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Dawn Editorial
Wednesday, 20 May, 2009
THE all-parties conference was meant to sound out the political spectrum on the necessity of the battle underway in Malakand division, but, in truth, all eyes were on one man and his party: Nawaz Sharif and the PML-N. With the PPP, MQM and ANP fully behind the military operation and even the PML-Q appearing supportive in public, the only real question was whether the PML-N would join in accepting the necessity of the operation. And to Mr Sharifs credit he has done just that, accepting that the state was left with no choice but to fight after the militants in Malakand division had effectively closed the door on the policy of dialogue. So, with the overwhelming majority of parliament now behind the governments policy, the Pakistan Army now has a clear mandate to fight and defeat the militants. Pakistan, it seems, may have finally turned the page on the militancy issue and at long last may have begun to present a unified national front against the militants. If that is indeed the case, then it has been achieved not a moment too soon given the alarming rise of militancy in recent years.
The PML-Ns support for a national policy against militancy is important for two reasons. First, militancy will not be defeated today, tomorrow or even a year from now. A tough, drawn-out fight should be expected, and it will involve many different areas of Pakistan. Second, the PML-N is the only real political rival to the PPP, with all other parties ranking a distant third among the electorate. Given Pakistans unstable political culture and unpredictability of events here, a situation in which both the two major parties in the country accept and understand the need for the military option in certain circumstances bodes well for Pakistans fight against terrorism, extremism and militancy.
The emphatic verdict of the APC the resolution issued afterwards was airy and soft, but in Pakistan the wording of such resolutions is rarely of major importance may also have a positive effect on the thinking of the Pakistan Army. Until now, the army has appeared reluctant to take on the militants on multiple fronts simultaneously, perhaps because it has been worried about the lack of popular support for such large-scale operations on Pakistani territory. But now the army may be encouraged to go beyond firefighting and think bigger there is little doubt that at some point the focus must turn to the Waziristan agencies in Fata, where the threat that lurks may be larger than that in Swat by an order of magnitude. Be that as it may, the military option must always be weighed carefully. Fighting is serious business with serious consequences for the population, the army and the government it should only be resorted to with a clearly defined objective and well-thought-out strategy in place.
Dawn Editorial
Wednesday, 20 May, 2009
THE all-parties conference was meant to sound out the political spectrum on the necessity of the battle underway in Malakand division, but, in truth, all eyes were on one man and his party: Nawaz Sharif and the PML-N. With the PPP, MQM and ANP fully behind the military operation and even the PML-Q appearing supportive in public, the only real question was whether the PML-N would join in accepting the necessity of the operation. And to Mr Sharifs credit he has done just that, accepting that the state was left with no choice but to fight after the militants in Malakand division had effectively closed the door on the policy of dialogue. So, with the overwhelming majority of parliament now behind the governments policy, the Pakistan Army now has a clear mandate to fight and defeat the militants. Pakistan, it seems, may have finally turned the page on the militancy issue and at long last may have begun to present a unified national front against the militants. If that is indeed the case, then it has been achieved not a moment too soon given the alarming rise of militancy in recent years.
The PML-Ns support for a national policy against militancy is important for two reasons. First, militancy will not be defeated today, tomorrow or even a year from now. A tough, drawn-out fight should be expected, and it will involve many different areas of Pakistan. Second, the PML-N is the only real political rival to the PPP, with all other parties ranking a distant third among the electorate. Given Pakistans unstable political culture and unpredictability of events here, a situation in which both the two major parties in the country accept and understand the need for the military option in certain circumstances bodes well for Pakistans fight against terrorism, extremism and militancy.
The emphatic verdict of the APC the resolution issued afterwards was airy and soft, but in Pakistan the wording of such resolutions is rarely of major importance may also have a positive effect on the thinking of the Pakistan Army. Until now, the army has appeared reluctant to take on the militants on multiple fronts simultaneously, perhaps because it has been worried about the lack of popular support for such large-scale operations on Pakistani territory. But now the army may be encouraged to go beyond firefighting and think bigger there is little doubt that at some point the focus must turn to the Waziristan agencies in Fata, where the threat that lurks may be larger than that in Swat by an order of magnitude. Be that as it may, the military option must always be weighed carefully. Fighting is serious business with serious consequences for the population, the army and the government it should only be resorted to with a clearly defined objective and well-thought-out strategy in place.
