While we remain on the backfoot
The Taliban are on the offensive in Pakistan as two incidents on Monday amply bring out. At least seven Pakistani soldiers were beheaded in upper Dir by militants reportedly entering from Afghanistan. Presumably these were the loyalists of Maulvi Fazlullah who had surprisingly managed to escape the military dragnet in Swat. Pakistan has lodged a protest with Nato and Afghan forces accusing them of failing to act against militant safe havens in Afghanistan. This is exactly what the US military officials do when the Haqqani network attacks allied troops inside Afghanistan. With Pakistan’s relations with the US and Afghan bordering on hostility, Islamabad has received a reply similar to the one it sends them in identical circumstances: the militants are based in Pakistan, not Afghanistan.
Meanwhile, the Malakand faction of the TTP has claimed responsibility for the killings. The spokesman of the organisation has delivered a chilling message: “Our fight will continue until the establishment of Sharia law in Pakistan … We will fight whoever tries to stand in our way.” On Monday, the TTP attacked the office of a private TV channel in Karachi and threatened to target others if they failed to project the Taliban point of view. This is happening at a time when the US-led allies have 130,000 combat troops in Afghanistan. Once these leave Afghanistan in about a year, the entire militant force is likely to concentrate on Pakistan.
Pakistan’s policy makers are committing one blunder after another. Instead of continuing to nurse the grouse, they should have found a realistic way out of the Salala dispute within a couple of months. Meanwhile, they should have gone to Bonn to present their views. They should have also continued to attend the tripartite talks instead of painting themselves into the corner. The punishment awarded to Dr Shakil Afridi was yet another mistake. As a result of their miscalculations, Pakistan is now entirely out of the talks about the future of Afghanistan. It is in an unhappy situation where it is not trusted by the US while it is also the target of TTP’s vicious attacks.
The political government can do little to bring Pakistan out of the soup as all decisions in this regard are made elsewhere. The presence of Gen Allen provides an opportunity, maybe the last one, to take urgent measures to improve ties with the US. Islamabad may not surrender to all the whims of the superpower. It must, however, join hands with the US and its allies to wipe out the militants irrespective of their missions or names. Pakistan’s very existence as a nation state depends on the elimination of extremism and militancy.