Government appears to have little choice but to evolve consensus
In the same week, terrorist groups had attacked Quetta and Mardan, but the political consensus appeared to still favour talks. The Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) chairman, whose party lost its second MPA in the Mardan attack, continued to insist that the way forward was perhaps the way backwards. And so the Taliban proved: first, it rejected the offer of talks out of hand, then, on Wednesday, it ambushed an army convoy on Kohat Road near Peshawar, and killed at least six security personnel. Later, a search operation was initiated in which at least four militants were reportedly killed. Five soldiers will killed in the same area on May 16. The question now is: does the government have any option but to take out a full assault against the militants?
In the prime minister’s office in Islamabad, the first steps forward were being chalked out. With the Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in the chair, and the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, Interior Minister Nisar Khan, Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif and Advisor to Prime Minister Sartaj Aziz in attendance, stock was taken of the security situation across the country. Two main agreements were reached: one, on how to improve coordination between intelligence agencies; two, that drones were not acceptable. But it was a stark picture that no representatives from Balochistan and Khyber Pakthunkhwa were present as they were debated. On the other side, the PTI chairman in his maiden speech to the National Assembly proposed the government to begin to “oppose drone strikes” and “formulate a truth and reconciliation commission in KP”.
While his point that “the impression should not go out that Pakistan was fighting the US’s war” should not go out, the question is whether Pakistan can continue to pretend it is not its war yet. As Khan’s party members came under attack by terrorists, Khan appeared to show recognition, stating, “We have to make this war our war, and it cannot become our own war unless we stop drone attacks.” To this effect, Khan suggested a “diplomatic” rather than “shoot down” strategy. The Interior Minister Nisar Ali Khan responded by saying the PM was looking to convene a meeting on two agendas: sovereignty and terrorism. He also insisted that “Pakistan was dragged into the war on terror by a dictator”. After a meeting with the head of security agencies, Nisar announced the withdrawal of civil-armed forces from VIP security, apart from the president, prime minister and chief justice. A National Security Policy should be up and coming. This is a positive step. While political consensus and better intelligence sharing is required, without a comprehensive policy nothing will change. Firm action is required against terrorists even if the drone attacks do not stop. It is important that the PML-N insisted that the state support of any militant group is counter-productive in the long run.
