- A sequel to ‘their time is up’?
When military action was ordered in East Pakistan, the people were told that a handful of mischief mongers were trying to mislead the pro-Pakistan masses and the army would sort them out in a short time. Most people in West Pakistan accepted the official truth. A handful of naysayers like Habib Jalib who challenged the narrative were declared traitors and bundled off to jails.
In 2006 ARD and MMA, wiser by the hindsight, opposed military action against Sardar Akbar Bugti. The HRCP meanwhile sent a fact-finding mission led by Asma Jahangir to Dera Bugti. Later the mission demanded that the ongoing operation should be stopped immediately and process of dialogue started. The advice was not heeded leading to the killing of Akbar Bugti which radicalised the Baloch youth and led to the confrontation in the province that over the last 13 years has taken toll of hundreds of civilians and scores of law enforcement personnel, with no peace in sight.
This explains why almost all opposition parties including PML-N, PPP, ANP, JUI-F and QWP have taken exception to the ISPR version of the incident and strongly opposed the use of force in North Waziristan which has led to three civilians being killed and five soldiers injured.
There are genuine fears that if allowed to continue, the confrontation may lead to former tribal areas turning into yet another Balochistan, or even worse, and the conflagration leading to many more casualties of civilians and army personnel.
The bitter experience of the past military operations has weighed heavily with the more seasoned political parties. It has been questioned how two MNAs who have chosen to resolve issues through parliament could lead an armed attack against a military check post. Maryam Nawaz, Bilawal Bhutto, Maulana Fazl-ur-Rehman, Asfandyar Wali and Aftab Sherpao have held that peaceful protest is the right of all citizens.
The versions of events given by the ISPR and the PTM are contradictory. This requires putting the facts before Parliament as Shehbaz Sharif and HRCP have demanded with the latter calling for the release of all those arrested and the setting up of a parliamentary commission to establish the truth. The demand is quite sensible.