Politicians want a peaceful election, not lasting solution to conflict
‘Peace with the Taliban’ has become the catchphrase as major political parties appear to have tired off the now decade-long ‘war on terror.’ Observers however continue to question if fear, not dialogue, is behind the recent overtures to the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) as political parties fear the TTP’s ability to sabotage the upcoming general elections.
After the recently hosted All-Parties Conference (APC) hosted by the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F), the Khyber Pakthunkhwa (KP) governor was tasked with spearheading the negotiations. The TTP has also gone on record and announced the terms of negotiation. However there are significant fears that the TTP may be using this as an opportunity to buy some time and goodwill without really changing face. The failed negotiations of December 2011, the breach of the Nizam-e-Adl agreement in Swat all serve as red markers on the route to peace.
Moreover, more recent concerns have been raised as law enforcement officials are failing to show up as witnesses in key terrorism cases, including the Benazir Bhutto murder case, citing life threats from TTP and Taliban commanders from Afghanistan. Last month, shopkeepers in a number of areas of KP continued to report threatening letters from the TTP to mobile and CD markets for “selling objectionable CDs and materials.”
On the other hand, the Hakimullah Mehsud-led TTP shura has asked for a ‘positive signal’ from the military, operations against suspected militants have continued in the Orakzai and Khyber regions with over 15 suspected militants reported dead. On the ground, the battlefronts between the TTP and the military remain open and wounds continue to be inflicted on each other.
Citizens continue to be the ones that are suffering the most from the uncertainty of the upcoming elections. Is there a real TTP threat to the election? Does the purported peace takes aim at a temporary withdrawal of hostilities or do they offer a more permanent solution to this internal battle?
Bullets may not be the answer but negotiating with a gun on the head is not the best position to begin a dialogue for sustainable peace. And the fact that all this talk about talks has reached fever pitch two weeks before assemblies are set to be dissolved opens the question of who will be continue the talks if – as expected – no conclusion is reached before the current parliament says adieu? Will the TTP continue to play a ‘cat-and-mouse’ game with the Pakistani state – or is there something sincere in the press briefing from their end?
While we wait and watch, the political consensus for now appears blind to the continuing TTP threat and more concerned with securing a mirage of peace that lasts till the next government takes oath.
