Pakistan: Politicians and operation in NWA

A month on, the gains made by the armed forces against terrorist outfits in the tribal areas fully vindicate those who had insisted not only that the so-called peace talks with Tehreek-e-Taliban were non-starter but also that the military operation should not be delayed. From day one the terrorists deserved a raw deal and now when that is being given results are there for everyone to see. According to latest reports, Miramshah - the capital city of North Waziristan where one could buy an improvised explosive device (IED) or a suicide jacket from the shelf - has been cleared and the other terrorist centre, Mirali, is being cleared of militants. The security forces are now moving westward on Dattakhel road. Those who fled to Shawal mountains were bombed on Wednesday; those 35 were killed included about a dozen of 'Punjabi' Taliban. The planned operation in Bajaur has been put on hold, as the local tribal elders have undertaken to form a 'qaumi lashkar' to foil cross-border forays by Mulla Fazlullah's fighters. Since the launch of the Zarb-e-Azb operation 30 soldiers, including two officers, have embraced martyrdom. The number of terrorists killed by our forces has crossed 400 mark. Of course, they included Uzbek and other foreign terrorists. The forces have also destroyed a large number of terrorist hideouts and their arms-manufacturing factories. By any measure this is one of the toughest campaigns undertaken by Pakistan armed forces, all the more for the reason that the war is being fought within the national borders and its collateral victims are inescapably our own people. Given the decision that life and limb of local population have to be secured at any cost the residents of the targeted areas have been evacuated. But this time there is no turning back; a complete rout of terrorist outfits is the mission and the forces are determined to cleanse the tribal areas of them once for all - and after this the entire country - of terrorists of all hues and shades. This indeed is a tall order but there is no escape from it.

Pakistan cannot afford to lose this war. On this the people are with the forces on the same page, but not the politicians. Grisly duels are in progress in political arenas across the national landscape, gladiators crying loud 'give me power or give me death'. Some are clutching onto their 'massive' mandate, while others are bent upon ousting them from power at any cost - both sides least concerned about the challenging mission assigned to the forces. If at all someone out of them talks of the ongoing operation, it is not about the sacrifices being offered by the soldiers, it is about the difficulties encountered by the IDPs, their tone invariably suggesting as if the forces are responsible for their plight. They must know we had had elections in the past and we would have them in future as well. But is there a hope that the next bunch of rulers would be less incompetent and less corrupt than before? Almost all major political parties are in power in the provinces or at the Centre and their performance is before us. It hardly matters to the common man in Pakistan who is in power. But he is absolutely clear that this war on terrorism should not be lost. And that appears to be in the making. Our forces have broken the back of the anti-state, anti-people Taliban in the tribal areas. Next on the list are terrorist hideouts in settled areas and major urban centres. Pakistani forces will also go after them with same vigour and determination as exhibited in the tribal areas. But beyond that it is for the civilians, be they government administrators or political leaders, to ensure that terrorists don't return to the areas cleared by the armed forces. No doubt the electoral process should be clean and transparent and to ask for it is no crime. We believe the government initiates work on electoral reforms without any further loss of time.

But equally important is to work out a post-operation legal and administrative framework that should help the tribal areas transit from their colonial era existence to the present-day mainstream Pakistan. Ideally, the tribal agencies should be granted the status of a province, fully entitled to all rights and privileges the other federating units enjoy within the federation of Pakistan. While in all probability the armed forces will have cleared the tribal areas of militancy and terrorism in the next few months the fear is that their civilian counterparts are not ready yet to fill the space and obtain suitable conditions to put in place a viable administrative framework in the 'liberated' areas. Will that happen? We are, however, a bit sceptic given the growing impression that the military and political elite are on two different wavelengths.