Good, bad, and ugly?
One hopes that Sartaj Aziz’s understanding of Zarb-e-Azb is indeed official policy and no distinction will be made between good and bad Taliban. This would imply that the soldier-cleric project of the last three decades will finally be abandoned and proxy darlings of our agencies will be reined in. So far, journalists are not allowed anywhere near the theatre of war, so independent analysis is not forthcoming, and the good offices of the ISPR must be relied upon for information as it comes.
And going by that information, so far, it seems Mr Aziz spoke more from ‘inside knowledge’ he no doubt gathers from high-level meetings with the PM, rather than reflecting on the operation so far. The good Taliban have been controversial for a long time, both in and outside the country. The Americans and Afghans, especially, never understood Pakistan’s liking for selected militants, and the disagreement was in no small way responsible for a split COIN strategy rather than all stakeholders working towards common goals.
But there did seem a momentary method in the madness. The Haqqanis, for example, proved useful in limiting TTP excess, especially in Kurram, and employed pure muscle to open roads that the Taliban had closed, especially those leading to Jandola and Tank. Also, ditching them, especially the Network, at this sensitive time, when a war of retribution and blowback is underway, would have been silly. However, that also implies that the state is kept hostage, out of fear of provoking an ally into joining the TTP. And this consideration might have moved the military to agree with sections of the population calling for a clean break and a fresh start. These are, after all, pivotal times for the country, especially with regard to its security and foreign policy. And Pakistan must, finally, decide what type of country it wants to be when the dust settles; one that continues to play proxy with Haqqanis, Hafiz Saeed, and the like, or one that is a progressive, secular country.
