Dealing with the multi-headed hydra called terrorism
Nawaz Sharif presided over yet another high level security meeting with briefings from the COAS and ISI chief. What the government lacks is not information but the power to decide. New problems are thus being added to the already big reservoir of highly troublesome developments. Over the last couple of months the TTP has been deeply involved in internal dissensions. The Taliban groups not directly involved in the infighting have meanwhile continued to target polio teams, destroy school buildings, attack troops and police. On Tuesday, a Chinese tourist was kidnapped while a Taliban group owned the act. What impact this will have on Chinese firms who are supposed to invest billions of dollars in Pakistan, remains to be seen. One wonders why the government still insists on pursuing talks with TTP fanatics despite their chief Fazlullah having called upon his fidayeen squad to get ready to enforce sharia by launching suicide attacks and confronting the army.
A number of senators have lambasted the government for acting as a silent spectator while banned outfits are holding rallies all over Pakistan, avowedly in support of the army but actually in pursuit of their own agenda. Like TTP they too are ideologically opposed to democracy which they reject as an un-Islamic system. These groups are making use of the right of free speech to denounce and destabilise democracy.
Nawaz Sharif should have immediately intervened when a TV channel initiated a vicious campaign against the ISI chief. Timely arbitration would have nipped the evil in the bud. True to his reputation Sharif hesitated and let the mischief spread. Important federal ministers meanwhile issued impolitic statements. This brought in the groups which are out to create anarchy while posing as the defenders of the army. The government has been accused of entering into a conspiracy with the media group to malign the army. The administration is watching apathetically as the charge of blasphemy is being used to whip up mass hysteria. The vested interest is manipulating the issue to create a situation where public anger leads to widespread lawlessness. This is reminiscent of the 1977 PNA movement which was launched avowedly for the restoration of sharia laws but ushered in a military dictatorship instead.
Parties like Tahirul Qadri’s Pakistan Awami Tehrik, Jamaat-e-Islami and PTI are challenging the legitimacy of the elections and the neutrality of the election commission. They have also cast reflections on the independence of the courts. Meanwhile the media is involved in a no holds-barred infighting. Institutions that stood by democracy during the last few years are themselves under attack. The enforcement of martial law in Thailand should be an eye opener for the government. It needs to awaken from slumber. After taking Parliament into confidence, the government must to take well considered and firm action to put the genie back into the bottle.
