Pakistan: Fighting and talking with Taliban

In the first air strikes since the Taliban announced ending the cease-fire, Air Force jets pounded militant hideouts in Khyber Agency on Thursday killing 35 suspected militants. Eight non-combatants, members of the same family, also lost their lives. That is the nature of this war. Terrorists take refuge among civilians, putting their lives at risk. According to press reports, the militants killed were involved in two recent terrorist attacks. The first was the April 9 Islamabad Sabzi Mandi bombing that left 25 people dead and at least 116 others injured, many of them critically. And the second was last Monday's assault on the police that killed five policemen and a passer-by. The attack on police took place outside Peshawar in an area adjacent to the troubled Khyber Agency. No wonder the security forces targeted different areas in the agency to take out the terrorists responsible for murdering so many civilians.

Notably, the security forces' clearly stated rule of engagement, even during the cease-fire period, was that they would retaliate immediately to any attack on their personnel or facilities. Following the Taliban decision not to extend the cease-fire, the tit-for-tat rule applies to all situations. The talks and fighting, however, are to go on side-by-side until the Taliban accept peace within the constitutional framework. The government strategy to keep the military option on the table while negotiating seems to be working. Helping the strategy are also developments in Afghanistan, where the situation has entered a decisive phase. The US troops withdrawal date is approaching fast. A heavy voter turnout in relatively peaceful elections in that country indicates that although the Afghan Taliban may not be down and out, but they are unlikely to regain control of Kabul government following foreign troops withdrawal. They will surely have some sort of share in power, but not complete control. Which would affect the ability of militants on this side of the border also to carry on their fight.

There, of course, are hard-core al Qaeda linked Taliban who were never going to accept resolution within the constitutional framework. These groups have wanted to keep the conflict and chaos going for the promotion of their jihadist agenda. But they are now said to face a sense of uncertainty about future. A press report based on a series of interviews with foreign fighters offers much hope for optimism regarding these international jihadists' situation. According to the report, although these people trust their hosts, they are wary of the negotiations process. In case there is a give and take between the local militants and the government, or the latter puts the former in a tight spot, say the international jihadists, they too would be in a tight spot, and hence are weighing options to move out to pursue their cause in other places, like Syria. Some do not rule out even the possibility of seeking safe passage from the government. A large number of them is said to have already left Pakistani soil. This development, indeed, is an encouraging sign of things moving in the right direction.