After fighting a declared war against terrorism for more than a decade, we have now realized that it is a very long road down the hill, which is not just difficult to ride on but is full of blood, terror and loss. We are now taking another way out- the political and diplomatic route to contain terrorism.
It is quite saddening to analyze the dark tale of rise of terrorism in Pakistan and then the counter reaction of the state to combat that terrorism, thus giving room for the birth of a vicious circle of force. The history of creation of militant groups or previously known jihadis or money hungry killers who kill for money are all different versions of how actually militancy came to Pakistan and there are many variables of this equation nevertheless, the point is militancy and terrorism are a part of the hard hitting, ice-cold reality of the present Pakistan. These uncontrollable and completely unpredictable elements of terror have been for years now, destabilizing the very roots of our beloved country in such a harmful manner where we are not only losing precious lives every day but are also at the verge of losing it all. With new government in place and having the time to nibble up its share of reality, things are taking up a different turn now. The last PPP government continued in the footsteps of the badly structured counter terrorism policies of Musharraf and landed themselves and this country in a greater mess than was already there. Clearly, the use of force to contain terrorism did not work out for us as was planned. So now PMLN with Nawaz Sharif in the driving seat have introduced a political and diplomatic remedy to the problem of terrorism. Bilateral talks, as they can be called are never a bad idea per se, but honestly Pakistan is in such a critical situation now that any wrong move could prove to be fatal. The urgency of the matter is understandable but without prudence being followed as a definitive rule Pakistan could lose even more. However, present reality is that the government is releasing big shots of Taliban commanders and setting up a soft, comfy lounging arrangement for talks with Taliban to achieve some of the targets of these talks.
The arrangements have been made. Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan on the policy work said that “The framework for holding dialogue with Taliban is ready and there was no foreign pressure in this regard”
While addressing to a press conference in Lahore the other day, Nisar emphasized on the fact that PMLN is not standing alone in this decision of talks with Taliban rather all political stakeholders have given green signal to go ahead with the talks. He remarked that “It was the unanimous decision of politicians and military leadership to hold talks with the Taliban in the best national interest.” It was a good calculated move by PMLN government to hold All Parties Conference in this regard and hear out different political opinions on this issue. And as Ch Nisar mentioned, the decision to hold talks with Taliban has been ‘taken in the best national interest’. He said that “It was the government's prime responsibility to pull the country out of the crisis by carefully analyzing the situation and pursuing a pragmatic strategy.”
Talks with Taliban is a good strategy in itself for the country as the use of force, as we have all witnessed has not brought us anything but blood and loss. However, carrying out this diplomatic strategy is not going to be a piece of cake and government needs to make each of its moves cleverly in order to contain this havoc of terrorism once and for all.
