#Pakistan Amnesty for TTP

First President Arif Alvi and then Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi recently mentioned possible amnesty for TTP militants who laid down their arms and promised to respect the constitution. Since two is a trend, and such senior members of the ruling administration would never have floated such a controversial idea on their own, one can be certain that this thing is being discussed at the level of the federal cabinet. Needless to say, of course, that this is a very controversial idea and it is sure to trigger outrage among the many families who lost loved ones during the TTP’s orgy of death, murder and destruction, especially parents of the 132 children so mercilessly murdered in the APS school attack in 2014.

This is not one of those ideas that should even be considered, considering how painful even such debates can be for the tens of thousands of people lost to TTP’s violence as well as their families. There is also the fact to consider that our country does not have the kind of institutions that are necessary to rehabilitate troubled individuals that often seek refuge in extremist outfits. Plus, what if other parts of the society other than the ruling party have other opinions about such matters? The government should not be under the impression that it can unilaterally force such choices upon all of society, regardless of their opinions in what is after all a working democracy.

The government should also remember that its predecessor in office, PML-N, also tried to negotiate with TTP before the army was forced to put its foot down and initiate Operation Zarb-e-Azb in 2014. There is, of course, also the perception that the state should never indulge in negotiations with outfits that challenge its writ, especially one that is responsible for upwards of 80,000 innocent deaths, including deliberately target killing school children. The state must, instead, crush all such forces with full strength and great urgency. Anything less will only embolden its enemies, including those that will go to any length to bribe, arm and fund anybody willing to do it damage. Hopefully the ruling party will think more clearly before presenting such ideas in future.