Though the Pakistan army may be claiming to have inflicted heavy casualties on the terrorists holed-up in North Waziristan, it is still a bit too early to celebrate. For while the Tehreek- i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) may presently be ‘down’, it certainly is by no means ‘out’! And it has already the reacted to the airstrikes with an ominous warning that, “We will soon shake your palaces in Islamabad and Lahore and burn them to ashes.” Having experienced its ruthlessness and ability to strike deep inside Pakistan, the TTP threats cannot be treated with disdain or taken lightly. Thus, the days ahead will certainly be very challenging for both the army as well as the people of Pakistan as many a soldier and citizen are likely to fall victim to the senseless orgy of violence perpetuated by the TTP and both would certainly need tremendous patience and extraordinary resolve to see them through such trying times.
The military offensive has already received an overwhelming ‘thumbs-up’ from the violence-weary people of Pakistan and so, with the government, army and the public onboard, there is no reason as to why the army will not be able to achieve what it has set-out to do. Of course, there are the usual dissenters who have reluctantly endorsed military action- the Jamait Ulema-e-Islam- Fazl (JUI-F) Chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman has gone on record by announcing in the National Assembly that the parliament was “helpless” as this decision had already been taken by the army. The Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf chief Imran Khan too has grudgingly accepted the decision for military action by saying, “Now, what other choice do we have except for standing with the army?” Luckily (and rightly), no one in Pakistan takes the likes of Maulana Fazlur Rehman and Imran Khan seriously!
If you come to think about it, there is actually really no reason for anyone to question the sagacity of the decision to call-off talks with the TTP and opt for military action instead. Nor is it important as to whether it was the government or the army in Pakistan which took this decision. What is of consequence is that, at last someone has realised that the idea of negotiating with the TTP is nothing more than the proverbial casting of pearls before swine! However, after seeing how the TTP unabashedly talked peace while continuing to kill with impunity, there is certainly every reason to question the wisdom of all those who believe that gun-toting savages can be persuaded to heed to the voice of reason!
That the talks with the TTP would ultimately fail was as certain as daybreak is after night. Moreover, when there were ample warnings of this eventuality from both past experience as well as the unreasonable demands presently made by the TTP, the decision to negotiate was in itself meaningless. Surely, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who himself is an astute leader would have known all along that nothing consequential would ever emerge from the talks. However, by giving peaceful means to resolve the problem a fair and the first chance, Sharif has exhibited a fine sense of statesmanship, as now when these means have failed, Pakistan has the full moral justification to use the military as its last option.
The Pakistan army may claim to be in total control of the situation by having besieged the areas where the TTP terrorists are believed to be holed up. However, since rumours regarding a military offensive were doing the rounds for over a month, the TTP leaders in all probability would have already slipped out of these areas to safer sanctuaries, leaving only some of their minions behind. They have done this before and so there are no reasons to believe that this time they would be so naïve as to get into a direct confrontation with the army and face annihilation. Thus, while the Pakistan army will certainly be able to rid North Waziristan of the TTP, it would only be a temporary measure. The TTP who Pakistan considers to be the ‘bad Taliban”, are unfortunately the ‘good Taliban’ a neighbouring country, where they can conveniently bide their time in safety and comfort till ‘Zarb-e-Azb’ continues in North Waziristan.
The TTP will undoubtedly escalate terror attacks in densely populated areas of Pakistan and this is more worrisome as their ‘reach’ is phenomenal. Therefore, though security in Pakistan has been strengthened, there is no way that terror attacks can be prevented. This is not to suggest that the security apparatus in Pakistan is incapable of preventing terror attacks, but simply because as the aim of the TTP would be solely to terrorise the public, they can attack anytime and anywhere, making it extremely difficult for the security agencies to identify their likely targets. The TTP would undoubtedly work very hard to wreck such mayhem in Pakistan, that in order to ‘restore’ peace, the government is forced to terminate military operations in North Waziristan!
To put further pressure on Islamabad, the TTP could also target multinational commercial enterprises as well as attack foreigners. In fact, its statement that, “We warn all foreign investors, airlines and multinational corporations that they should immediately suspend their ongoing matters with Pakistan and prepare to leave Pakistan, otherwise they will be responsible for their own loss,” is a clear indicator of this. Alarmed by the recent Karachi airport attack, Cathay Pacific airlines has already decided to suspend its Pakistan operations and should there be any further terror attacks which could make foreign companies feel unsafe, many more will follow suit. Therefore, even if the army is determined to ‘fight to the finish’ for wiping out the TTP and the public is willing to brave terror attacks, the government can ill-afford losing out on foreign investments and will have to reach a compromise.
So, despite all the bloodshed and miseries, we will ultimately come back exactly to where we had started from and this sorry state of affairs will continue until nations stop nurturing and harbouring what they consider to be the ‘good’ Taliban or ‘freedom fighters’. Afghanistan, Pakistan and India are all victims of terrorism and yet, even though they continue to bleed while battling the ‘bad’ Taliban or secessionists, they have no qualms in extending support to those who they consider to be the ‘good’ Taliban or ‘freedom fighters’. Thus, if we seriously want the scourge of terrorism in the sub continent to end, then all three countries will have to get over their ‘self defeating’ philosophy of the ‘good’ and ‘bad’ Taliban. The people of Pakistan are today paying a heavy price for its army’s ill-considered decision of creating the ‘good Taliban’ and this should serve as a lesson for others.
Tailpiece: Creating a Frankenstein first and then waging war against it makes no sense. Unfortunately, till this realisation dawns on the ones in the seat of power and those who matter, the army of every country will continue fighting its own ‘Zarb-e-Azb’ while its people will have to learn and live with the menace of terrorism and accept being blown up a crowded market place or place of worship as their fate!