EDITORIAL: At a recent policy dialogue organised by an Islamabad-based think-tank, Pak Institute for Peace Studies, around the theme “Emerging Security Situation and its Impact on China Pakistan Economic Corridor” analysts from different fields discussed the threat TTP terrorists, the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) and its affiliated groups pose to national security.
Amplify the threat, as pointed out by official quarters before, and iterated by journalist and author Zahid Hussain is a “well-structured cooperation” that exists between terrorists and insurgent groups like the TTP and BLA — an important differentiation between the two entities.
There is deep and decentralised support to the TTP by Afghan Taliban, especially the Haqqani Network, he added. Clearly, what the state faces is a witch’s brew reportedly prepared by an arch rival and made doable by its own flawed policies.
A former coordinator of the National Counter-Terrorism Authority and a senior police officer Ihsan Ghani said there is a woefully weak cooperation between the Centre and provincial governments regarding information sharing and responsibility, more so in the case of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), where the TTP is most active. In his view, there is also a lack of strong political narrative against terrorism.
Good narratives alone, however, do not resolve anything unless backed by a well thought-out plan of action. Besides, although the TTP and BLA have made a common cause, they are driven by very dissimilar forces and march to different tunes. Emboldening the former to launch cross-border attacks in KP and Balochistan is the support it has of its ideological soul mates, the Afghan Taliban, whilst the latter resorts to acts of terrorism — many targeted at Chinese interests — employing the Baloch people’s long-standing genuine economic and political grievances, and the resultant sense of alienation from the Centre. Causing further aggravation is the reprehensible practice of enforced disappearances.
As noted earlier, terrorism and insurgency are not of the same ilk, and hence need to be seen in their proper context and dealt with separately. Kinetic action against the TTP is a must after the failed ‘peace negotiations’ mediated by interim Afghan interior minister Sirajuddin Haqqani. Even so, the efforts to have him sort out the problem should continue.
In the case of Baloch insurgency, use of force only exacerbates the trouble. Leaders of mainstream Baloch nationalist parties need to be listened to when they say it can be resolved through good faith negotiations. In fact a former chief minister of the province, Abdul Malik, did try that approach, albeit unsuccessfully, because he was not duly empowered to reach a possible settlement.
Insistence by the powers that be on suppression of dissent along with imposition of a contrived political setup has had the opposite effect. It is imperative therefore that the Baloch leaders who have the trust of their people are given a chance to put an end to terrorism perpetrated by the BLA and its cohorts.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024
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