No Operation No Negotiations - Stop Supporting Taliban

Why Operation is not a solution?

During the Swat operation, almost all of the local people had to suffer heavy losses. The curfew, which was imposed for more than two-year time, led to the collapse of the economy. The houses and shops of common people were demolished; more than 420 schools were blown up. People were killed, beheaded and were forced to migrate without any prior warning by the Army, but with starting heavy shelling over the populous city of Mingora.

I have also written in one of my previous article about “Swat operation” as to how dozens of leaders, some of whom belonged to the ANP, were killed despite army`s claims of “successful” restoration of peace in the Swat valley.

Most of the tribal people have had enough of war, slaughter and migration from one area to another. They have languished from one place to another in search of peace and protection of their lives. If the Swat operation model is emulated, the human losses would be beyond imagination. Unfortunately, the number of people who were killed throughout the five-year long militancy and operation is not available due to the lack of access to those areas during militancy.

Most importantly, leaders of the Swat Taliban Mullah Fazlullah and Sufi Muhammad mysteriously disappeared from the scene that left the Swatis in a constant fear of the Taliban’s reemergence.

Why negotiations are not a good option?

The Taliban is not a single group operating under one roof. The militancy has spread across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and also in other parts of Pakistan. The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has become a franchise that offers its support to small militants groups across the country. To identify the main group that controls the other small group is almost impossible. For instance, in the recent Church attack, the TTP denied responsibility and said another group, Jundullah, was actually behind the attack. Imran Khan, Nawaz Sharif and other leaders must answer these questions before brokering any deals with the Taliban.

  · The Tehrek-e-Taliban Pakistan is considered the most important for negotiation; but if groups like Jandullah are able to carry out such big attacks then what happens if we only talk to TTP?

       · Who are the leaders of the different groups? Who is going to identify and bring them to the negotiation table?

       · Are Pakistanis ready to recognize them as a legitimate stakeholder?

       · What agreements and promises of the past did the Taliban fulfill?

       · Is the State ready to forgive the Taliban for fifty thousand murders?

       · Will the families of victims of Taliban atrocities be consulted in this 
process?

       · What compromises is Pakistan going to make to please the Taliban, 
especially compromises that were not made in the past. 

Finally, political parties and Pakistan forces need to come up with a solution after remaining divided for almost a decade on these major issues that led to the loss of thousands innocent lives. Why is it not possible for Pakistani political parties to build a relationship to engage in frank discussions on sensitive issues, particularly key issues on which they disagree with each other? These are important matters and misunderstanding among political parties can culminate in a miscalculation and terrible results that cause unbearable consequences for innocent people.