Leadership Crisis In Pakistan When the military mounted offensives against militant strongholds and snuffed out dozens of wicked lives, the TTP immediately used a temporary ceasefire as a ploy. The elected civilian leadership – as if impatiently waiting for such an offer – rushed headlong at full speed and responded warmly to the hard-to-please lot. To establish good rapport with the armed militias that hold Pakistan in thrall, the government officials found excuses for “our misguided brethren”. Nawaz Sharif told a group of parliamentarians from Punjab that the attack on a district court in Islamabad was carried out by the agents of RAW and other rogue elements. Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan went one step ahead: a clear majority of the Taliban do not feel animosity towards the dispensation. By announcing a month-long unilateral ceasefire, the outlawed TTP will turn out to be a net-gainer. The rebels have not budged an inch from their stated aims; neither have they conceded anything to the state. However, they have successfully forestalled a full-fledged operation. During this space, those who are hell-bent on unravelling the state will simply regroup and move insurgents and the leadership to safety. Myriads of seasoned analysts scratch their heads and think out loud how long the political leadership will dance to their tunes, on their pitch. Those cognizant of the ideology of the TTP complain vociferously that the rebels cannot be talked into embracing a negotiated settlement. Their spokesmen have made no secret of their dark intentions: they shall implement their own hard-line form of Islam on the state either by negotiations or by war. They are antipathetic to the democratic set-up and the constitution. So the sole method of securing peace and stability is the capitulation of the state. It seems there are no men of spine in the upper echelons of the PML-N government. A defeatist attitude is dampening the morale of the body politic. The prime minister is dithering over the pros and cons of a tough military action and hoping for a miracle that will ward off the scourge of violence. By giving a free hand to the multi-franchised TTP in the three provinces, the federal government wants to insulate Punjab from the contagion. The policy of appeasement and the lack of will plus spine have left the three provinces rather moribund. If the hydra-headed serpent is not un-fanged without more ado and then chopped into pieces, the flames of insurgency will not spare the land of five rivers.
Posted on: Sat, 08 Mar 2014 13:03:54 +0000