The decision, whosoever took it on behalf of the state of Pakistan, to initiate the process of talks with Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and to have resettlement plan for its militants has turned out to be a strategic blunder, resulting in a fresh and intense wave of violence and terror.
The temerity with which TTP has been unleashing violent attacks, especially against military and civil law-enforcers, is enough to realise that the strategy, or whatever it was in the name of strategy, was one of the mistakes that have rattled Pakistan. The Peshawar Police Lines mosque attack is a case in point.
The country, which already has been facing stressful economic conditions as well as unceasing and unsettling political malaise, now has to carry the burden of TTP’s fresh wave of terrorism that seems to be metastasising to all regions.
While certain sane voices have always been raising concerns about TTP appeasement, there are those in the current political opposition who are adamant on defending the follies it committed when it was in power.
Those who were euphoric after Afghan Taliban’s Kabul victory had many misconceptions about TTP and, based on that misplaced euphoria, they went for an agreement with the terrorist outfit that now has landed the country in dire straits today.
Since the state, regardless of the government, has repeated a mistake of the past, all we need to do now is a complete restructuring and revitalising of the security apparatus comprising both military and civil law-enforcement agencies to deal with the rising menace of TTP. This has to be done quickly and with an iron hand to prevent further bloodshed and misery in the country.
The new chief of the army staff has committed to reining in terrorism, but it remains to be seen how successfully we would be able to beat the monster.
ZAHID ALI ZOHRI
GILGIT-BALTISTAN
