Pakistan: Time to tackle North Waziristan

Editorial: Daily Times

Nine army and Frontier Corps soldiers have been killed in North Waziristan (NW) by an Improvised Explosive Device planted on a roadside. Many soldiers are still critically injured. Ansarul Mujahideen had claimed responsibility for the attack, calling it revenge against the drone strike that had killed four suspected militants on Friday. The army’s efforts to catch the culprits failed as they had dispersed comfortably in the forbidding terrain of NW. This is not the first time that military personnel have been attacked and killed in the area. Therefore trying to justify it as an act of revenge for the drone attack does not wash. Since 2007, such attacks have become a constant feature of the asymmetrical war we are engaged in with the militants with no sign so far of winning or making an effort to bring it to an end. So far the government has made several plans to combat terrorism without giving any policy framework on how to go about this daunting task. The PML-N government initially stuck to its election slogan of peace talks with the insurgents and terrorists. However, its changed tilt to clamp down on terrorists is shaping up visibly as it is gaining information about the real situation on the ground. The efforts to engage the terrorists in talks may have started, though these have been denied by both the government and the terrorists, reflecting perhaps the sensitivity of the matter. Only time will tell whether this approach succeeds. In this policy formulation stage, the government has adopted different initiatives to combat terrorism in all the four provinces. Karachi is being prepared for a grand operation; Punjab is refurbishing its counter-terrorism effort; the Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) governments have been given assurances of full support by the federal government. This is all to the good, but it is time to take NW as well by the horns. It makes little sense to attempt cleansing the rest of the country of terrorism while leaving its main base area intact. It is no secret that NW is the main ‘manufacturing’ base of terrorism. It is a safe haven that gives the terrorists ample time to plan their evil designs for Pakistan and elsewhere. If we are shying away from acknowledging the fact because of our concerns about Afghanistan and we want NW to protect and produce more jihadi proxies after 2014 when the US pulls out of Afghanistan, then we are indeed planning many more doomsdays for Pakistan. Pakistan’s 40 years of adventurism with jihadi proxies have yielded it nothing but international isolation and a country that cannot live in peace with itself or others, the result of which is a virtually moribund economy, faltering trade, diminishing business and spiralling inflation. The proxies have now become a force unto themselves that we try to define as good and bad Taliban, according to the manner in which they deal with us. It is not in Pakistan’s interests to carry on with the philosophy of gaining a stronghold in Afghanistan by having our choice of government there. It is also of no use to Pakistan to train jihadis for the Kashmir insurgency as the predominance of these extremist forces has adversely affected the Kashmir cause. The only viable, workable and beneficial premise is to make Pakistan mind its own business without getting into the headache of determining how other countries manage their affairs, especially Afghanistan. Presently, Pakistan requires economic resurrection, for which peace and regional harmony are indispensible. The impression that Pakistan nurtures, harbours, sponsors and protects terrorists should be reversed. However, unless the nexus between the intelligence agencies, military establishment and the militants is broken, this reversal cannot be achieved. The proof of this pudding lies in attacking the terrorists in NW. Consensus or no consensus, this area begs a military operation without delay, admittedly a difficult task for the government and more for the military establishment for the protective cover it had given to the militants there so far. But then Pakistan’s future is connected with our ability to break through this cobweb that has held the fate of the country hostage now for over four decades.