The state ceding ground
A casual stroll through the sessions court in Swat is a learning experience, albeit a disturbing one. Though litigants all over the country have an axe to grind against the judicial system, the bleak reality of the inefficiencies of our system is nowhere more evident than in the Malakand division. One can even, upon inquiry, come to see some unresolved cases that had been registered way back in the 70s, when the princely states were converted into provincially administered tribal areas.
These and many other deficits in the service delivery mechanism of the state were used by the miscreants in the whole Swat fiasco, according to a recent report by the World Bank. This was, of course, not the only factor that led to the situation. The myopic priorities of the countrys security establishment deserve most of the blame; when the provincial government had requested a military operation, the militants controlled only the Matta sub-district. By the time, the provincial government was arm-twisted into a peace deal, the military had already ceded the whole of Swat district to the militants. The anti-political liberati chose, surprisingly, to blame the political government for the capitulation.
The shortcomings of the state, however, are an undisputed second. The gaps between public requirements and the capacity of the state can be effectively exploited, not just in the case of gaping holes in the justice system like Swat, but also in the imperfect response of natural disaster in the rest of the country. South Punjab, in particular, had a flurry of activity by the many avatars of the banned Lashkar-e-Taiba in the relief efforts following the devastating floods of last year.
By themselves, poverty and the dreary living conditions of the great unwashed are hardly an impetus for terror. But they make for an exceptional set of catalysts. Though the political governments can cry foul on not being empowered enough in matters military, better public policy and service delivery could go a long way in curbing the scope of radicalisation.
