The Pashtun Spring hovers on the precipice of full bloom. And nurturing it is in everyone’s interests. On the one hand, Pakistan is still flinching from American calls for it to do more, more, more to permanently dismantle militant safe-havens that it says no longer exist. On the other, the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM) is speaking out against state excesses. Yet only one group has been tarnished with the ‘engineered’ slur. Presently, it appears as if the military establishment is paying heed to this. Especially in light of the Corps Commander Peshawar’s recent comments confirming that the grievances aired by the PTM carry weight; particularly when it comes to the treatment of Pashtuns at Army checkposts. This is quite a departure from the earlier rebuttals concerning the grass-roots credentials of the movement. As was Lt General Nazir Ahmad Butt’s announcement that the military establishment was ready to talk over genuine concerns. Though in the absence of an official ISPR statement — nothing is certain. Nevertheless, an Apex Committee has been formed and a jirga convened; with politicians and local elders on the one side and the PTM leadership on the other. This is an important first step. But in order to move forward, those who yield power must be involved. In other words, the top civil-military leadership. If, that is, the Constitution is to remain paramount, as particular elements have said it must. Failure on this front will only turn the tide of public support against the PTM. Indeed, this is already happening; at least among sections of the wider so-called liberal elite who seem to have bought the line that equates Pashtuns with militants. To be sure, this is a dangerous trajectory. Because as long as groups such as the Haqqani Network remain on Pakistani soil — this becomes no different to the once openly fashionable good-bad Taliban narrative. Except that the PTM is not being cultivated by forces, external or otherwise. Had this been the case, the movement would not have chosen the path of unarmed resistance and dialogue. Rather, it would have sought to destabilise state institutions from behind-the-scenes and from the barrel of many, many guns. Or named its price before being ‘bought off’ in exchange for the ballot-box and a greater slice of the pie; all the while using the national flag to brush off any falling crumbs. The Pakistani state must get serious about bringing the Pashtuns in from the cold. And this means not allowing this issue to turn into a battleground for yet another tussle between the khakis and the civvies. Indeed, it was up to the latter to hear out the PTM and convene a meeting among all state actors to ascertain grievances and come up with a mechanism for redress. Yet as things stand, the Pashtuns have been cast in the all-too-familiar role of troublemakers — with the state reserving for itself one of paternal benevolence. And all the while a new narrative has begun to be pedalled about the true face of militancy in Pakistan’s tribal badlands. * Published in Daily Times, April 26th 2018.