Daily Times

A couple of weeks before elections I had written that this election seemed to be between the pro-Taliban political parties and the anti-Taliban political parties. Those in the good books of the Taliban were able to run their election campaign freely and the ones who opposed them were harassed, bombed and even killed. Neither the interim government could make it a level playing field for all nor could the election commission and its support system do anything. Thus we got an election that was neither ‘free’ nor ‘fair’, and now it needs ‘repair’.

Here are some realities.

Sometime ago, the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan agreed to conditional negotiations. However, they needed the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) and the Jamaat-e-Islami as the guarantors for any possible agreement. So these are the three chosen political parties in Pakistan that have the confidence of the Taliban. Why are these the ‘chosen’ ones? The reason is not hard to find.

The PML-N has never spoken against the Taliban; on the contrary it supported the Taliban branches, including the banned Jamaat-ud-Dawa openly, and also financially through one of the budgets of Punjab. The PML-N also gave a ticket for the National Assembly election to a Taliban leader.

The PTI has never spoken against the Taliban or their activities, and instead have always justified their actions by saying that it is ‘not our war’, although 40,000 men and women who died were all Pakistanis. The PTI sidelined the issue by condemning drone attacks, and thus toeing the line of the Taliban.

The Jamaat-e-Islami did all of the above and cried hoarse demanding more negotiations, knowing fully well that each time negotiations were carried out there was no result and the ensuing time was used by the Taliban commanders for regrouping and mounting fresh attacks.

Now that the PML-N, PTI and Jamaat-e-Islami are firmly entrenched, there should be every possibility of successful peace negotiations between the Taliban/terrorists and the chosen guarantors.

How will this work is something tricky. The Taliban are not willing to lay down arms; they do not accept Pakistan’s constitution and they do not believe in democracy! So is this going to be a negotiation between one armed group and the other unarmed? It is just like surrender. Then are we going to give up democracy and adopt a ‘caliphate’ monarchy? This is not entirely a farfetched idea because Mr Nawaz Sharif was ready to move constitutional changes when he had the two-thirds majority in the National Assembly. This time it may not be that easy because he has only a simple majority, but if all the three parties mentioned above agree then the possibility cannot be ignored. If, in the worst case scenario, this happens then Mr Sharif must realise that there will be no guarantee of his being the ‘caliph’. That ‘throne’ can very well be taken over by the Taliban!

In all seriousness how can these parties that are soft on the Taliban and terrorism accept the fact that most attacks target mosques? How can they reconcile with the fact that most of the persons who die are kalima-reciting’ Muslims? How can they reconcile with the fact that the lethal attacks are on Pakistan’s armed forces that are the backbone of national defence? And how do they reconcile with the fact that children are turned into suicide bombers by the Taliban trainers?

Terrorism has nothing to do with religion, and least of all with Islam. Terrorists ‘use’ religion and promote the drug and gun mafia. Lawlessness helps in their objectives so they create law and order situations. Then they play the bigger game of serving the enemy countries, such countries whose interest is served by keeping Pakistan unstable and unable to take advantage of its strategic location and natural resources.

If the three political parties and also the other MMA constituents made their dubious statements for elections only to pacify the terrorists and run their campaigns peacefully, then they have achieved their goal. Now it is time to be honest with themselves, and the nation. The only terms of negotiations can be total stoppage of terrorist activity, and lying down of arms by all Taliban and associates. In return their genuine grievances should be speedily addressed. Speedy system of justice must be provided. The areas where development has been denied over decades, like Waziristan and parts of Balochistan, should be developed on a war footing. These are only a few remedies, surely there will be more. Can these parties in the government rise to the occasion and achieve an understanding for peace?

If one remembers the pre-election days a jarring statement appeared from a party of the extreme right saying that all Shias should be declared a ‘minority’! Subsequent to that, the ameer of the Jamaat-e-Islami took a big leap and said all persons of ‘liberal’ thinking should be declared a ‘minority’. If such mindsets are carried over to governance then one cannot expect any good. For a national approach these parties will need to learn to be inclusive rather than exclusive.

Recently, the Chief of Army Staff has spent over three hours with Mr Sharif. There must have been very important issues to be understood, particularly the understanding on the law and order situation. General Kayani has owned the war on terror as Pakistan’s war. Would the third time PM understand it and revise his stand? He is known for confrontational attitudes. His men attacked the Supreme Court and tried to destroy the discipline of the armed forces. He confronted every institution domestically including the presidency, although he bowed down to the then president of the US, Bill Clinton. Much time has passed since his last stint in power and one would like to hope that he has used this time for some soul searching and to attain maturity in political attitudes. One can only hope that he shows growth from the style of Gawalmandi ‘turf’ wars to political sagacity, show statesmanship, graciousness and honesty beyond any personal agenda. If this happens, then he may succeed in leading this troubled nation to peace and even prosperity.

The writer is the former CEO Pakistan National Council of the Arts; Chairman Fruit processing Industries; Chairman UNESCO Theatre Institute Pakistan; COO ‘ICTV’ USA, and currently, Senior Vice President APML (Central). He can be reached at naeemtahir37@gmail.com