest throughout the country and took down the government in Balochistan. Why not they be blamed for their action. this is not the first time that 100 people died in pakistan. when iot comes to hazara community, twice the number of dead hazaras in last two years have fall pray to drone attacks. Please open your eyes guys.
The only good Taliban is a dead Taliban.
As long as Pakistan continues to make a distinction between the TTP (or even sections thereof) and the larger Taliban, there can be no lasting solution. The fact is that if you replace 'Pakistan' in TTP communiques with 'puppet government of Hamid Karzai' you have the Afghan Taliban version - they are just the same set of actors on two different sets. Pakistanis are foolish enough to consider the Taliban a noble set of warriors and the TTP a set of criminals when they all sup together at the end of the day. Declaring that they cannot be muslims (muslims cannot kill each other/ killing of one person is killing of humanity etc) is yet another ploy to obfuscate the issue, while it is clear that the TTP adhere to a hardline version of Islam and would like to see Pakistan follow the same kind of Islam that was practiced in 1996-2001 Afghanistan; also ignoring the fact that muslims are killing muslims every day in Pakistan (and in several other muslim countries) even without the Taliban's help. When are Pakistanis going to grow the vital body parts required to call a spade a spade?
No matter what the establishment says about our strategic assets, the only good Taliban are dead Taliban.
Pak Army,,, Just finish them all please without any distinction. Taliban, SSP, and LEJ , They all deserve this.