Facing a far deadlier threat

A battle that Pakistan’s military cannot avoid any longer

Maulana Fazlullah, nee Mullah Radio, the freshly-minted Tehreek-e- Taliban Pakistan (TTP) chief is a ruthless operator. Although essentially old wine in a new bottle, compared to him even his brutal and merciless predecessor the late Hakimullah Mashud could be called a bleeding-heart liberal.

Needless to say the Pakistani state is in big trouble ahead. Fazlullah through his spokesman has made it amply clear that not only is he is out to undo the Pakistani state but is also unamenable to any kind of peace talks. In fact his very selection means that the TTP under him is inclined to unleash a fresh wave of wanton terrorism.

Mullah Radio took on the Pakistani military thrice but in the final analysis he was able to escape and find sanctuary in Afghanistan. Unlike his predecessor he is well versed in the sharia that he wants to impose in Pakistan through fiat on the model that he imposed in Swat, ironically called, Nizam-e-Adal (system of justice).

His connections with Al Qaeda and Islamist terrorist movements in some of the Central Asian republics are also well known. In short he is much more dangerous and a wily enemy than Hakimullah was for Pakistan.

From his base in Afghan border provinces of Kunar and Nuristan, Fazlullah wa s responsible for numerous terrorist attacks against the Pakistani state including the assassination attempt on Malala Yousafzai and the more recent killing of GOC Swat, Major Gen Sanullah Niazi.

Mullah radio has operated with impunity under full protection of the Afghan government. And he has made no bones about his intentions to kill the present Pakistani military and civilian leadership.

Pakistan’s numerous appeals in the past to the Afghan President Hamid Karzai to hand him over fell on deaf ears. It is highly unlikely that Mullah Radio after a failed peace deal with the government in Swat and having been targeted twice by the military will be willing to talk peace.

The Taliban apologists like the interior minister Ch. Nisar Ali Khan and the PTI chief Imran Khan insist that the drone attack that killed Hakimullah killed the ‘nascent’ peace process as well. This claim has lost all credibility after the choice of Fazlullah as Hakimullah’s successor.

The most dangerous aspect of the new TTP dispensation is its threat to unleash a fresh wave of terror in Punjab. This is bad news for the Sharifs who ostensibly under an unwritten agreement literally based upon a ‘balance of terror’ in the past few years have managed to keep the province virtually terror free.

That the PML-N now rules the roost at the federal level as well, has somewhat complicated matters. On the basis of Nawaz Sharif’s recent sojourn to Washington the TTP claims that the PML-N government is an American stooge.

There is even a hint that the offer of talks with the Taliban leadership was just a ruse to encourage Hakimullah to let off his guard and subsequently eliminate him in a drone attack assisted by the Pakistani intelligence. This leaves the Pakistani state extremely vulnerable and insecure.

The policy of condemning the US for killing Hakimullah – if it was anything more than posturing in the first place – has badly backfired. It should become increasingly plain to proponents of talks with the TTP come what may, that it can only take place at the expense of the Pakistani state.

Ch Nisar, Imran Khan and other Taliban apologists of their ilk amongst the political elite and the commentariat have a lot of introspection to do. Just to keep on crying hoarse defending the Taliban and spreading hatred against the US merely to assuage their jingoistic and obscurantist constituencies is tantamount to playing with fire.

The choices for the government as well as the military are narrowing down. Deliberately obfuscating or underplaying the existential threat and further nurturing of the ‘jihadi assets’ no longer seems to be a viable option.

According to some analysts Maulana Fazlullah has been chosen with the blessings of Mullah Omar, the amir of the Afghan Taliban. If true this would strengthen the oft-repeated argument given by saner elements in Pakistan that the Afghan Taliban and Pakistani Taliban are one.

There is no such thing as a good or a bad Taliban. All are bad for Pakistan. The Pakistani state has been nurturing the Afghan Taliban as their strategic asset. It is amply now clear that the TTP and its new amir have blessings of the Afghan government as well as the Afghan Taliban.

This leaves very little room for the Pakistani military not to go after the Taliban of different nationalities holed up in our badlands.

Drone attacks despite the hue and cry are not going to stop. If the US spots a high value target in Waziristan it would go after it. Yes, it is violation of our sovereignty. But then so are 50,000 civilians having died at the hands of the terrorists.

Apart from the threat within, Pakistan is also badly isolated in the region. There is need for a thaw with India if the more serious threat of the Taliban from within and on our western borders has to be combated. Perhaps Sharif could pull this off, provided he does not fear the military resenting it.

Relations with Washington had been somewhat repaired before the drone attack that killed Hakimullah. Imran Khan being in the opposition can be forgiven.

However Nisar Ali Khan should not be allowed to play the role of the traditional bull in a china shop. This one-man demolition squad that has achieved nothing apart from alienating everyone should be stopped forthwith.

The government should not play footsie with who should succeed the COAS general Ashfaq Kayani due to retire in less than three weeks. His successor should be named without further delay.

Lt Gen Muhammad Haroon Aslam, Chief of Logistics Staff, is the senior most general and best suited for the job under the circumstances. Formerly as GOC Swat he has combat experience dealing with the Fazlullah outfit and has the reputation of being committed to fight the Taliban.

This is the battle that the Pakistani military cannot avoid anymore and should be combat ready for it – from the highest in rank to the last man in file.

Arif Nizami is Editor, Pakistan Today.