The end of the beginning

In terms of defeating extremism in N Waziristan, we have reached end of the beginning, & victory is far from assured

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif should be careful what he says about the restoration of peace as a result of Operation Zarb-e-Azb. President George W Bush on May 2, 2003 famously declared victory in the Iraq war — but peace was and is as far from Iraq as it ever was. The restoration of peace in the areas previously held by extremists in North Waziristan may be no less of an illusion because although the military has done the hard fighting part of the job, the central issue that addresses the mindset that produces extremism in the first place remains on the table, largely untouched. Extremism is a state of mind that grows over years — generations — until it is embedded into the collective consciousness. Although it can be shown to be defeated in purely military terms, the reasons for extremism taking root require interventions and commitments that are not military in nature, and seek to reset the moral compass and imperatives in such a way as to countervail the extremist paradigm. Until that is done peace will remain notional.

‘Peace’ is now sufficiently robust to allow consideration of the repatriation of the internally displaced persons (IDPs), who may number as many as a million. This is a gargantuan task. Many will have lost everything other than what they were able to carry with them. There is a template for rehabilitation provided by the Swat valley that was evacuated and then repopulated in 2009. The IDPs will return in phases rather than all at once. Civilian agencies will have to step up to assist with the restoration of lives and livelihoods. Entire towns have been virtually razed to the ground and will require rebuilding. Livestock will need replacing and overarching everything, there will need to be the creation and sustenance of the narrative which becomes the firewall against extremism taking hold again. That is now the greatest challenge facing the federal government as Operation Zarb-e-Azb moves on. In terms of defeating extremism in North Waziristan, we have reached the end of the beginning, and victory is far from assured.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 11^th, 2014.

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