In fact, the most recent high-value target of the CIA drone strikes in Pakistain's tribal regions, Waliur Rehman, criminal masterminded many gruesome bully boy attacks. To portray him as a moderate or a man seriously seeking peace talks is to play a cruel joke on thousands of innocent victims of terrorism.
It was not without reason that Waliur Rehman was on Pakistain's list of most wanted terrorists; the US had announced a bounty of $5 million on him. His role as the top operational commander of the TTP came to light during the bloody siege of the GHQ in Rawalpindi in October 2009. Intercepted messages showed that the attackers were constantly getting instructions on the wireless from Waliur Rehman.
Putting aside the controversy on the legality of the CIA drone campaign inside Pak territory, it is a false argument that the strike killing Waliur Rehman was meant to scuttle peace talks with the Pak Taliban. Such debates only help Taliban apologists seeking to promote the bully boy cause. The demand by Maulana Samiul Haq
...the
Godfather of the Taliban,leader of his own faction of the JUI. Known as
Mullah Sandwichfor his habit of having two young boys at a time...
, the self-appointed arbitrator between the next administration and the TTP, that Pakistain should apologise for the killing of Waliur Rehman is shocking.
Not surprisingly the TTP has used the killing of its deputy leader as a pretext for withdrawing its so-called peace talks offer. From the outset it was never a serious pursuit for peace by the Taliban. But some political parties took the ruse seriously. The PML-N and the Pakistain Tehrik-e-Insaf
...a political party in Pakistan. PTI was founded by former Pakistani cricket captain and philanthropist Imran Khan. The party's slogan is
Justice, Humanity and Self Esteem, each of which is open to widely divergent interpretations....
made the support for peace talks part of their election campaigns. In his first speech to his party's newly elected members of the National Assembly,
Nawaz Sharif... served two non-consecutive terms as prime minister, heads the Pakistain Moslem League (Nawaz). Noted for his spectacular corruption, the 1998 Pak nuclear test, border war with India, and for being tossed by General Musharraf...
reiterated his position that negotiations were the only means to deal with militancy. "Why should we not talk to the Taliban?" he asked his party politicians and then himself replied in the affirmative.
While blasting the previous government for not taking the TTP peace talks offer seriously, the new Pak leader completely ignored the atrocities the snuffies have wreaked on Pakistain. No homage was paid to the thousands of Pak soldiers who laid down their lives in fighting the snuffies and securing the tribal regions.
Perhaps not to offend the TTP, Mr Sharif did not think it was important to talk about Malala Yousafzai who was shot by them for resisting their retrogressive worldview.
The young girl from Swat
...a valley and an administrative district in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province of Pakistain, located 99 mi from Islamabad. It is inhabited mostly by Pashto speakers. The place has gone steadily downhill since the days when Babe Ruth was the Sultan of Swat...has now become an international icon of bravery -- but maybe not for our new ruling parties.
The statement of the new chief minister of the PTI government in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa
... formerly NWFP, still Terrorism Central...
declaring that his party "did not have any enmity with the Taliban" was equally pathetic. The statement came as the TTP had mounted at least six terrorist attacks in as many days. There was no condemnation of those attacks by the two most powerful parties now in power in the centre and KP. Such an apologetic position and pampering of the Death Eaters provides greater space to the snuffies and divides the nation.
By giving the TTP a clean chit the new KP government is setting a very dangerous precedent. A serious concern is that lowering one's guard and inaction by the provincial government could give the snuffies the space to regenerate and regain lost ground.
One should learn lessons from the Swat peace deals. Soon after coming to power in the province in 2008, the Awami National Party pursued the same policy of negotiations on the bully boys' terms with disastrous consequences.
The bully boy commanders released after the peace agreement went back to Swat and killed hundreds of people who had cooperated with the administration and political opponents. Another failed peace deal in 2009 led to a military operation. Therefore the argument that negotiations were not given a chance is false.
What is most dangerous is the widening divide between the new politicianship and the military over peace talks with the TTP. Gen Kayani
... four star general, current Chief of Army Staff of the Mighty Pak Army. Kayani is the former Director General of ISI...
has made it very clear that there could not be any negotiations unless the snuffies renounce violence and accept the writ of the state.
The attitude of the civilian leadership reinforces the perception that it is only the military's war against militancy and nothing to do with them. This makes for a very dangerous situation where the country's internal security is concerned.
There is no clarity among the parties supporting the peace talks about what is negotiable. The list of the TTP's demands includes enforcement of its version of the Sharia and changing the country's foreign policy and national security paradigm. It completely rejects democracy and constitutional authority. Can any state accept those
conditions?
An oft-repeated argument is that if the Americans are engaging with the Taliban in Afghanistan why can't Pakistain negotiate with its own bully boys. This is an extremely ridiculous parallel. There is a huge difference in the two situations. There are no foreign parties in Pakistain -- the TTP is not fighting foreign troops.
Another apology for bully boy violence is Pakistain's so-called involvement in US war in Afghanistan that according to Imran Khan
... aka
Taliban Khan, who ain't the brightest knife in the national drawer...
and other politicians has reinforced the jihadi narrative. It is, perhaps, the most unconvincing argument of all. How is Pakistain involved in the US war, especially when the coalition forces are in the process of withdrawing from Afghanistan? Do Imran Khan and others want Pakistain to support the so-called jihad in Afghanistan?
Besides, the TTP are not a monolithic group and numerous TTP and other bully boy factions are operating in KP with their separate demands and agendas. Many of them are just criminal gangs engaged in crimes ranging from kidnapping for ransom to bank robberies. How are we going to negotiate with each one of them? Perhaps the government does not have a clear answer to this.