Meeting the challenge of militancy
Whatever Ch Nisar may say, there is now little hope of the resumption of peace dialogue with the TTP. With Pakistan insisting on an agreement within the parameters of the constitution and the Taliban demanding implementation of Sharia as they interpret it, there never was any hope of finding a middle ground. What the PML-N-PTI combine accompanied by parties of religious extremists did during the last five months was to run after an optical illusion. The chant of “reviewing our relations with the US” and “coming out of a US imposed war” was hypocritical at a time when a high level delegation led by two federal ministers was preparing to leave for Washington to seek the US assistance for the country’s energy needs. Similar compulsions forced the docile PTI provincial leadership to tell Imran Khan to scale down the threat to block NATO supplies to a protest inside Peshawar.
Throwing up his hands in despair the interior minister told the NA that there was no remedy against the drone attacks and a new plan for talks with the Taliban had been shelved for now. Without even endorsing a previous mandate for talks given by the APC, thus ended a heated six-day debate in the lower house. No government worth its salt is supposed to be short of alternatives. When Ch Nisar says the government will have to “review the situation for the next three to four weeks” before deciding what to do next, he implies he has no line of action for the present. Meanwhile the prime minister has done well to affirm his government’s support to the army in the war against militancy by laying a floral wreath at the memorial of the martyrs. This was an indirect way of denouncing the stand taken by the JI chief. In his address to the principal staff officers, Sharif again appreciated the sacrifices rendered by the “martyrs who laid down their lives fighting terrorists”.
There can be no two opinions about the drone strikes being a violation of the national sovereignty. The opposition to the US policy however must not lead the government to become a hostage to the Pakistani Taliban. The government must now own the fight against the militants. While preparing to uproot extremism and militancy it has to give priority to putting the economy on rails by pursuing a pro-people economic policy. Sovereignty cannot be guaranteed until the country is economically strong and the masses are contented.
