Daily Times

Hakeemullah Mehsud was struck by a drone and died. This time it was real and not a rumour. He is in fact history. The aftermath of his death revealed many realities that need to be noted.

On the death of Mehsud, more noise was made by some politicians than the killer drone did with its missile or even by the clan of terrorists making protests. The worthy Interior Minister has been in the lead and was closely followed, almost neck and neck, by Mr Imran Khan. Mr Interior Minister seemed to be trying to prove that he was ‘more loyal than the king’, i.e. Nawaz Sharif, and Mr Khan is hellbent upon confirming his image as a Taliban apologist.

The Interior Minister was so upset that he was willing to place (in the public eye) the US-Pak relationship on the line. The Prime Minister acted with more grace and did not show his reaction. Surprisingly, he did not lose his cool. Was the Interior Minister trying to upstage the Prime Minister? It could be. They have been saying it often that ‘anything is possible in politics’ (this is certainly true of the Pakistani brand of politics). The Interior Minister’s greatest admirer, surprisingly, was found in Mr Khan, who wholeheartedly praised the former’s speech in the National Assembly. However, reports indicated that the National Assembly members were ‘not amused’ by Mr Khan’s rhetoric of stopping NATO supplies. More recently, Mr Khan has not been taking up the subject of NATO supplies, as he must have realised the impact of ground realities. Perhaps the most revealing factor is the growing lack of credibility of Mr Khan and his leadership.

One needs to think about Mehsud. Who was he? What did he stand for? Do the so-called ‘peace talks with the Taliban’ actually suffer from his being eliminated? Mehsud was against any negotiated settlement and the real stumbling block in the way of anyone who desired peace. ‘Peace’ was counterproductive for him and his sponsors. His sources of funding would dry up. No one would spend a penny on him if he was trying to strengthen the Pakistani nation. His supply of arms would stop. The share from drug smuggling and gun running would stop. His status as a warlord would end. He was successfully chastening the terror outfit under the Islamist garb and an atmosphere of peace would let people think and may even help them learn the true Quranic lessons. No. Peace would be fatal for all his sponsors, supporters and financers. The whole game of destabilising Pakistan and using its weaknesses would fail. Therefore, no response was forthcoming to the offer generated by the All Parties Conference (APC). The government either did not understand, or it wanted to show to the mainland political associates of the Taliban that it was trying. The two political parties, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf had contested elections on certain factors, one being on the negotiations for peace with the Taliban. It suited the Taliban and their supporting political parties like the Jamaat-e-Islami, the Jamiat-i-Ulema-e-Islam as well. The alliance of the Taliban and the main political parties in Pakistan was suitable to the real sponsors of terrorism during the election campaign. It provided time for further preparations and to develop new strategies. But the government had to take steps to deliver ‘peace’ to the nation after the election victory. The whole drama of the APC was played and the Taliban invited for talks.

Promptly, the offer of talks was ridiculed by the Taliban. They called it non-serious and meaningless. Then they added injury to the insult by attacking in Swat and killing a major general and a colonel in an ambush.

The likes of Chaudhry Nisar, the interior minister, must have wondered where to hide their embarrassed faces.

Next, a lesson was to be taught to Imran Khan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government, and the most dastardly attack on the church was conducted, killing hundreds of innocent men, women and children.

I am inclined to think that these attacks were made by special back-up units planted within the Taliban by the sponsors of terror. They wanted to ensure the failure of the ‘peace’ talks. All Taliban groups could not be privy to the real agenda of the sponsors of terror. Thus the ‘special units’ acted to ensure the agenda of ‘sponsors’.

The government quietly offered the ‘terms of peace’, which were more like terms of surrender, as I have written in an earlier article. But nothing made any difference. Even the ‘surrender’ was not enough! The APC parties were stunned and quiet.

Hakeemullah Mehsud wanted to have nothing to do with the negotiations. But Mehsud was also on the hit list of the US, in addition to that of the Pakistan army. He was a sworn enemy of Pakistan and its armed forces. He had attacked the army establishment, including the GHQ. He had escaped attacks on him. But the day had come. A US drone spotted him and Hakeemullah Mehsud was no more.

This was suddenly seen as a face saving opportunity by the Interior Minister and the APC parties. They could shift the blame for the failure of the talks to the US drone attack. Hence they made as much noise as they could.

All hypocrisy and cover up.

The nation must understand that there cannot be any negotiated peace, as it does not help the purpose of the terrorists. The only option for the Pakistani nation is to unite and support the armed forces as one united country, one nation, to eliminate insurgency and the terrorists. Then remove the genuine grievances of the people in the deprived area. The writ of the government should be enforced and the ‘B’ areas should be all equally and fairly treated as part of one country.

The writer is the former CEO Pakistan National Council of the Arts; chairman Fruit processing Industries; chairman UNESCO Theatre Institute Pakistan and COO ICTV, USA. He is the author of Melluhas of the Indus Valley 8000 BC to 500 BC. He can be reached at naeemtahir37@gmail.com