The PM speaks his mind
Two significant stands were taken by Nawaz Sharif in his interview with the Wall Street Journal. He spelt out clearly for the first time that he would proceed with plans to build the Pak-Iran gas pipeline. So far whatever assurance had ever emerged were from Khaqan Abbasi, the minister for petroleum and natural resources. Nawaz Sharif’s reticence had given birth to questions. His critics hinted at the PM’s relations with the Anti- Iran Saudi royal family and expressed doubts about the government’s seriousness about the project. Nawaz has also had a meeting with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani where both sides stressed the need to complete the project at the earliest. Hopefully whatever differences over details might exist would not be allowed to block the project. Yielding to Washington’s pressure at a time when Barack Obama is himself assessing the possibility of moving towards better ties with Iran would be unwarranted.
The APC resolution passed earlier this month put forth ‘Give peace a chance’ as the guiding principle in dealing with the Pakistani Taliban. It also required the initiation of dialogue to negotiate peace ‘with our own people in the Tribal Areas’. The resolution stopped short of spelling out any conditions for talks with the militants. It was maintained that any mention of conditions could act as a roadblock. The resolution was silent on options to be resorted to in case the talks failed. It was maintained that it was unsuitable to spell out the alternatives for this could create misgivings about the government’s motives. The supporters of talks who were bubbling with enthusiasm were not willing to entertain any possibility of the talks’ failure.
Despite an unrealistic optimism still prevailing, the killings in Dir and the gruesome attack on a Peshawar church are making some to give thought to what is to be done if the parleys failed.
In the WSJ interview, Nawaz Sharif for the first time mentioned two conditions that Pakistani Taliban would have to accept for a peace deal: demanding that they lay down arms and recognise Pakistan’s constitution. In his talks with Secretary of State John Kerry, the prime minister is reported to have warned of vigorous police and military action if the talks failed. This has led Washington to hope that the action would not be limited exclusively to the TTP but even encompass the Haqqani network in North Waziristan.
A number of participants in the APC who had a bitter experience of talks with the militants were not convinced of the utility of holding parleys with them. They however kept their reservations to themselves, hoping that experience would soon convince the advocates of talks of the futility of the exercise. This is now happening. Whether the militant organisations will still agree to hold parleys after the pronouncements by the PM, and the murmurings in PTI leadership, remains to be seen?