This Is The Time For Rulers Of Pakistan To Show Sincerity
Muhammad Khurshid
April 30, 2008
There will no denying the fact that Pakistan has still been facing the danger. Though election has been held and a new government came into being, but the situation in tribal areas and other parts of the country is still critical. The new government failed in finding solution to some chronic problems. The most dangerous problem of Pakistan is still terrorism. The rulers must show sincerity in tackling this problem in a proper way.
According to a newspaper comment, Baithullah Mehsud´s Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan announced on Monday that it was pulling out of peace negotiations because the government was refusing to withdraw army troops from the tribal belt. But it is still early and one statement does not necessarily mean that the peace deal is dead and buried. Even the spokesman for the Pakistani Taliban did not shut the door on future talks and as one government official suggested in not so many words, Baitullah Mehsud may simply be upping the ante to extract concessions not envisaged in the original peace plan. Take troop withdrawal, the major bone of contention between the two sides. Under the peace accord that came to light last week, the promise to withdraw army troops was specific to Mehsud territory in South Waziristan, a region where the military´s presence is limited in any case. These troops, which Mehsud´s spokesman subsequently claimed had begun leaving the area, were to be replaced by the paramilitary Frontier Corps. It now emerges that the Taliban are demanding that the army also leave Darra Adamkhel in Frontier Region (FR) Kohat, district Swat and apparently all of Waziristan. This is a wholly unreasonable and unrealistic demand and the government needs to draw the line firmly. What will the Taliban demand next? That the army ought to leave Abbottabad, Kohat, Nowshera and Peshawar? Where will it end?
Eventual demilitarisation of the tribal belt is indeed desirable. No civilian likes to live under the shadow of the gun and in any case the army´s job is to protect the country, not pockets within its borders. But before that can happen, a semblance of normality must return to Waziristan, Darra Adamkhel, Swat and other areas in the grip of militancy. That is clearly not the case at present and a complete withdrawal at this stage would be an invitation to disaster. Also, the army´s departure can come only when the local political administration, supported by vastly upgraded police and paramilitary forces, is strong enough to establish the writ of the state and ensure rule of law. Otherwise the militants, who already dictate terms in their strongholds and from those bases export their ideology to the rest of Pakistan, will take complete control of large swathes of Fata and the NWFP. Then we will be back to square one and another, even bigger, military operation will be required. Instead of running round in circles, forward movement is the order of the day. That will require a certain give and take but so far the Taliban have shown little sign of living up to their side of the bargain.
The End
According to a newspaper comment, Baithullah Mehsud´s Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan announced on Monday that it was pulling out of peace negotiations because the government was refusing to withdraw army troops from the tribal belt. But it is still early and one statement does not necessarily mean that the peace deal is dead and buried. Even the spokesman for the Pakistani Taliban did not shut the door on future talks and as one government official suggested in not so many words, Baitullah Mehsud may simply be upping the ante to extract concessions not envisaged in the original peace plan. Take troop withdrawal, the major bone of contention between the two sides. Under the peace accord that came to light last week, the promise to withdraw army troops was specific to Mehsud territory in South Waziristan, a region where the military´s presence is limited in any case. These troops, which Mehsud´s spokesman subsequently claimed had begun leaving the area, were to be replaced by the paramilitary Frontier Corps. It now emerges that the Taliban are demanding that the army also leave Darra Adamkhel in Frontier Region (FR) Kohat, district Swat and apparently all of Waziristan. This is a wholly unreasonable and unrealistic demand and the government needs to draw the line firmly. What will the Taliban demand next? That the army ought to leave Abbottabad, Kohat, Nowshera and Peshawar? Where will it end?
Eventual demilitarisation of the tribal belt is indeed desirable. No civilian likes to live under the shadow of the gun and in any case the army´s job is to protect the country, not pockets within its borders. But before that can happen, a semblance of normality must return to Waziristan, Darra Adamkhel, Swat and other areas in the grip of militancy. That is clearly not the case at present and a complete withdrawal at this stage would be an invitation to disaster. Also, the army´s departure can come only when the local political administration, supported by vastly upgraded police and paramilitary forces, is strong enough to establish the writ of the state and ensure rule of law. Otherwise the militants, who already dictate terms in their strongholds and from those bases export their ideology to the rest of Pakistan, will take complete control of large swathes of Fata and the NWFP. Then we will be back to square one and another, even bigger, military operation will be required. Instead of running round in circles, forward movement is the order of the day. That will require a certain give and take but so far the Taliban have shown little sign of living up to their side of the bargain.
The End
Print
Email
