A private television network in Pakistan recently claimed that Taliban are ready to hold peace talks with three renowned political leaders of Pakistan, namely, Mian Nawaz Sharif, Maulana Fazlur Rehman, and Syed Munawar Hussain. The news did not bring much surprise as indications of peace talks from Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) started coming a few weeks ago. Pakistan’s Interior minister, Rehman Malik, has offered his support on the state’s behalf for the talks in order to initiate a peace process along with pressurising militants to give up arms. Even though to many, such developments are a positive sign considering the chaotic state Pakistan is in, whereas to a few, such talks are nothing more than a delaying tactic used both the by politicians as well as militants for elections and summer militancy campaigns respectively.
The All Parties Conference (APC) summoned by the Jamiat-e-Ulama-e-Islam Fazl (JUI-F), and chaired by Maulana Fazlur Rehman, on February 28, also reached a consensus that the peace process must be initiated as soon as possible. The APC had representation of all major political parties of Pakistan, except Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf. This was the second occasion this year that Khan snubbed an APC, citing his ideological differences with the ruling parties as the primary reason. Since the initiation of war on terror, Khan has been vocal against military operations in FATA, as according to him, such operations were used as an excuse by the TTP to recruit those whose families were affected by army operations and drone attacks, and resulted in more suicide attacks in the country. But then the same parties, taking pride in the APC’s peace declaration, derided Khan for implicitly supporting a pro-militant agenda by talking against operations.
Peace talks may although aim for peace yet on the other hand such talks give an impression of betrayal to thousands who lost their lives, or those who lost their loved ones. A 14-year-old student from Peshawar, Hazratullah Khan, whose right leg had to be amputated as a result of a bomb blast in Peshawar, when asked about his response on peace talks with the Taliban, replied in simple words, “Hang them alive; what was my crime that I will now remain disabled for the rest of my life?” Such are the sentiments of those affected, either directly or indirectly, by militancy.
At the moment, such talks apparently hold no gains, rather portray personal agendas from both the parties. The Taliban, under pressure from the army operation and drone attacks, would like to buy some time in order to prepare for another season of militant activities, whereas the political parties, on the other hand, know that without the consent of the TTP, for whom conducting militant and suicide attacks at any location is now a normality, holding peaceful elections would not be possible.
For the TTP, giving up arms may not be as easy as it sounds, solely because of the strength it enjoys in the FATA region of Pakistan. Giving up arms would mean surrendering to the state, which seems far from possible because the group has been fighting against the same state since the beginning of War on Terror in Afghanistan.
On the other hand, the same political parties, with the exception of religious parties, were strongly advocating military action against any type of miscreants taking up arms against the state, but now the same parties, having a fear of a military takeover and election delay in midst of chaos resulting from militancy, have agreed upon initiating a peace process.
Government, by agreeing to peace talks, has not only given an indication of being incapable of fighting extremism but has also brought agony to families of the victims as well as the fallen soldiers. The PPP-led coalition government, over its rule of five years, made no effort to educate the masses, especially in rural areas, against such elements using religion for their personal gains; it rather saw the proceedings as a silent spectator.
In the current scenario, assuring peace in Pakistan seems by far the most difficult task. Even if the TTP reaches an agreement for a ceasefire in the short run, the country is tied around in a deadly spiral of sectarian violence in Sindh and Balochistan, where the Lashker-e-Jhangvi (LeJ), an ethno militant outfit, is constantly targeting the Shias and Hazaras. To make matters worse, a few members of the LeJ enjoy implicit backing from the second largest political party of Pakistan — the PML-N — and in this context, all such peace talks and negotiation initiatives hold no meaning, and thus would bear no dividends at all.
The writer is a journalist who is also working as a research analyst, programme consultant and content editor at the Centre for Research and Security Studies, Islamabad along with pursuing his Masters Studies in Public Policy and Conflict Management in Germany. He can be reached at [email protected], or [email protected]