Sir: Saner voices of advice to the government for not falling into the trap of dialogue with the dreaded Taliban are falling on deaf ears as far as Nawaz Sharif and Imran Khan are concerned. Those who had warned that if the PTI and PML-N came to power the Taliban would acquire indirect rule are being proved right. Hundreds of articles and media statements by intellectuals and politicians, as well as the spate of terrorist attacks, have proved no deterrent for the PML-N chief and Taliban Khan. Why do these leaders not realise that dialogue and peace accords with the Taliban in the past have backfired time and again? Dialogue works in favour of the Taliban on many counts: first of all, they get their anti-state activities and their ideology legitimised. Second, they manage to their manpower and resources relocated, regained and rejuvenated. The masses, who have thought the Taliban to be terrorists and have abhorred their ideology, get confused about why the government recognises them as stakeholders and accedes to their demands.
The PML-N is a right wing party and so is the PTI. It looks like both parties are in a fierce competition to appease the Taliban. One media section in particular and Taliban sympathisers have been quick to say that no Muslim would carry out such gruesome carnage of fellow Muslims and that ‘foreign elements’ who cannot see Pakistan stabilised are playing the game of blood and gore to destabilise the fort of Islam. Even the PM has repeated this line along with compliments to the Taliban for not taking responsibility for one such attack. The Taliban are bent upon overrunning the entire landscape of the country. However, standing steadfast will ultimately bring them down to their knees. Terrorists all over the world are subdued or eliminated, not engaged in dialogue. However, there are some exceptions such as those who fight against foreign rule and are surely stakeholders as is the case of the Afghan Taliban whose example is given to justify talks with the Pakistani Taliban.
GULSHER PANHWER
Johi