Expose Pak patronage of terrorist outfits, Assassination of Pakistani army Major General Sanaullah Niazi by Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) mercenaries highlights the difficulty of the task Islamabad set itself when all major Pakistani political parties agreed last week that peace talks with the militant group should be pursued. The call for talks was issued by a conference of political parties at the instance of prime minister Nawaz Sharif. Instead of responding to it, the TTP leadership set a precondition for the release of militant prisoners and withdrawal of Pakistani troops from the tribal region bordering Afghanistan as confidence-building measures before resuming talks. This tough posturing was followed by an IED attack on Major General Khan’s vehicle. After Sunday’s attacks, army chief General Ashfaq Kayani released a statement affirming the army’s support for talks but vowing not to cave in to the TTP’s demands. “It is understandable to give peace a chance through the political process, but no one should have any misgivings that we would let terrorists coerce us into accepting their terms,” he said. While condemning the attack of its general, Pakistan’s civilian leadership, however, fell short of squarely pinning the blame for this heinous crime on the TTP. An umbrella organisation of armed Islamist outfits, criminals and mafia gangs, the TTP was created in 2007 declaring “holy war” against the government in Islamabad, which they accuse of kowtowing to Washington, India and religious minorities such as Shiites. As one of its principal targets, India cannot afford to be passive observer to these developments. New Delhi should clearly tell Islamabad that appeasement of terrorist outfits would be counter to its repeated assurances to India. Instead of resuming peace talks, the UPA government should insist on dismantling terror outfits in Pakistan as a precondition to normalisation of ties and mobilise international opinion against the Pakistani government’s patronage to non-state terror outfits.
Posted on: Fri, 20 Sep 2013 03:00:13 +0000
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