What's new

Legitimising terror

Cheetah786

PDF VETERAN
Joined
Aug 23, 2006
Messages
9,002
Reaction score
-3
Country
Pakistan
Location
Pakistan
The annual report of Human Rights Watch (2013) on Pakistan reads exactly the same as the ones published before it. Only the brutality of those involved in the killings and the apathy of those observing has increased tenfold. Apart from that, the report has nothing ‘positive’ to report from Pakistan.

The reason why there is nothing ‘positive’ in the report reflects the fact that our state continues to move backwards, learning nothing from past mistakes.

If learning was the case, the recent offer of talks by the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), who have single-handedly ruined thousands of lives in Pakistan, would have been refused by the state immediately.

As it is, we are already in a state of war with the Taliban, who continue to attack children, students, teachers, journalists, minorities, and any one who does not accept or follow their brand of Islam.

To be precise, it is progression and a progressive mindset that the Taliban and likeminded groups are against. I felt it necessary to spell it out because it is important to understand, that militants are against each one of us, including every ideology or sect that they feel threatened from.

In 2012, militants killed around 325 people from the Shia sect, shot a student Malala Yousafzai, apart from torching over a hundred schools in different areas of Pakistan. This is not all, as there are countless other incidents where shrines have been attacked, apart from the ruthless targeting of the Pakistani police. Verve and confidence are not lacking in these people at all, as after every attack that destroys a home, a family or a school, the militants have openly taken responsibility for their actions.

And now they want to hold talks with the government and have chosen guarantors, whose selection does not come as a surprise either.

What is surprising, however, is the meek response of the state. For years our country has been dangling in the middle about how to properly negotiate with the Taliban. But the question that arises after what our society has gone through over the decade is: do we really need to negotiate with the Taliban? If yes, then on what basis?

It would be better for the state to acknowledge once and for all that we are at war with militants and work towards eliminating the menace, rather than appeasing them.

In this context, it would be better to look at how Sri Lanka dealt with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). From its formation in 1983 till 2009, LTTE was known for its massacres over ethnicity, suicide bombings and guerilla warfare.

Seven years before being defeated by the army in May 2009, LTTE was running a mini-state in the northern and eastern provinces of Sri Lanka. Though the war took over a hundred thousand lives in Sri Lanka, the country’s military defeated one of the most ruthless insurgents.

Counter insurgencies are always ugly in practice but is it uglier than what Pakistanis go through on a daily basis?

TTP talks: Legitimising terror | Blog | DAWN.COM
 
To be precise, it is progression and a progressive mindset that the Taliban and likeminded groups are against. I felt it necessary to spell it out because it is important to understand, that militants are against each one of us, including every ideology or sect that they feel threatened from.

In 2012, militants killed around 325 people from the Shia sect, shot a student Malala Yousafzai, apart from torching over a hundred schools in different areas of Pakistan. This is not all, as there are countless other incidents where shrines have been attacked, apart from the ruthless targeting of the Pakistani police. Verve and confidence are not lacking in these people at all, as after every attack that destroys a home, a family or a school, the militants have openly taken responsibility for their actions.

And now they want to hold talks with the government and have chosen guarantors, whose selection does not come as a surprise either.

What is surprising, however, is the meek response of the state.

TTP talks: Legitimising terror | Blog | DAWN.COM

The two marked statements are in such contradiction with each other.

The society itself is so fractured, that when one sees a few condemning the acts of the Taliban, there are so many others who immediately come out to speak in favor of them.

The truth is that at least half of the society is as regressive as can be. What is worse, is that the regressive ones are proactive, while the progressive ones are quiet - hence the meek response of the State.

In democracy, the State can only do what people want. And in Pakistan, every now and then we see what people actually want! Why blame the State?

That silence of the progressive section of the society is indeed legitimizing terror.
 
It's done -- War or Surrender -- (for the time being it's going to be Surrender) look for things to pick up pace and the issue be placed on the national agenda, as elections near (well done ISI)


APC supports peace talks with Pakistani Taliban



ISLAMABAD:All the participating parties of the All Parties Conference (APC) called by Awami national Party (ANP) chief Asfandyar Wali Khan agreed on Thursday to negotiate with those Taliban militants who were ready to accept the law and Constitution of Pakistan, DawnNewsreported.

At least 27 of Pakistan’s political parties and lawyer organisation were participating in the conference held in Islamabad.

The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz, (PML-N), Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), ANP and the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (JUI) were among the parties attending the conference.

The Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaaf (PTI) and Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) were not represented at the conference underway in Islamabad.

The deliberations are likely to be dominated by the offer of talks made recently by the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).

Leader of Opposition in National Assembly and senior PML-N lawmaker Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan giving his address said that negotiations should take place with those who accept the Law, Constitution and national writ of Pakistan.

ANP chief Asfandyar Wali Khan gave the key-note address and said the objective of the conference was to gather the nation against terrorism on one platform.

“The menace of terrorism is not the problem of present government only, rather it will also be a problem for the coming governments,” he observed.

The ANP chief further said any decision taken in the meeting would be announced at the conclusion of the conference.

The APC would draft recommendations to tackle the problem of terrorism in the country which would be forwarded to the President Asif Ali Zardari and Chief of Army Staff Ashfaq Pervez Kayani.

Speaking to Dawn on Wednesday, ANP’s parliamentary leader in the Senate Haji Mohammad Adeel had said the TTP’s talks offer would also be discussed at the meeting.

Adeel had stated that the main objective of the conference was to devise a national policy that could bring about peace in the country.

The idea of the APC was initiated after the assassination of senior ANP leader and provincial minister Bashir Ahmad Bilour in December 2012, who was killed in a suicide attack claimed by the Pakistani Taliban.

Pakistani Taliban call meeting in response to APC peace offer
Zahir Shah Sherazi



PESHAWAR: The Pakistani Taliban have called an ‘important meeting’ of its Shura (council) in response to the Awami National Party’s All Parties Conference peace talks offer in Islamabad, a spokesman for the banned militant outfit said Thursday.

“We have convened an important meeting of the shura tomorrow and will respond by 1 pm Friday, what we are going to do next,” a spokesman for the banned Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) Ehsanullah Ehsan told Dawn.com speaking from an undisclosed location.

Ehsan said the militant group would hold its meeting at an undisclosed location along Pakistan-Afghanistan border.

More than 27 political parties and lawyer organisations participating in the APC had agreed to negotiate with those Taliban militants who were ready to accept the law and the Constitution of Pakistan.

However, the militant group vowed to continue terror attacks until a peace deal is reached.

“The attacks would continue until we go into a viable agreement…its not so that we should stop every thing before the achievement of our goals,” he said.

“We shall be continuing with more such attacks until the peace deal is finalised. Military attacks and peace talks are continuing on both sides, the security forces have also not stopped attacking the Taliban despite offering an olive branch.”

About the participation of the Jamiat-i-Ulema Islam (JUI-F) and Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz (PML-N) in the conference, Ehsan said: “The Jamaat-i-Islami has not participated but we shall respond tomorrow after the meeting.”
 
TTP is an ideology and one can not compromise with an ideology, either you can change it or you can destroy it...

Pakistan has to destroy TTP/Talibaan to attain real Peace within its territory...
 
One way to look at this development is in terms of politics and how it may effect policy -- You will note that the condition attached is "accept the law and Constitution of Pakistan" in other words, give up demands for Shariah, etc. -- Look who chose not to be there, PTI and JI - What can we make of this?

The response of the TTP will come around later today - look for them to _______?? - For the ANP, they can argue that Pakistan now have a political consensus t tackle terror and the possible coalition that may come to power after the elections, will have to follow through
 
Back
Top Bottom