Light at the end of the tunnel
It was an eventful year, to say the least. At the beginning talks with the Taliban were all the rage. After Hakeemullah’s droning in late ’13, the TTP was still wriggling, and the military wanted to go in for the kill. But Nawaz, after reportedly agreeing to the operation, caved in to the Ch Nisar doctrine instead, and decided to “give the talks one last chance”. The negotiations were controversial since the beginning, not the least because of the blatant pro-Taliban makeup of the government’s team. Then came the ‘talks about the talks’, when prime time media paraded far-right extremists and Taliban apologists, further confusing the periphery about orthodox and militant Islam. It took the mid-year Karachi airport attack for the military to put its foot down and initiate Zarb-e-Azb. And sadly, the steely resolve to really target terrorists “of all hues and colours” came only after the unbelievable attack in Peshawar.
Yet the TTP was not the only point of Nawaz’s divergence with the military. The Musharraf trial was a clear indication that the N-league, having been sent packing by the military before, had decided to show the brass who’s boss this time. And how that unraveled after the Islamabad dharnas pushed the government into a corner is another abiding lesson of 2014. When push came to shove, the prime minister had to run to the army chief for “facilitation”, and only once the third umpire threat went away was the threat to the government truly removed. Very quickly, as expected, the noose loosened around Gen Musharraf’s neck, and the military has been firmly in charge of foreign and security policy since then; leading comfortably from behind, in 21st century parlance.
Significantly, until Peshawar changed the political landscape, the government steadily lost credibility as PTI’s jalsas and Plan-C mounted pressure. But now, as the nation demands eliminating terrorism completely, he faces another crucial test of his leadership. If 2014 is any guide, he has a habit of letting things go too far before he takes decisive action. But the TTP problem, more so after Peshawar, allows no such time. He cannot continue being a prime minister who makes bold statements, even angers important players, but ends up pleading for favours when things get rough. Hopefully the government is up to this type of adaptation in the new year.
