Like the first All Parties' Conference hosted by the ANP, the second one convened on Thursday by JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman, also gave full backing to a proposal to open peace dialogue with the Taliban. It was a step forward from the previous conference in that this time the participants included tribal elders belonging to the areas most affected by violence from both sides.
Leaders of all major parties as well as religious groups attended the event except the PTI - a strong and consistent advocate of negotiated settlement of militancy. The party took issue with the timing saying the conference is being held very close to the general elections. That though is not a convincing enough reason considering that one of the parties, whether in government or opposition at present, is going to form the next government.
The important thing at this point in time is to decide whether or not talks are the best way forward. What has emerged from the conference is a consensus on that a positive response should be given to the Taliban's offer of talks, and that negotiations be initiated immediately through a tribal jirga. Notably the MQM, which has been taking a tough line on the issue, also supported the move saying peace in Karachi and Balochistan is tied to Fata and that there is a need to unite on a national agenda. The Taliban, it may be recalled, had named three political leaders - PML-N chief Mian Nawaz Sharif, Jamaat-e-Islami Amir Syed Munawwar Hassan, and JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman - to stand as guarantors. All three have signed the APC declaration giving a go-ahead to talks, thereby publicly taking ownership of negotiations with the militants. The Army is believed to be already on board.
Negotiating with armed groups who hold sway in the tribal areas through the power of the gun is not going to be easy. In fact, according to a press report, the Taliban recently held a passing out ceremony for 150 suicide bombers at a Fata training centre. The news may be a deliberate leak meant to serve as pressure tactic. Still, it shows the kind of pressures the negotiators would confront. The Taliban, of course, are to start with maximal demands. There is no question of the state giving in to demands outside the constitutional framework. As the last APC has already said the dialogue will be held within the ambit of law and the Constitution; and that any challenges to the writ of the state will not be accepted. The APC also said that the Taliban must first lay down their arms. It would be easier to weigh pros and cons of a possible solution if there is a clearer understanding of the prevailing conditions in the troubled areas. All through more than six decades since independence, Fata constituents have never been a part of the mainstream Pakistan. The laws of the land and the citizens rights enshrined in the Constitution do not apply to them. These areas' population is denied direct participation in the political process. That is not all. Federally administered areas, as they are called, suffer from acute economic neglect - a major reason the extremists can easily recruit suicide bombers. For all practical purposes, Fata are already outside the ambit of the Constitution; the areas find a mention in it only as an administrative unit treated differently from the rest of the country. Possession of arms is an-age old tradition in the nearby KP, too, though the more sophisticated war weapons the Taliban have been using cannot be allowed to stay in militants hands. All these factors should be expected to influence the outcome of the proposed negotiations.
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