Taliban apologists take over parliament Amir Mateen Tuesday, November 05, 2013 ISLAMABAD: Those who came to the National Assembly’s opening session to educate themselves on the confusing state of affairs after Taliban leader Hakimullah Mehsud’s death were definitely disappointed. Trust Chaudhry Nisar and his newly-found admirer, fellow Aitchesonian, Imran Khan—both of them made sure that most people returned home a little more confused than earlier.For a start, they gave an impression as if Hakimullah Mehsud, in the words of journalist Hamid Mir, was an avatar of Mother Teresa. They were so mournful of his death that they failed to mention a single word about the thousands of innocent civilian and uniformed victims killed on his behalf. It was so convenient to also forget the 778 people that got killed in the terrorist attacks since both the PML-N and PTI governments initiated the so-called dialogue with the Taliban after coming into power. The crux of their argument was:Taliban did so because they were provoked by American drones—as simple as that. Chaudhary Nisar would have us believe that the government was almost close to a breakthrough with Taliban. In fact, the interior minister sought credit for working days and nights to bring the deal so close. In the end, the ‘villainous’ Americans timed the killing of Hakimullah to scuttle the peace process. He was a step ahead of our media conspiracy experts to weave a whole plot that the Yankees may have designed to deny the Chaudhry the biggest trophy of his life. “Why should the Americans do it now,” he asked a confused House. “Why couldn’t they do it earlier?” Many doubted that the interior minister was close to a rapprochement with Taliban. For all we know the PML-N and PTI governments who won the elections on the plank that they will bring peace through dialogue have totally failed in their endeavour so far. The number of people killed and terrorist attacks has actually gone much higher. Chaudhary Nisar kept everything to his chest and behind closed doors. At no stage was the public or parliament taken into confidence with his usual refrain being “trust me, I am on to something.” After wasting seven months, the Hakimullah episode, we suspect, was god-sent for him to cover up his lapse. There is more to worry. Nisar refused to give us any hope that the Taliban problem will be resolved in near future. “You see, I can’t be sure now when and if Taliban will talk to us now,” he said wriggling out of any commitment. “We also have tension with the US after my press conference.” This was another way of saying that there was little chance of the US withdrawing from its drone policy. He was appalled that Washington was not taking a nuclear Pakistan seriously. More appalling was the fact the interior minister behaved more as the foreign minister. Our pundits questioned his mandate to delve into foreign policy so deeply. But then he is the virtual prime minister in the third PML-N government. Intriguingly, Nisar’s biggest support came from Imran Khan, who seemed as the head of PML-N’s PTI chapter—or call it PML-Imran.He showered huge “khiraj-i-tehseen” on Chaudhry Nisar for his untiring effort to win over Taliban. If the country’s two biggest parties are on the same page on policy, why not merge them together, quipped a colleague in the Press Gallery: “Why have a sham opposition; where is the alternate narrative to this grand coalition of ultra right.” Well, the colleague was not wrong. If we the “ghairatmand” Pakistanis were to follow Imran’s prescription, we need to take over the United States of Pakistan to resolve this matter. He believed that the drone strikes scuttled the peace process every time we came close to broker peace with Taliban. Many might dispute this interpretation of past events as too simplistic. Most of the peace initiatives were first violated by the Taliban. Imran also misrepresented the context in which the army had to be deployed in Fata. General Musharraf may have blundered a lot to appease the Americans, but the insurgency-infested area could not be left to Taliban. Imran also mentioned the four APC held over the years “all of which proposed to give peace a chance.” One can argue that this might be the precise reason that we should finally have a timeframe or some bar when we shall have alternate approaches to deal with the problem. So far, the PML and PTI government have had ample time to try their peace gestures. But they are yet to squeeze even a semblance of reciprocity from Taliban. It was a bad day for those who nurtured any hopes that the two ‘like-minded’ governments in Peshawar and Islamabad will deliver on peace. Both the parties remained non-committal on giving any road-map as to how and when will they deliver on their electoral promises.Obviously, Nisar and Imran raised more questions than answered our queries. How can they be sure that the Taliban problem will be resolved once the drone strikes are over? Also, it is yet to be seen if the PML-N will carry on with the gung-ho politics of stopping Nato supplies by force. More important, the timing may be the most important factor. Should we wait for Taliban to re-entrench or take advantage of the current disarray in their ranks? Tail piece: The Senate remains virtually non-function in the wake of Opposition boycott, which entered its 60 day. Parliament is the place which seems so romantic when in opposition. Or so is the case with the PML-N. Perhaps the prime minister should finally grace the ‘lesser’ Upper House with his presence after, well, 15 years. Or may he request his highness Chaudhry of Chakri to show a little humility by apologising.
Posted on: Wed, 06 Nov 2013 08:24:33 +0000
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