Pakistan Government Surrenders Before Extremist And Militant Outfits In Pakistan

Pak Government Has Surrendered To Tehreek-I-Labbaik Pakistan Main Points: 1. Last week, Imran Khan government had talks with the extremist group TLP 2. The TTP was involved in Peshawar Army school massacre killing 150 students. 3. TTP has the patronage of Afghan Taliban. ------ New Age Islam Staff Writer 13 November 2021 It seems that following in the footsteps of the US which surrendered before the Taliban in Afghanistan, the Pakistan government has also decided not to adopt a confrontationist policy vis a vis the Taliban in Pakistan aka TTP and any other extremist group in the country. Last week, the Imran Khan government had entered into a one sided peace deal with the TLP (Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan), a Barelvi religious group giving them legitimacy in political and religious arena. Now the Pakistan government has entered into a peace deal with TTP which is a proscribed organisation and has a history of heinous terrorist attacks on schools, residential commercial complexes, and religious processions and on minorities since 2007 when it came into being after the Lal Masjid siege. It should be noted that the government waged a battle against the proscribed group and lost many of the soldiers in its fight against terrorism and lost millions of dollars on the war in North Waziristan in 2009 and was successful in clearing the tribal belts of the militant outfit. But the ascent to power of Taliban in Afghanistan this year has emboldened the terrorist outfit and it appears that the Imran Khan government succumbed to the pressure of Aftghan Taliban and agreed to hold talks with the TTP. According to media reports, one of the demands of the TLP in return for peace is the release of some of their comrades. If this is true, then it will cause a serious threat to the country as they were involved in the fiercest of terrorist attacks causing death to hundreds of innocent civilians and children. No one denies the importance of talks with militants or any disgruntled groups for resolving issues and for removing misunderstanding but the talks should not be based one one-sided conditions. The TTP follows the agenda of imposing their extremist interpretation of Sharia which denies human and religious rights to the minorities, the Shias, the Hindus and other marginalised religious groups. The government has not made it clear as to on what grounds the truce has been entered with a militant outfit. Any militant outfit which is based on a militant ideology will never dissociate with its ideology and come into the political mainstream. Their main goal is to impose their militant ideology and so entering into truce with them will not change their ideology and they will not leave the path of violence. They follow a retrograde interpretation of the relgion. Therefore, the Pakistan government’s policy of making peace with extremist and militant groups will only give rise to extremism and politics of violence in Pakistan. The instability and insecurity that this policy of the Pakistan government will cause will affect not only Pakistan but the entire region. Therefore, the Paksitan government should not hobnob with the extremist forces of the country for the sake of peace and stability in the region. -- ----- Making Peace With Militants By Zahid Hussain November 10, 2021 DAYS after surrendering to the Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan, the government has announced a month-long ceasefire with another banned terrorist outfit. We are told that there has been substantive development in the ongoing negotiations with the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), brokered by the Afghan Taliban. But we still don’t know on what terms the so-called peace is being negotiated with a terrorist group that had declared war on the Pakistani state and had killed thousands of people. According to a media report, the group wants the release of several hundred militants, many of whom were involved in terrorist attacks, before the start of negotiations. That would contradict the government’s claim of having made significant progress in the talks. The information minister says that the negotiations are being held under a constitutional framework. But there is no clear answer to the question of how the state can talk peace with a group, which is banned as a terrorist outfit and which has not surrendered. There was no cessation in hostilities while Pakistani security officials engaged in talks. Just days before the ceasefire announcement, an ambush in North Waziristan claimed the lives of four soldiers. Scores of soldiers have lost their lives in renewed terrorist attacks over the last few months in former Fata. Such an escalation in violence raises questions about a tentative truce delivering peace. It appears that it is the state that has virtually surrendered to a group that is also on the list of global terrorist networks. There is no indication yet that the TTP is willing to lay down its arms and accept the Constitution. The demand for the release of prisoners before talks would make it clear that the outfit seeks to negotiate from a position of strength. It seems to follow the pattern of past peace negotiations with the militant group. Each peace deal further empowered the terrorist outfit. The latest talks are likely to be used by the TTP to reorganise itself and regain its space in the tribal districts. There are already some reports of the revival of TTP activities in parts of the area. The return of Taliban rule in Afghanistan seems to have further emboldened the proscribed network. It was in December 2007 that several militant groups operating in different parts of Fata and KP formed the TTP under the leadership of Baitullah Mehsud. The TTP had an agenda to enforce its own retrogressive version of Sharia rule in the country. Its birth came in the aftermath of the Lal Masjid operation in Islamabad that saw a massive rise in terrorist attacks in the country. There is no doubt that the formation of the TTP had the blessings of Al Qaeda. They jointly carried out high-profile terrorist attacks across the country targeting civilians as well as security installations. The nexus was responsible for the devastating attacks on the GHQ and ISI installations. By 2008, the militants had virtually established their rule over large swathes of territory in northern Pakistan presenting an existentialist threat to the country. It was on Pakistan’s urging that the TTP was declared a global terrorist group. The TTP benefited from the weak response of the security establishment and a series of peace deals, with the state virtually surrendering its writ. It was only after 2009 that the security forces launched massive operations against the militant group. It took more than six years before the tribal belt was cleared of the militants at a huge human and economic cost. Hundreds of thousands of troops were involved in the action. The massacre at Peshawar’s Army Public School that left almost 150 students and staff members dead was the most heinous terrorist attack in the country’s history. Most critical was the North Waziristan operation that finally broke the back of the TTP. Pushed into Afghanistan, the group disintegrated into several factions, some joining the so-called Islamic State’s Khorasan chapter. Many others were reportedly provided sanctuaries by various Afghan Taliban groups. That has also given the Afghan Taliban huge leverage over the TTP. Apparently, it was after the Taliban’s return to power in Afghanistan that backchannel contacts between Pakistani security agencies and the TTP were established. The talks were facilitated by the Haqqani Network that has long maintained close ties with the Pakistani militant group. It is not that the state should not talk to militant groups but the real issue is on what terms. Negotiations make sense only after the militants agree to a complete surrender of arms. But there is no such indication. The TTP has only agreed to a short-term ceasefire, and as has happened in the past, will use the truce to regain its lost space. Most troubling, however, is the absence of a clear strategy on the part of the state on how to deal with terrorist and violent faith-based extremist groups. There has not been any effort to develop a national consensus on such critical national security issues. Curiously, it was in a media interview that the prime minister made the disclosure that his government was in talks with the fiercest of militant groups. Apparently, the issue was not even deliberated in the cabinet let alone parliament. The opposition was only briefed on the development by the military leadership this week. But the prime minister is still not willing to take the nation into confidence on this sensitive issue. The ambiguity around the terms of negotiations has made the talks extremely controversial. The whole episode has reinforced suspicions that it is pressure from the Afghan Taliban that has compelled Pakistan to engage with the TTP. The change in Afghanistan and our support for the conservative regime there appears to have also caused the authorities to soft-pedal the group. Any deal with the TTP is likely to reverse the gains the country has made in its battle against terrorism and violent extremism. Unconditional negotiations will legitimise the terrorist group. The shameful deal with the TLP last week and talks with the TTP should be cause for serious concern. It certainly raises questions about our resolve to fight terrorism. ----- Zahid Hussain is the author of No-Win War — The Paradox of US-Pakistan Relations in Afghanistan’s Shadow. Source: The Dawn, Pakistan URL: https://www.newageislam.com/radical-islamism-jihad/pakistan-extremist-militant-outfit/d/125765 New Age Islam, Islam Online, Islamic Website, African Muslim News, Arab World News, South Asia News, Indian Muslim News, World Muslim News, Women in Islam, Islamic Feminism, Arab Women, Women In Arab, Islamophobia in America, Muslim Women in West, Islam Women and Feminism