Talks and hard conditions of Pakistani Taliban
Delay in the
peace talks between Islamabad and the Pakistan Taliban armed to achieve peace
without resorting to force has set off a heated debate about the viability of
even holding a dialogue with the militant group whose diametrically opposite
viewpoint regarding governance and constitution goes against what the Pakistan state
stands for. The Tehreek-e-Taliban of Pakistan has always been advocating a
Sharia based government on the lines of the Afghan Taliban under a Mullah. So the
set of conditions of the Taliban has set before PM of Pakistan which is to task
to negotiate a settlement with it should not surprise. Among the Taliban 10
demands are the release of all Taliban prisoners, compensation for drone strike
victims and specific conditions imposed on women to dress according to Sharia. Heading
a democratic government, Pakistani PM is unlikely to impose any conditions on
women or men irrespective of how desirous that may be to achieve peace through
dialogue. Even the release of prisoners is likely to raise the stakes for the
government. Many of these prisoners have been caught in hard fought security
operations. The successes achieved so far in many reclaimed restive areas in
the tribal belt and northern areas face the risk of being overturned if
appeasement measures backfire, which they will most likely.
The success of
any peace talks will only come about if the government shows resolve from a position
of strength. Giving in to even one unreasonable demand can jeopardize the whole
effort and fail to achieve anything tangible. While it may be true that PM of
Pakistan may be making a last ditch effort at peace talks before giving the
formal go ahead of launching a large scale military offensive to flush out the
militant strongholds in Northern areas.
But what the
Pakistan government must not do is allow the Taliban to use any agreement if it
comes about as a means to buy time to shore up its resources for starting a new
phase of insurgency. Pakistan cannot afford to indulge in experiments of this
sort at this juncture when any wrong move in dealing with the Taliban groups
could impact the security handover in Afghanistan.
