Or not quite yet?
That a hundred or so ulema have sanctified operation Zarb-e-Azb as official jihad is welcome, even though such steps should have preceded the move by a fair amount of time. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was away at the time, but surely the military remembers how the fatwa business was at the forefront of the expansion of the war on terror inside Pakistan. The Laal masjid led the controversy almost a decade ago, when it declared haram Muslim burials for Pakistani soldiers fighting the Taliban. There was even considerable unrest within the forces; parents in the periphery, easy prey to local mullahs, refused to bury their fallen sons, soldiers on occasion refused to engage with ‘Muslim’ militants, etc. And it was some time, and many casualties, before the army could adjust in time to bolster its rank and file, and take the fight to the badlands.
Since Zarb-e-Arb has been employed as the final solution, it is important for all arms of the state to move in coordination so the noose can be tightened around the TTP. And that is why the move on the part of the ulema is welcome. Long years of religious indoctrination, built specifically around a false jihad marketing narrative, is at the centre of this war over a controversial reading of shari’a. And the more the religious lobby also comes out in unison with the government, the more negative influences of lal masjid and the like can be countered and exposed.
But such measures require immaculate coordination when it comes to execution. And some areas have become cause for concern. No doubt efforts to mobilise the clergy should have come sooner. So should the PM’s move to finally ban Afghan SIMs, widely used by the Taliban in the tribal area. For a decade, they have been used for militant communication, extortion, threats, etc, yet the move to block them has only come now, which is strange. Unless the right moves are made at the right time, there is the risk of losing the initiative, which can prove counter-productive. The government must realise this as the war progresses.
