The game is rigged. Wotta surprise.
It is all the more theatrical since
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...
has set up a four-member team to negotiate with the krazed killers. The team he chose is an interesting mix of a highly controversial ex-intelligence officer, a retired diplomat, a senior journalist and one of his special assistants. Given the soft spot most of these members apparently have for the krazed killer cause, it was not difficult to get the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistain's (TTP) endorsement of the team. The bully boyz could not have wished for a better committee packed with fellow travellers.
After all they speak the same language and share the same narrative. Apparently with nothing much to do, the team members spend most of their time projecting themselves on television talk shows. One marvels at the way Rustam Shah Mohmand, a nominee of 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....
(PTI) on the team, articulates the Taliban case. Everything will be fine if you give them control of the tribal areas and pull out troops from there, he tells us.
So, no big deal; allow the TTP to establish an Islamic emirate in the tribal territory. Never mind if the bully boyz want to extend their rule further to the surrounding districts of KP. Absolutely no harm if 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...
is handed back to Mullah Fazlullah
...son-in-law of holy man Sufi Mohammad. Known as Mullah FM, Fazlullah had the habit of grabbing his FM mike when the mood struck him and bellowing forth sermons. Sufi suckered the Pak govt into imposing Shariah on the Swat Valley and then stepped aside whilst Fazlullah and his Talibs imposed a reign of terror on the populace like they hadn't seen before, at least not for a thousand years or so. For some reason the Pak intel services were never able to locate his transmitter, much less bomb it. After ruling the place like a conquered province for a year or so, Fazlullah's Talibs began gobbling up more territory as they pushed toward Islamabad, at which point as a matter of self-preservation the Mighty Pak Army threw them out and chased them into Afghanistan...
and let the TTP control a part of Bloody Karachi
...formerly the capital of Pakistain, now merely its most important port and financial center. It is among the largest cities in the world, with a population of 18 million, most of whom hate each other and many of whom are armed and dangerous...
as well; after all, they're our brothers.
And why must we create problems for the bully boyz if they are helping their Afghan brethren undertake 'jihad' against the foreign forces in Afghanistan and hosting holy warriors from other Mohammedan countries. After all, they are fulfilling their religious obligation. It doesn't matter if jacket wallahs kill some more women and kiddies and continue to blow up schools. 'Give peace a chance', don't we all agree? This argument goes on.
It is getting more preposterous after the TTP named its own five-member team for the talks. In a very shrewd move, it picked its representatives from the outside rather than from within its own ranks. It was a masterstroke to include Imran Khan
... aka
Taliban Khan, who ain't the brightest knife in the national drawer...
in the team along with hard-core holy mans known for their close ties with krazed killer groups.
His nomination by the outlawed group may have come as a political embarrassment for the PTI chief, but the TTP's decision was well calculated. Not only has Imran Khan been one of the most ardent supporters of talks, but to some extent he also owes his party's victory in the general elections in KP to the krazed killer group. Although he has declined to be part of the team, the TTP can always rely on his support.
It's a politically clever move by the TTP to involve, on its behalf, holy mans and leaders of Islamic parties. It not only broadens its support, but also allows the bully boyz space to manipulate public opinion. The talks are to be monitored by a 10-member TTP shura comprising hardened bully boyz with a bounty of millions of rupees on their head. There is a Rs50 million reward for the capture of Fazlullah, the new chief of the TTP.
That also raises questions about the legality of the whole process of negotiations. The TTP is a proscribed terrorist organization, and it is in violation of the Constitution for the state to engage with it. The outfit has declared war on Pakistain and has grabbed credit for attacking security installations and killing our soldiers. The government would be legitimising all those terrorist actions by unconditionally negotiating with them. There is no indication that the group is willing to give up violence and accept the nation's Constitution.
What the bully boyz really want is the rolling back of the state's authority from the area of their operation. It has taken the lives of thousands of soldiers to re-establish the writ of the state in most of the tribal territories and pulling back will have disastrous consequences for the country and regional security.
One of the myths bought by many of our politicians is that the TTP is fighting for the democratic and economic rights of the tribal areas. Nothing can be farther from the truth. The fact is that the tribal people have suffered much more through rising Taliban militancy. The bully boyz have slaughtered hundreds of maliks and many more have been killed in suicide kabooms on tribal jirgas. The atrocities have forced the people to flee their homes in the conflict areas.
It will be disastrous if the TTP is allowed to take control of the tribal belt and enforce its own version of the Sharia system there as is being suggested by members of the government's negotiating team as well as some politicians. The people of the tribal areas would be the biggest victims of any such deal.
Surrendering to snuffies never brings peace. Conceding to the TTP's demands would lead to the unravelling of this state. And it will not just be the tribal areas when the entire country is under threat.