Should We Talk to Taliban

By Naeem The whole issue of terrorism/ talks with Taliban etc has been deliberately obfuscated. Everyone involved or otherwise is cherrypicking and taking/ talking about the issue out of context. The politicians, army leadership and media pundits, opposition and mullahs are babbling out of ignorance and fear; and in the process have managed to completely confuse the nation. We need to view the issue/ situation in a holistic manner. Following background/ parameters/ points/ aspects need to be considered/ kept in the forefront while deliberating/ discussing the Taliban/ terrorism/ talks issue. And we need to talk bluntly about it: The army is responsible for this mess (when I say army, I mean the coterie of top 12-15 generals, who make up the collective leadership of the army); and of course with the political support (for whatever it is worth) of their political stooges. The media on the army/ISPR payroll is its mouth-piece to condition the public opinion in armys favor. What the COAS today calls an existential threat to the security and the integrity of Pakistan; was weaned out of the armys womb in the 1980s under the midwife- ship of General Zia and his cabal (of which Generals Hameed Gul and Aslam Beg were an essential part). Although Bhutto was the first one to initiate the use of proxies to further the aims of foreign policy/ strategy in 1975 against the Daud government in Afghanistan; when he set-up Gulbadeen Hikmatyar against the former. But it was Zia who made it a grand

enterprise, nay a jihad against the Soviets. He ostensibly did it to fulfill his pan-Islamic duties; but it was actually to gain legitimacy with the West. Subsequently, he had planned to use the militant cadres to liberate Kashmir and the Central Asian states. Zias fallacious argument that the Russians wanted to reach the warm waters of Persian Gulf/ Arabian Sea through Pakistan is hogwash. The Russian fought two World Wars without a warm water port. And had they wanted an excess to the Gulf, then it was nearer through the Afghan-Iran border. From Shindad to the Gulf, it is only 350 kilometers. If we agree to the above reasoning/ motives of Zia; then was it not logical to return all the foreign jihadis back to their home countries; when the Russians left Afghanistan? But the Afghans were not only integrated in the Pakistani society; they were also used to further Zias sectarian agenda; influenced by Saudi Wahibism. Now a word about Zias sectarian agenda: to gain Saudi petrodollars and favor; Zia tried to Islamize the state and society. He deliberately discriminated against Shias , Ahmadis and others. For this purpose, he raised SSP, LET and a host of such sectarian/ terrorist organizations. In the political arena, he gifted the nation with MQM; an ultrafascist and terrorist entity to combat the electoral influence of PPP. All the above actions have resulted in the radicalization of the state and society of Pakistan. Saudi-funded madrassas mushroomed through the length and breadth of the country and made the moderate majority into an intolerant and bigoted mass. Zias agenda was taken up by his baqiaat spear-headed by his Khalifa, the Taliban collaborator Nawaz Sharif and assorted politico-religious parties. The military baqiaat are being led by Hameed Gul and his ilk.

The Taliban again were nurtured by the US-Saudi-Pak axis as the vanguard of their geopolitical ambitions. And of course, it is no secret that the Taliban-cannon-fodder (like its predecessor Mujahidin canon-fodder) was produced in terrorist factories of Messrs Maulana Diesel and Sandwich. Zias perverted agenda was furthered by his military-political successors; prominent among the latter are Choudhries, Sheikh Rashid and of course the stalwarts of JI. Remember, that in the early post 9/11 months most of the Al-Qaeda bigwigs were arrested from the homes of JI senior leadership. After 9/11, Musharraf had a golden chance to break with the terrorist nexus. But he tried to be clever; and the end result is the unraveling our country at a fast clip and our failure as a state. Musharraf handed over the two western provinces to MMA religiopolitical alliance; whose electoral victory was ensured by the military government. It gave a free reign to the godfathers of Taliban to facilitate their sanctuaries in Pakistan. By the way this is the main reason for the drone attacks the terrorist sanctuaries. It is due to the above reasons that we have come to this sorry pass; which has imperiled our very existence. Now, someone would say that there is foreign meddling and support of terrorism in the country. It is very much there; and the answer is that who gave them this opportunity? Our Napoleons, Guderians and Rommels should answer this. Why not ask Hameed Gul, the Lord Earl of Jalalabad (fiasco)? American and Indians are fingering us in Baluchistan, because we have been fingering India in Kashmir/ India and have provided sanctuaries from where the Taliban attack the Americans. The corollary is that if you give an opportunity to your enemy; then, unless he is more stupid then you, he is going to exploit it.

Two points to be mindful of here; one policies/ strategies have a use-by date, you need to discard / change them as the situation evolves; two- you cannot further your geopolitical/ foreign policy goals by using militant proxies. Our strategists and so-called leaders have failed to heed the lessons of history: they are still full of hubris. They have learned nothing from the fiascoes of Op Gibraltar, the 65 war, 71 dismemberment of Pakistan and the Kargil advantage the same imbecilic mind-set exists. The same stupid mind-set is in action even now. Now coming to the current situation: What has the army got to show for the last decade plus; except getting 5000 of its gallant men and officer martyred? Swat which is touted as a show-case, is again partially infected by Taliban. Mullah Fazullah is striking across the Durand Line at will; from across his base in Afghanistan. Taliban are still rampant in FATA and interior Pakistan. All the assorted Taliban, sectarian militant and street criminals have joined together against the state. And we have a Punjab government pandering to the TTP to keep peace. In KPK, we have the Taliban Khan, who has evolved (or come out of the closet) as an accomplice of the Taliban. Is there no limit to the asinine stupidity of this man? The political leadership is paralyzed; they have no idea how to proceed. They are a corrupt, incompetent and a craven lot. No one in his/ her proper mind could expect any good from the present lot of politicians/ rulers. Their past record is a testimony to this fact. How could you negotiate with terrorists? How could you make them an equal stake-holder? Ok, for those who advocate talks with TPP; what are you going to talk about? They want nothing less than the state. And why should they talk? They can see the state whimpering, trembling and almost on its knees. They could simply keep on doing what they are doing and bid their time. But yet the Taliban Khan wants the government to

open an office for TTP! You cannot draw the analogy with the Qatar office of Afghan Taliban. Afghans are fighting against an occupation army; but here the Taliban are committing atrocities against the people of Pakistan. Nawaz Sharif and his ilk have all their properties/ funds (looted/ embezzled from us) abroad; so when the tipping point comes, they would flee. The army chief says that we will bring the war to the terrorists; but the empirical evidence shows that up till now, the terrorists have been bringing the war to the army: GHQ, Mehran and Kamra et al. The fact is that the army actions have been reluctant; too little and too late. In COIN operations, ten or twelve years may not be an adequate time; but has the army used this time properly? By the way no attempt has been made in the past 10-12 years to purge the mind of the masses of the jihadist ideology. There should have been a coherent psy-warfare policy; but alas, our leaders were busy in mega-corruption scandals. Before the time runs out; it is imperative that the militarypolitical leadership should stop dithering and gird up for action. The state tried talks with TNSM and even handed over SwatMalakand to them; but did it work? This analysis would not be complete without the nihilistic role of judiciary. Judiciary like politicians is scared of punishing the terrorists; they are simply let free. Consider the case of Mullah Aziz of Lal Masjid; the superior court has exonerated him of all 25 cases. You do not negotiate with terrorists. You fight them. We have the examples of Sri Lanka and Algeria; they fought and succeeded. Why are we so scared? The sad fact is that they are already inflicting a slow death on us; so why not show some courage and dignity; and fight them to the bitter end?