21.06.2013 Talking to the TTP
Despite the victory of a pro-peace coalition and its overtures to the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P), militancy and violence continues unabated in the province. The recent suicide bombing in Mardan, which killed dozens, including MPA Imran Khan Mohmand, is a strong statement by the TTP that their goals are not likely to disappear because of a change in the provincial government. This is the second member of the provincial assembly who has been murdered by a militant attack.
Efforts are underway to hold an All Parties Conference in the wake of this tragedy. Certain political parties have been highlighting the need to initiate talks with the TTP to secure peace in the province and the rest of the country. The efforts of the US to hold talks with the Afghan Taliban are being cited as a reference for holding negotiations with the TTP. Such comparisons are misleading and questionable. The TTP continues to reject the very basis of the Pakistani Constitution and routinely flouts federal and provincial laws. Moreover, with its sustained bombing of girls’ schools, it also undermines the state policy of providing education to all and delivering services to its citizens. Thus far, the TTP has relentlessly attacked Pakistani targets and over 40,000 lives have been lost in this process. Thousands of soldiers and officers of the Pakistan Army have also been killed by the TTP. Acceding to talks with the TTP while they reject the Constitution and the state’s territorial sovereignty would set a terrible precedent and also lead to legal complications with respect to the clearly stated constitutional provisions.
As the PTI and its allies take charge in K-P, it would be worth remembering the significance attached in the party manifesto to achieving peace within the province. Hopefully, the party realises the mammoth task at hand and manages to turn the tables around in a conflict that is becoming increasingly devastating for the province and its citizens. The elections have been over for a while now and it is time to mould rhetoric into policy and achieve results. Most importantly, it needs to review its proposed strategy to deal with the situation in the wake of the attacks on MPAs in the province.
Threat to polio workers
In an unfortunate development, attempts to curb polio continue to be endangered in the country with the paramedical and teachers association in Swabi now refusing to take part in anti-polio drives in the district till they are given adequate security. Their demand is not unreasonable, coming two days after two fieldworkers were shot dead by militants during a vaccination campaign in the district.
According to reports in this newspaper, the police escorts accompanying the workers fled the scene when the militants opened fire on the workers — a schoolteacher and a paramedic — and, according to eyewitnesses, returned once the firing had ended and villagers had surrounded the injured. The shameful fact, according to the World Health Organisation, that Pakistan is one of the only three countries that remain polio-endemic has been reiterated time and again, and cannot be stressed enough. Unfounded propaganda has obviously spiralled out of control, with extremists giving fatwas against vaccinations and indoctrinating local populations against them. As a result, around 67 polio cases have been reported in the country over the past 17 months and thousands of others have not been vaccinated. Polio vaccinators working for NGOs understandably stay away from areas that pose a high threat to them. Last year, the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan outright banned polio vaccinations in North Waziristan.
Meanwhile, in Swabi, following the latest attack on polio workers, the DPO of the area has allowed all polio workers to carry weapons. Given the threat they face, this may seem to be a plausible option but it must be noted that polio workers cannot be expected to handle weapons and, therefore, this is not a long-term or responsible solution to the problem. Providing workers with bulletproof vests and improved security would, perhaps, be a better idea. Eradicating militancy, of course, would be the decisive win in this war against polio. The new government must tackle this issue as a priority for the sake of our future generations.