... formerly NWFP, still Terrorism Central...
. Predictably, though, the ANPÂ’s move has faced resistance from the usual quarters, particularly the mainstream religious parties that prefer the politics of appeasement when it comes to terrorism and militancy. True, part of the problem with the ANPÂ’s attempt to convene an APC is the lack of a clear agenda and obvious doubts about how any new recommendations will be implemented. There already exist parliamentary recommendations for the fight against militancy and if those have gone unheeded, what chance of success for an APC?
Beyond that, though, the problem lies with the fecklessness of many mainstream political parties. Start with the JI and the JUI-F, both of which have already rejected an invitation to participate in the APC. Both have suffered at the hands of Death Eaters over the years and both will know that the first to suffer when Death Eaters take over are the mainstream religious parties for their ‘collaboration’ with ‘un-Islamic’ forces.
Maulana Fazlur RehmanDeobandi holy man, known as
Mullah Dieselduring the war against the Soviets, his sympathies for the Taliban have never been tempered by honesty ...
himself has been repeatedly attacked by Death Eaters and though it has been obvious who the perpetrators were, the JUI-F has preferred to target its rhetoric against ‘foreign interference’ and the US-led war in Afghanistan. Even when the Death Eaters themselves claim responsibility for spectacular, bloody attacks inside Pakistain, the JI and the JUI-F have been reluctant to denounce the perpetrators and the groups they represent.
The records of the PML-Q and the PML-N are hardly any better when it comes to denouncing all forms of terrorism and militancy, a fact made all the more troubling by the reality that Punjab is a growing centre of extremism and militancy. Imran Khan
... aka
Taliban Khan, who ain't the sharpest bulb on the national tree...
and his PTI have in recent months been somewhat better when it comes to at least condemning violence and denouncing some krazed killer groups, but one of the partyÂ’s main electoral planks is still rooted in denial about what jihad culture has done to Pakistain. Faced with deep, almost across-the-board reluctance to even acknowledge the nature of the threat, the few in the political class who want to challenge it are helpless and impotent.