Creating a split among masses
Dr Raja Muhammad Khan
Tehreek-e-Taliban (TTP) has elected Maulana Fazlullah, commonly
known as Mullah Radio, as its new chief. As per ‘the Washington Post’ Fazlullah
is still hiding in Eastern Afghanistan, Nuristan province. He is fully
supported by Afghan intelligence agency National Directorate of Security (NDS)
and Government at Kabul. Besides, he has strong linkages with Indian spying
network, RAW.
After military operations in Swat-2009, he fled to Afghanistan and
since then have been directing attacks on innocent people of Pakistan and its
security forces. He directed the attack against Malala Yousufzai and also
planned and executed the attack, resulted into the killing of Major General
Sanaullah Niazi. Upon his election as the head of TTP, the militant
organization has rejected any possibility of peace talks with the Government of
Pakistan, which previous setup was trying to start with. TTP has also announced
to undertake massive attacks in various parts of Pakistan, especially Punjab
and capital Islamabad.
This is an established fact that, Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP)
is a terrorist organization and its former head, Hakimullah Mehsud, killed on
November 1, 2013, in a CIA drone attack was a murderer and an enemy of Pakistani
nation. All activities of TTP and Hakimullah Mehsud were contradictory to the
basic Islamic teaching and so are the activities of new TTP commander. For
quite some time, this organization attracted the attention of many people in
Pakistan, particularly the masses of remote areas, who were misled about the
real motives of this organization.
However, owing to its brutalities, where it killed over 50000
innocent Pakistanis, over the years, the people of Pakistan developed a hate
against TTP. The Government however, decided to negotiate with them for
bringing an end to the current state of infighting and instability from
Pakistan.
To the surprise of millions of Pakistani nationals, many
religio-political parties of Pakistan declared Hakimullah Mehsud as a martyr.
Not only religious parties, but also, some political parties’ leaders have
similar sentiments. This new development has created confusion among the masses
that, if people like Hakimullah Mehsud were martyr, then what about those
innocent Pakistani who were killed by him and his organization. These people,
declaring terrorists as martyr are indeed dividing the nation with strange type
of narratives. This is totally undesired and ridiculous on the part of
political and religious leadership of Pakistan. The Government, rather becoming
a party to it, should have condemned this act of religio-political party heads.
A day following the killing of Hakimullah Mehsud, the Federal
Interior Minister, Ch Nisar Ali Khan questioned the US role in bringing peace and
stability in Pakistan through a dialogue with this militant outfit. Addressing
a press conference in Islamabad, the Interior Minister said; “The government of
Pakistan does not see this drone attack as an attack on an individual but as an
attack on the peace process. About the timings of the attack, just a day prior
to the formal initiations of this process by the Government, he questioned,
whether this is the way, US promised to support the peace process, “Can this be
called supporting peace initiative?” Pakistan Government has decided to send a
peace committee of three religious scholars to talk to the leadership of TTP,
just a day earlier to US drone attack that killed Hakimullah Mehsud along with
his four associates. This is true that, Hakimullah Mehsud was the most wanted
person of CIA, however, killing him at this point and time, has raised many
questions about the US motives, which perhaps propelled Pakistani religious and
some political circles to sympathise with him and giving him the status of a martyr.
For quite some time, the people of Pakistan had great reservations
about the role of external powers in the promotion of militancy and terrorism
in the country. The indicator like killing of Hakimullah Mehsud has reinforced
these opinions.
In May 2013, the deputy of the Hakimullah Mehsud, Waliur Rehman was
also killed in a drone strike, after he was said to have made up his mind to
talk to Government for the initiation of a formal peace process. Earlier, the
Baitullah Mehsud was killed by CIA drone attack in August 2009. He was also
reconciling with the Government, once killed. CIA drones killed many other
militant leaders, once they were trying to patch up with the Government of
Pakistan. Indeed, as a regular practice, US drones kill only those militants of
TTP, who try to disassociate with the terrorism or attempt for a peace deal
with the Government.
This has been a continuous phenomenon, ever since the start of
terrorism in Pakistan. Indeed, Pakistani rulers have been meeting the same
fate, ever since Pak-US relationship was established in 1950s.
Calling the US Ambassador in the Foreign Office to protest against
the drone attack and the lofty press conferences are indeed the customary and
symbolic acts; undertaken for the satisfaction of the people of Pakistan, as it
has been a routine in the past. The real question is; how to proceed ahead with
the peace process with the TTP, once its new chief has refused to talk to
Government. As expected, the reaction of TTP is totally negative and intransigent.
As NATO and US troops are not in their reach, therefore, the militant outfit
may resort to enhancing its terrorist acts against the security forces and
Government installations as happened in the past.
For the Government of Pakistan, restoration of peace and stability
is the most significant step. It, indeed, is the basis of all other
developments and improvements, the Government needs to undertake in the days to
come. As observed in the last few years, combating the militancy through the
military operations has restored peace at a particular area for a particular
time, thereafter; the civil administration could not sustain the success, thus,
let the comeback of the militants as a compulsion. In a way, military operation
and cleansing of the terrorist hit areas through the use of forces is not the
permanent solution of the issue. In order to bring a permanent solution of the
issue, it was correctly decided by the national leadership through consensus
that, the issue needs a permanent solution through negations and peace talks.
As decided by Government, despite, a refusal of peace initiative by
new TTP chief, the Government should persuade this militant outfit for the
start of negotiations. The Government has to make use of all the resources to
convince the new leadership of TTP for the initiation of talks. As far as the
announcement of the Ch Nisar Ali Khan that, after the killing of Hakimullh
Mehsud, Pakistan will review its relationship with United States, there is a
need to take mature and long-term decisions based on national interests of
Pakistan.
Why should the Government give undue concessions to United States
over the issues of its national interests and sovereignty? Remaining indecisive
on these issues and lending too much concession to the US would further
destabilize Pakistan. Pakistan has to take firm decisions, whether to continue
with the present state of affairs, where this super power has been exploiting
and humiliating the Pakistani nation, or get rid of these undyingly.
There is a need for a realistic assessment of the US drone attacks.
Whereas, there have been approximately 370 drone attacks in Pakistani
territory, killing over 3000 people, the question arise, how many drone attacks
CIA has launched in Afghanistan, particularly in areas, where Pakistani
militants have taken a refuge. Why US drones could not hit Mullah Fazlullah,
the killers of thousands of innocent Pakistani and hiding in US occupied areas
in Afghanistan. Rather, as per some Afghan and US analysts, this brutal TTP
commander remained admitted in a military hospital in Kabul for the treatment
of his injuries, following the Swat-Malakand military operation.
Pakistan is a very vital country in the region. United States and
NATO really requires Pakistan’s help for two obvious reasons; Firstly; for
bringing stability in Afghanistan for their smooth drawdown, and second, for
smooth back loading of their military equipment through Pakistani soil and its
seaport. Since Pakistan is providing all out assistance to US on these
accounts, US has not been sincere and always acted as a game spoiler. Whenever,
there is an atmosphere of peace in Pakistan, US along with its regional
partners would dislodge it by any mean.
Currently Pakistan is confronting with two challenges; one
domestically and another externally. Domestically, the religious leaders and
some political actors are creating a split among the masses by declaring people
like Haimullah Mehsud as martyr and terrorist organization, TTP as an Islamic
outfit. Externally, the forces in Afghanistan; mainly the Afghan spying
network, NDS and its allies; RAW and CIA are abetting, harbouring and financing
the TTP terrorists to create instability in Pakistan by enhancing their
terrorist acts.
The scenario needs a very careful assessment and a deliberation in
finding a way forward. The Government needs to take an honest and strict stock
of the situation. It has to act in the favour of Pakistan, rather yielding too
much concession to the domestic and external game spoilers, under various
political and global compulsions. Let us there be no Pakistani who accept the
terrorists and their activities on Pakistani soil. Similarly, those external
forces conspiring against the state and society of Pakistan should be dealt
with iron hands. Besides, the Government really need to find a linkage between
these domestic and external forces for formulating a comprehensive security
plan in future.
The writer is an Islamabad based analyst of IR.
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