Friends and foes
All of us, on principle, have an enmity with the Taliban; PTI must not forget.
In K-P peace is a priority but a policy of appeasement to achieve it could prove dangerous. PHOTO: REUTERS/FILE
Speaking at his first major press conference in Peshawar, the man nominated by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf as its chief minister for Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P), Pervaiz Khattak, has said the party will begin a process of “re-negotiation” with the Taliban. He has also said that his party had “no fight” with the group, and was, therefore, quite willing to open up a process of dialogue with it.
In the first place, in the light of Mr Khattak’s words, we must say that we, as citizens, do indeed have a fight with the Taliban. This is not because of ideological differences but because of the crimes they have committed against the people of our country, slaughtering and butchering thousands in bomb blasts, targeted killings or other acts of terrorism. Many more have died in such attacks than in US drone strikes, which the PTI has in the past said much about. They include women and children slain in bazaars, people targeted in other public places and health workers shot dead simply because they were working to protect children against disease. In other places, such as Swat before the 2009 military operation, they have spread mayhem and terror of the worst kind, beheading people in public, flogging those they wished to punish and taking terrible revenge against those they see as enemies. Teenager Malala Yousufzai is one example. The scores of dead ANP workers another. In places like the Kurram and Khyber agencies, the process of terrorising tribes people who oppose the militants continues. Thousands of families have, as a result, had to flee their homes.
In these circumstances, it is hard to say how any responsible individual can claim to have no enmity with an outfit responsible for the most atrocious crimes. All of us, on principle, have an enmity with the Taliban. This is something the PTI must not forget, and it must then consider if it is wise to say that it has no enmity with the TTP instead of than punishing them for the terrible suffering they have inflicted on innocent people all over the country. Yes, in K-P peace is a priority — but a policy of appeasement to achieve it could prove counterproductive and very dangerous.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 20th, 2013.
In the first place, in the light of Mr Khattak’s words, we must say that we, as citizens, do indeed have a fight with the Taliban. This is not because of ideological differences but because of the crimes they have committed against the people of our country, slaughtering and butchering thousands in bomb blasts, targeted killings or other acts of terrorism. Many more have died in such attacks than in US drone strikes, which the PTI has in the past said much about. They include women and children slain in bazaars, people targeted in other public places and health workers shot dead simply because they were working to protect children against disease. In other places, such as Swat before the 2009 military operation, they have spread mayhem and terror of the worst kind, beheading people in public, flogging those they wished to punish and taking terrible revenge against those they see as enemies. Teenager Malala Yousufzai is one example. The scores of dead ANP workers another. In places like the Kurram and Khyber agencies, the process of terrorising tribes people who oppose the militants continues. Thousands of families have, as a result, had to flee their homes.
In these circumstances, it is hard to say how any responsible individual can claim to have no enmity with an outfit responsible for the most atrocious crimes. All of us, on principle, have an enmity with the Taliban. This is something the PTI must not forget, and it must then consider if it is wise to say that it has no enmity with the TTP instead of than punishing them for the terrible suffering they have inflicted on innocent people all over the country. Yes, in K-P peace is a priority — but a policy of appeasement to achieve it could prove counterproductive and very dangerous.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 20th, 2013.