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Opinion
PML-N and TTP
Dr Farrukh Saleem
Sunday, February 09, 2014
Capital suggestion
The PML-N is the ruling party. The TTP wants to be the ruling party. One chair, two parties. That indeed is the real essence of the current conflict. The PML-N has assumed the seat of power through elections. The TTP wants to capture the seat of power through the implementation of its version of Shariah.
The PML-N’s worldview accepts the state of Pakistan and the state’s constitution. The TTP’s worldview revolves around khilafat which is supra-state as well as supra-constitutional.
The PML-N and the TTP are ‘two parties trying to get something they both cannot have’ The PML-N is a status-quo player (maintenance of hold over power). The TTP is a revisionist power (desirous of capturing power by re-writing the rules of the game).
Here are three facts about the TTP: (1) it was formed in December 2007 when a dozen or so groups united under the leadership of Baitullah Mehsud; (2) the TTP was banned on August 25, 2008; (3) the TTP has been in conflict with the state of Pakistan since its formation.
Here are three facts about the PML-N: (1) It was founded in 1988; (2) it took part in all seven general elections --1988, 1990, 1993, 1997, 2002, 2008 and 2013; (3) on June 5, Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif took the prime ministerial oath for the third time.
What then is the committee business all about? Conflict, to be certain, is a “balancing of vectors of powers, of capabilities to produce effects” and “power, simply, is the capability to produce effects”. The dialogue is, therefore, the continuation of the conflict but now the same war is being fought through other means.
The PML-N is trying to weaken the TTP through the dialogue process (hoping to cause a split within the TTP). The TTP, in the meanwhile, is trying to weaken the national resolve formed after the recent spree of extraordinarily violent attacks (Bannu, RA Bazaar).
The PML-N is confused and needs time. The TTP is absolutely clear in what it wants-political power through Shariah. But, the TTP also needs time; time to re-group and time to re-arm. In effect, that is what the committee business is all about.
The committee business has its own pros and cons. The PML-N may be hoping to rope in the PTI against the TTP in an attempt to put together a wider political consensus. Secondly, the PML-N may also be concerned about a serious blowback in Punjab (Punjab has largely been spared by the TTP).
The darker side of the coin is that the state of Pakistan has bestowed legitimacy to a proscribed entity. Within our constitution is Article 256: “No private organisation capable of functioning as a military organization shall be formed, and any such organization shall be illegal.”
As a matter of fact, the state of Pakistan has come down to the level of a proscribed entity. As violence continues it is obvious that the TTP does not control all of its violence-prone factions. At the strategic level, the dialogue will dilute the national consensus towards fighting the menace of terrorism. A prolonged dialogue will enable the TTP find strategic depth in Afghanistan (after Nato leaves).
Political power -- and who should have it -- is what the conflict is all about.
The writer is a columnist based in Islamabad. Email: farrukh15@hotmail.com
Twitter: @saleemfarrukh
PML-N and TTP
Dr Farrukh Saleem
Sunday, February 09, 2014
The PML-N is the ruling party. The TTP wants to be the ruling party. One chair, two parties. That indeed is the real essence of the current conflict. The PML-N has assumed the seat of power through elections. The TTP wants to capture the seat of power through the implementation of its version of Shariah.
The PML-N’s worldview accepts the state of Pakistan and the state’s constitution. The TTP’s worldview revolves around khilafat which is supra-state as well as supra-constitutional.
The PML-N and the TTP are ‘two parties trying to get something they both cannot have’ The PML-N is a status-quo player (maintenance of hold over power). The TTP is a revisionist power (desirous of capturing power by re-writing the rules of the game).
Here are three facts about the TTP: (1) it was formed in December 2007 when a dozen or so groups united under the leadership of Baitullah Mehsud; (2) the TTP was banned on August 25, 2008; (3) the TTP has been in conflict with the state of Pakistan since its formation.
Here are three facts about the PML-N: (1) It was founded in 1988; (2) it took part in all seven general elections --1988, 1990, 1993, 1997, 2002, 2008 and 2013; (3) on June 5, Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif took the prime ministerial oath for the third time.
What then is the committee business all about? Conflict, to be certain, is a “balancing of vectors of powers, of capabilities to produce effects” and “power, simply, is the capability to produce effects”. The dialogue is, therefore, the continuation of the conflict but now the same war is being fought through other means.
The PML-N is trying to weaken the TTP through the dialogue process (hoping to cause a split within the TTP). The TTP, in the meanwhile, is trying to weaken the national resolve formed after the recent spree of extraordinarily violent attacks (Bannu, RA Bazaar).
The PML-N is confused and needs time. The TTP is absolutely clear in what it wants-political power through Shariah. But, the TTP also needs time; time to re-group and time to re-arm. In effect, that is what the committee business is all about.
The committee business has its own pros and cons. The PML-N may be hoping to rope in the PTI against the TTP in an attempt to put together a wider political consensus. Secondly, the PML-N may also be concerned about a serious blowback in Punjab (Punjab has largely been spared by the TTP).
The darker side of the coin is that the state of Pakistan has bestowed legitimacy to a proscribed entity. Within our constitution is Article 256: “No private organisation capable of functioning as a military organization shall be formed, and any such organization shall be illegal.”
As a matter of fact, the state of Pakistan has come down to the level of a proscribed entity. As violence continues it is obvious that the TTP does not control all of its violence-prone factions. At the strategic level, the dialogue will dilute the national consensus towards fighting the menace of terrorism. A prolonged dialogue will enable the TTP find strategic depth in Afghanistan (after Nato leaves).
Political power -- and who should have it -- is what the conflict is all about.
The writer is a columnist based in Islamabad. Email: farrukh15@hotmail.com
Twitter: @saleemfarrukh
