Taliban politics....Pakistan's pro-taliban Politicians

DAILY TIME By: Kahar Zalmay The power base of anti-Taliban parties like the PPP is receding in Punjab, which should definitely worry the moderate elements in the country Pakistani politics is at a crossroads. It is torn between two extremes, a pro-Taliban and an anti-Taliban politics, and the coming years will determine which direction our politics take and so does the country. This is obvious from the support base that Imran Khan, Nawaz Sharif and his party enjoy. On the one hand, the politics of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) have been leaning toward pro-Taliban elements but on the other hand three leading politicians, Asfandyar Wali Khan, Aftab Sherpao and Maulana Fazlur Rehman were directly attacked by the Taliban even though the latter refused to point fingers at the perpetrators for fear of more attacks. The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) has been an irritant to the Taliban mindset and lost its leader, Benazir Bhutto, when she felt victim to a suicide attack apparently carried out by the Taliban. The Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) has also stood its ground against the Taliban in Karachi and is determined to stick to its anti-Taliban politics in future. This theory of pro-Taliban and anti-Taliban politics gained momentum when the fortunes of Imran Khan changed during the latter part of last year and many politicians swarmed to his party, making him a potential contender for forming the new government. In his latest interview to a local TV channel he categorically said that he would not criticise the Taliban as he does not deem it good for his party and politics.

Shahbaz Sharif had also requested the Taliban not to attack his province — Punjab — as his party and the Taliban were on the same page.

Nawaz Sharif’s recent statement of setting up military courts in Karachi and his attempt in the late 90s to become Amir-ul-Momineen shows his tilt towards pro-Taliban politics. Politics is a process by which groups of people, say political parties, make collective decisions and run governmental and state affairs. A question arises that in the present circumstances, is it possible to do politics in Pakistan? Recently we have seen large gatherings from political parties across the country that to some analysts is an attestation of the readiness of the country for elections. Even though some believe that the space is shrinking for the anti-Taliban political groups after the Istehkam-e-Pakistan rally where even leaders of the banned militant groups delivered speeches with fiery denunciations, the way the pro-Taliban elements asserted themselves on the first death anniversary of Salmaan Taseer (may his soul rest in peace) gives a hint of the direction the country is heading. Previously it was Khyber Pakhtunkhwa where the stage was set for pro-Taliban politics and the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) government was the natural outcome but in the coming elections, the pendulum seems to be shifting towards Punjab where the two major pro-Taliban parties (PTI and PML-N) will be competing against each other that will set the course of Pakistani politics as it is the power centre in Pakistan. Members of the banned groups like the Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan (SSP) and Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) may switch their support from the PML-N to the PTI for its politics of anti-American sensationalism. Some even go a step further and predict a coalition government of the PML-N and PTI joined by the MQM in Sindh. The power base of anti-Taliban parties like the PPP is receding in Punjab, which should definitely worry the moderate elements in the country.

The rising support for Imran Khan, especially among the youth, will worry many political commentators who believe that the way Imran Khan has been supporting the Taliban and tribal justice is dangerous for future politics in Pakistan. But to add to their disappointment, another major party, the PML-N, is leaving no stone unturned to carry the audience.

Some analysts do argue that as long as the American forces are present in Afghanistan, the pro-Taliban politics will flourish for the simple reason that our politics is American-centric. Others may reject that argument on the outcome of the last elections when anti-Taliban parties like the Awami National Party (ANP) and the PPP came into power in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, a province directly affected by the Afghan conflict for more than three decades. The latter bunch of analysts believes that the element of the American presence in Afghanistan is just a propaganda used for fomenting pro-Taliban politics in Pakistan. So far the province of Sindh is immune to pro-Taliban politics. In the urban centres, the MQM is not willing to lose its power base to the religious parties like the Jamaat-e-Islami and Sunni Tehreek, which staunchly support pro-Taliban politics. In rural Sindh, the PPP seems to have the support of the people for reasons that it is a Sindh-based party and Talibanisation has not seeped into the province so far. The concept of modern politics is yet to hold ground in Balochistan as tribal affiliation is more important than making an independent decision to vote for a candidate in the elections. The small population of Balochistan is also a factor that makes it irrelevant to national politics. But the critical question is where does the military establishment stand and which politics will it lend support to. The military support to any of the two politics, pro-Taliban and anti-Taliban, will determine which politics will prevail in Pakistan. That is a question whose answer needs to be sought in the coming years.