Thursday, October 23, 2008
By Khalid Kheshgi
PESHAWAR: A group of retired military generals, academicians, former bureaucrats and experts on Afghan and tribal affairs have expressed diverse opinions about the ongoing insurgency and turmoil in the tribal areas of Pakistan at a conference held at the University of Peshawar here on Wednesday.
Vice-chancellor of the University of Peshawar Professor Dr Azmat Hayat, former ambassador to Afghanistan Rustam Shah Mohmand, former DG of ISI Major Gen (retd) Asad Durrani, former security chief Fata secretariat Brig (retd) Mehmood Shah, Brig (retd) Saad and Sufi Juma Khan participated as resource persons in the conference, which was attended by a selected group of scholars and experts on Afghan affairs.
Professor Dr Azmat Hayat Khan, who is also the director of the ASC, in his inaugural speech highlighted the geo-strategic and geo-political significance of tribal areas and discussed briefly the prevailing situation there.
Rustam Shah Mohmand described the ongoing military campaign in Fata as disgraceful operations in which innocent tribesmen were the ultimate victims. Declaring the Fata situation as spectre of destabilisation, he stated that as a result of both foreign and Pakistani security forces counter-insurgency operations a traumatised society was emerging there and there was a no-win situation, which could create more disorder and chaos. He also suggested a well-designed local policy to properly address the situation in Fata in a specific timeframe. He also suggested that the Pakistan government should make all efforts to flush out foreign militants from tribal areas with the help of powerful tribes.
Brigadier (retd) Saad said that Fata was witnessing the worst kind of insurgency wherein foreign money and arms had a role. He said that until now this counter-insurgency campaign lacked political element and it was only military that was countering the whole situation. He suggested that military element was not enough and specifically to deal with this chaotic scenario, the government must come up with a well-devised indigenous policy on tribal areas.
Juma Khan Sufi, who spent many years in asylum in Afghanistan, discussed at length the Afghan situation and declared the warm-waters theory as a hypocritical approach on the part of Pakistan and American establishments to engage the Red Army in Afghanistan before reaching the warm waters of the Arabian Sea.
Former director-general of ISI Major-General (retd) Asad Durrani said the governments writ in Fata should not be compared with that in big cities like Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad. Opposing the first lay-down arms then negotiate approach towards the militants, he said the negotiating channels must be kept open for resolving the insurgency in Fata and Swat.
He used the terms neutralising the tribesmen rather than disarming them at the moment, saying rather the government should try to enter into dialogue with any group to gradually control the insurgency. He also said the political leadership should not confine it to bunkers and walls in what they called their own war against terrorism and militancy.
