'A forlorn hope' or a faint remaining hope or chance; a desperate attempt. This expression, according to Oxford Dictionary of Idioms, developed in mid 16th century from the Dutch expression verloren hoop (lost troop). The phrase originally denoted a band of soldiers picked up to begin an attack, many of whom would not survive...
Not only has President General Musharraf expressed sorrow and grief over the loss of his troops, he has also saluted them repeatedly for the valour that they had shown in one of the most complex operations while dealing with the militants holed up in the heart of the capital for over a week. His address to the nation was, among other things, perhaps an occasion for him to mourn the death of 11 armymen, almost all of whom belonged to the army's commando outfit that was once headed by himself.
When the President gave a brief account of how the talks broke down and what Maulana Ghazi was demanding, he strongly indicated that it was the killing of a lieutenant-colonel at the hands of the Maulana's comrades in battle which could not be compromised, tolerated and condoned under any circumstances.
The only redeeming feature of the Operation Silence or Sunrise, from general's own standpoint, could be that it did not turn out to be a horrendous debacle for him. Although the number of those killed was quite high, the operation tried to ensure that minimum loss of life occurred in the Jamia Hafsa-Lal Masjid Complex. In other words, the race was won by his red-hot favourites.
According to various accounts, the operation has perhaps not exceeded all estimates made to him by his intelligence sources and it wasn't higher than he might himself imagined. The magnitude of loss could have been further reduced had there been no failure of intelligence agencies. Even the situation which was full of confusion, the fears caused by violent behaviour of Lal Masjid administration and the ultimate Operation could have been averted had there been some better display of parleys between the two sides.
The President's real target was perhaps the religious and sectarian groups and parties when he said that his government would never allow more Lal Masjids in future and that "it's time for introspection and self-analysis". However, his address threw up a surprise when he preferred not to make mention of any opposition party in his speech. He did not even make a comment on the Multi-party Conference in London where the opposition held him responsible for the all the ills, including the Lal Masjid stand-off.
However, President Musharraf has held out a carrot to the religious alliance, MMA, by saying that his government would extend all out support to the provincial governments fighting terrorism. In this regard, he named the NWFP and FATA, while announcing that police, levies, etc, would be backed up by the federal government and the army.
The religious alliance, which is now being accused of shedding crocodile's tears, has done him a great favour. This timely support could be termed even greater that what he received from the alliance in the passage of 17th Amendment in the Constitution.
For example, a defiant Rashid Ghazi of Lal Masjid in one of his two last interviews had accused "some political Ulema" of harming his case, vis-à-vis the government-Lal Masjid stand-off. The top leadership of MMA, Qazi Husain Ahmed of JI, and Maulana Fazlur Rahman of JUI (F), are criticised for their absence from the country when it faced one of the most serious crises of its history. Those representing MMA in various talkshows on TV channels gave no convincing arguments to defend their leaders, although Maulana Fazlur Rahman had delayed his departure for London because of his mediation efforts and that a number of senior MMA leaders were actively involved in trying to broker a deal between the government and the Lal Masjid administration.
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