The TTP’s pure extortion

The government, elected by the people, should be the one setting pre-conditions for talks, not the other way around.

Till recently, the newly elected government has been eager to pursue negotiations with the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and even refused to acknowledge the group’s true identity as terrorists. However, recent attacks by the TTP on a military convoy in Upper Dir followed by suicide bombings in a church in Peshawar have finally led Nawaz Sharif to suggest that talks with militants are off the table.

The decision by the All Parties Conference (APC) to pursue talks with the TTP has no legal basis without majority support from Pakistan’s parliament. Until consensus from the parliament is achieved, the APC does not reflect the will of the nation. Are all future decisions regarding Pakistan going to be made through APCs now? The unrealistic rhetoric used for the election campaign is holding the PML-N and the PTI hostage to their skewed commitments. Thus, the APC appears to be a desperate face-saving scheme to shift responsibility elsewhere.

In order to achieve peace, both sides have to be genuinely interested in the process. The TTP’s goal of establishing its primitive version of Shariah law is a non-starter and that should be made clear. Vivid memories of beheadings, hangings and flogging of girls are still fresh from President Zardari’s agreement to allow Shariah law in Swat. The military had to eventually be called back in to clear out the area. Meanwhile, the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) government wants the military to withdraw from the Malakand division and hand over control to the civil administration. While their motives may be pure, is the K-P government capable of preventing the Taliban from taking over or are we risking another Swat?

The willingness of the APC to pursue talks with the TTP has now provided legitimacy to a terrorist organisation. This contributed to the group’s audacity to put forth its demands and conditions for negotiations. The government, elected by the people, should be the one setting pre-conditions for talks and not the other way around. Since the TTP is not interested in putting down its weapons and giving up violence, the whole idea of negotiations is a charade. In fact, this approach will only offer space for the militants to strengthen and regroup while unchallenged.

Peace will never be achieved while the state overlooks violence committed in the name of religion. Moreover, as long as Pakistan allows Muslim nations to continue funding and stoking the flames of sectarian violence within its borders, peace will remain an elusive dream. It is a positive sign that the government is beginning to understand that the majority of the population would appreciate and benefit from a hard-line stance against extremist groups and their oppressive brand of religion. Voters have proved this repeatedly by never electing a religious party such as the Jamaat-e-Islami to rule the country. Now is the time to stop appeasing terrorists and address the issue head on, instead of repeating disingenuous assurances of peace through negotiations. At the very least, refer to their combination of attacks and demands by the right name: pure extortion.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 25^th,  2013.

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