This Word Taliban Must Be Abandoned
Muhammad Khurshid
July 19, 2009
The time has arrived that now this word Taliban must be abandoned as this is necessary for bringing an end to war on terrorism. The word Talib is a Pashto language word used for student. Taliban is the plural of Talib. There is no example in this world that the government has been given to students. So why the United States and other countries have been trying to present Taliban (students) as leaders of Pakhtun nation.
According to an edetorial comment of a newspaper, even though President Barack Obama has decided on a ´surge´, the US doesn´t seem averse to the idea of talking to the Taliban, albeit the Afghan ones. Bush administration officials had also indicated from time to time that they were willing to talk to the Taliban, making it clear they thought Al Qaeda was the principal foe. Wednesday´s statement by Hillary Clinton is pregnant with possibilities, though the Democratic administration needs to be a little more open about its plans. Nearly eight years after America invaded Afghanistan and toppled the Taliban regime, the insurgency has shown no signs of declining. The militants have surprised the world with their resilience and tenacity, for their major strategic assets — continued recruitment and uninterrupted arms supplies — remain intact. For all their firepower, American and Nato-led Isaf forces have failed to win logistically.
Talking to the enemy has been a good idea universally. So if the Obama administration wants to probe such a possibility and bring Afghanistan´s misery to an end by peaceful means then perhaps the idea should be debated. There are, however, many imponderables. Pakistan, for instance, has learnt the hard way that it is not easy to talk to the militants, that they cannot be trusted, and that they can use a period of truce to consolidate their power and turn their mountainous fortresses into ´safe havens´ — as demonstrated by the Musharraf regime´s disastrous deal in 2006 with the Taliban in North Waziristan. The same mistake was repeated, though with slight variations, in Swat. Ultimately, it is the army´s firepower, with full support from the people, which seems to be paying off though much remains to be done.
The US secretary of state said America would talk to the Taliban who lay down their arms and renounce violence. This appears to be a conditional approach to talks. Nevertheless, the ´good´ Taliban should be able to pick up the signal, although President Hamid Karzai is the last person who should differentiate between ´good´ and ´bad´ Taliban. The other day he released five convicted drug barons, knowing full well that drug money is a major source of Taliban funding.
The End
According to an edetorial comment of a newspaper, even though President Barack Obama has decided on a ´surge´, the US doesn´t seem averse to the idea of talking to the Taliban, albeit the Afghan ones. Bush administration officials had also indicated from time to time that they were willing to talk to the Taliban, making it clear they thought Al Qaeda was the principal foe. Wednesday´s statement by Hillary Clinton is pregnant with possibilities, though the Democratic administration needs to be a little more open about its plans. Nearly eight years after America invaded Afghanistan and toppled the Taliban regime, the insurgency has shown no signs of declining. The militants have surprised the world with their resilience and tenacity, for their major strategic assets — continued recruitment and uninterrupted arms supplies — remain intact. For all their firepower, American and Nato-led Isaf forces have failed to win logistically.
Talking to the enemy has been a good idea universally. So if the Obama administration wants to probe such a possibility and bring Afghanistan´s misery to an end by peaceful means then perhaps the idea should be debated. There are, however, many imponderables. Pakistan, for instance, has learnt the hard way that it is not easy to talk to the militants, that they cannot be trusted, and that they can use a period of truce to consolidate their power and turn their mountainous fortresses into ´safe havens´ — as demonstrated by the Musharraf regime´s disastrous deal in 2006 with the Taliban in North Waziristan. The same mistake was repeated, though with slight variations, in Swat. Ultimately, it is the army´s firepower, with full support from the people, which seems to be paying off though much remains to be done.
The US secretary of state said America would talk to the Taliban who lay down their arms and renounce violence. This appears to be a conditional approach to talks. Nevertheless, the ´good´ Taliban should be able to pick up the signal, although President Hamid Karzai is the last person who should differentiate between ´good´ and ´bad´ Taliban. The other day he released five convicted drug barons, knowing full well that drug money is a major source of Taliban funding.
The End
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